One Very Important Thought (Day 348)

Divinity: Original Sin is a story driven Western-style CRPG that echoes Baldur's Gate in many ways--although its battle system differentiates itself by being turn-based and tactical instead of real time with the ability to pause to issue commands. The Divinity series seems to be markedly different in every entry and Original Sin is apparently no exception. Although I haven't played any other Divinity title, it seems that other games in the series are variously action RPGs, RTSes, and free-roam RPGs in the style of The Elder Scrolls. Although trying these games is not off the table, none of them sound nearly as interesting to me as what Original Sin has to offer.

Battles can get a little hairy

I've put about 16 hours into Divinity over the course of two days, so it's safe to say I've been playing it a lot. During the week, my co-op partner and I will have a lot less time to play it, so we decided to get in as much playitme as possible while we could. The vast majority of this time has been spent on exploration and dialogue--and while these are certainly elements of a game I appreciate, it's unclear whether or not they're compelling in a cooperative game. I think Divinity does a pretty good job at making both players feel included by having the two characters converse. This allows you to inject a little of your own personality (or a personality of your choosing) into the character you've created. When a player initiates a conversation with an NPC, the other player is free to move and do as they wish, including initiating conversations with other NPCs.

This is a really interesting mechanic because it allows two players to cooperatively gather information faster than one player would. However, it might result in one player not experiencing as much of the dialogue as they otherwise might. I'll generally skim conversations recorded in the log but I would have read every word had I initiated the conversation myself. I'm not sure if this can really be considered a slight against the game because I appreciate that the developers chose to give the players that level of freedom in exploration. It does, however, lead to some weird situations with very important plot-related NPCs. Whichever player initiates a conversation sees the dialogue pop up on their screen and the other player must read it in the tiny text box in the corner. At least it's still available to be read, but it's certainly not as convenient an experience.

Original Sin is the first game I've played in awhile in which the plot isn't completely irrelevant to me. Although the storyline isn't what I'd describe as earth-shatteringly compelling, I do find it to be reasonably well-written and enjoyable. It is filled with classic fantasy tropes executed effectively. Ghouls and zombies wander the countryside, spectres mourn their lost loves, fearsome orcs do battle against the town guard, and perhaps most interestingly, the townspeople spread rumors regarding the culprit responsible for a vile murder. A quest early on in the game has you exploring every nook and cranny of the town and questioning every NPC available--including a few animals--to uncover the person responsible for the murder of a local man.

Although I touched on it a little in the last entry, the battle system is tactical and turn-based--and what attracted me to the game in the first place. It is definitely interesting and fun for the most part, but also very frustrating at times, especially when it comes to effects that obscure characters' line of sight. The controls are also not always incredibly responsive, but the basic principles are certainly sound and very interesting strategically. I'll probably go over this a little bit more tomorrow unless I think of something else to talk about!