Magpie (Day 347)

Although it's probably a little too early to tell, I think I've finally found a new game in which I can become engrossed--and the name of that game is Divinity: Original Sin. Although I know little to nothing about the Divinity series, a lot of aspects of Original Sin's gameplay jumped out at me right away. Battles are tactical and make heavy use of elemental and terrain effects, features which I feel are far underutilized in the genre. Not only that, but the dialogue and exploration bring to mind titles like Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. We are essentially left with a traditional Western CRPG with strategy RPG combat. There is little in this equation that I find I don't like.

I am feverishly typing out these initial impressions in the midst of a marathon co-op session. Yes, a game like this with such heavy reliance on dialogue as a means of exposition and with turn-based strategic battles--it's co-op. A strange but intriguing design decision on the part of the developers, but one that I very much appreciate. Cooperative RPGs are notoriously difficult to find and good ones are very rare as well. The fact that Divinity allows two players to take control of created characters and assume roles of their own devising is equally appreciated, even if the moral choices presented to you in the game are often very black or white.

Even after only investing a few short hours into the game, I feel I already have quite a bit to say about it. I am impressed by the level of detail present in the game, not only through dialogue, but also through the polish and charm found in segments of the game that many players may miss entirely. There is a book you find early in the game as part of a quest that is essentially a fantasy murder mystery. It is not required by the game or plot to read this book but doing so significantly enriched my enjoyment of the game because it gave me a deeper understanding of the plot--and more appreciation for the talent and humor demonstrated by Larian Studios' writing staff.

As intrigued as I was by the combat system of Divinity, I am thus far just as impressed by the plot and characters. Though no characters have jumped out at me as supremely developed and relatable, I have come across a fairly wide variety of colorful and often humorous characters--many of which are animals the protagonist can choose to communicate with through the use of an in game talent. A clairvoyant bull aptly named Bull is particularly entertaining.

It will take some time for me to completely understand the combat system, which follows in the tradition of western strategy RPGs like XCOM or perhaps Fallout. I can't help but be reminded of Front Mission which I've been playing recently, though their only real similarities lies in their use of Ability Points for movement and actions. Divinity has much more focus on the interaction between different spells and the terrain and so far I find it really interesting.