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Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition (PS4/XB1/PC)

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    Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition (PS4/XB1/PC)

    After much anticipation this was finally released last Friday. Those with keen memories may remember I loved the original Divinity Original Sin and this is more of the same. Indeed the two games are so similar I'm tempted to just copy and paste.

    For those new to the series, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an isometric role playing game (think Baldur's Gate-like visuals with Dungeons & Dragons game rules) with incredibly intricate mechanics and systems, extensive dialogue options and deep, multi-faceted combat. The game is very carefully crafted and intelligent and expects the same from its players. There's no hand holding here, no prodding you in the right direction, no tips or helpful clues, and as the game doesn't bother explaining the various systems and tools available to the player it can consequently prove quite bewildering and somewhat overwhelming, especially early on. But stick with it, experiment a little and take the time to familiarise yourself with the various abilities and methods at your disposal and you'll be rewarded with a lovely and engaging little game full of intelligence, humour and charm.

    One final thing - even on Classic (normal difficulty) the game is quite difficult early on, but don't be tempted to drop the difficulty. Experiment. Learn the systems. It's a game that rewards tactical nuance and even seemingly impossible battles can be won if approached intelligently.

    Useful beginners guide here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHD-PQHzNmE&t=314s
    Last edited by Brad; 07-04-2022, 10:50.

    #2
    This game is absolutely brilliant. I'm around 15 hours in now and the game just keeps getting better and better - or to be more precise I believe the game was probably always brilliant but my understanding of it has increased to the point where I can appreciate the incredible depth, complexity and open-endedness of the mechanics.

    I'm hesitant to judge things too soon (time is the ultimate revelator) but I think it might be one of my favourite RPGs, up there with Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Setting the incredible gameplay aside, the visuals and music are gorgeous, full of attention to detail and every character you meet, no matter their significance, oozes character and personality. A special mention must go to the user interface too, a poor UI can really cripple an otherwise brilliant RPG, but this one's been massively refined from the first game and is slick and intuitive. I don't find myself in the menus any longer than I need and that's always a good mark. A special game.

    Oh yeah, it's called the Definitive Edition, not Definite Edition. Dunno why I typed that in the title.
    Last edited by Zen Monkey; 05-09-2018, 12:04.

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      #3
      Thanks for first impressions, Zen Monkey, especially UI detail - glad to hear they've done a good job on that. I've got the game here ready to go on PS4, been looking forward to it for ages, but I'm bogged down in Dark Souls 3. It's the same old stuff, familiar but excellent. Just killed a massive tree by hitting it in the bollocks.
      Last edited by Golgo; 06-09-2018, 10:19.

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        #4
        One day I'll play this game. I kickstarted it originally and then I heard about the enhanced edition so I put it off. I like the look of the undead dude. Thanks for the impressions!

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          #5
          I've been watching reviews for this (I bought it blind, based solely on my love of the original) and was pleasantly surprised to see how highly it is rated. The terms 'masterpiece' and 'best rpg ever' come up quite a bit. Even Mack couldn't fault it:

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            #6
            I was chatting to one of my party members last night, an undead scholar who, though fairly poor in combat, is a very charismatic figure with hilarious dialogue (he reminds me of Death from the Discworld novels) and a pretty interesting storyline so far. Anyway, yes, I was at an important juncture in the game and asked him to remain in my party, he took it the wrong way and thought I was flirting with him, I chose to play along for a laugh and the next thing I'm having sex with a skeleton and afterwards he remarked I was very good with my tongue. Brilliant. The way dialogue has been implemented and its consequences is so well done. Unlike other RPGs, you never really know where dialogue choices will lead or how people will react. There are no black and white options. It's so good.
            Last edited by Zen Monkey; 11-09-2018, 16:01.

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              #7
              I just had sex with a prostitute. A lizard prostitute no less. Necrophilia yesterday. Bestiality today. What depravity. But there is more to this game than shagging the dead and shagging animals. Honest...

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                #8
                This game sounds class Zen (not necessarily in reference to your last two posts), thanks for sharing your thoughts. I might give it a try when I'm through with Spidey. I have a feeling I might feel out of my depth though ... but it does sound ace.

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                  #9
                  Be honest, dude, you had no interest in the game until prostitution was mentioned. The thought of lizards in lipstick in dens of iniquity lured you in. It's their forked tongues, innit.

                  Joking aside, it is a class game. I really cannot fault it.

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                    #10
                    Finally completed this last night. I had 112 hours on my save file. That meant I was playing around 20 hours a week and that's a lot for me. But what a game. A 10/10 for sure. Besides a couple of overly difficult, cheap fights towards the end, I honestly cannot fault it. As close to perfection as it gets. The gameplay, the systems, the AI, the userface, the freedom, the music, the voice acting, the story, the humour, the writing, indeed the writing deserves a special mention as it affords those rarest of things in video games: subtlety and maturity. It's no exageration when I say the quality of writing is book-quality. It really is that good. It had me reaching for the dictionary on more than one occasion too, such is its breadth of vocabulary (or maybe such is the narrowness of mine!).

                    It's always bittersweet to complete an enjoyable epic. On one hand you know you're gonna miss playing it each night as it became almost a ritual, but on the other hand you're free to play other games and I sure have missed playing MK8 and Splatoon 2 and Dark Souls.

                    But, yeah, I recommend it wholeheartedly. It's a special one.

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                      #11
                      Great impressions. This game sounds so good, I really want to pick it up. Maybe after Red Dead 2.

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                        #12
                        Yeah, I wouldn't start it before Red Dead 2. It's very, very long.

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                          #13
                          Given how overwhelming and difficult this game can prove (even veterans of the first game, myself included, think it's very hard) I decided to share a few pointers to keep newcomers on the straight and narrow:
                          • Save regularly. Preferably every few minutes. And definitely before every conversation or battle. Party members can leave if they don't like your choices, and in battles if a party member is charmed (a status where the enemy takes control of them) then the AI will likely use all your best scrolls and items against you - which can prove very annoying if they were high-level items you were saving for particularly tough battles. Apparently even key NPCs can be killed thus rendering the game even more difficult. If your last save was 2, 3, 4 hours ago and you have to revert to it, that's a lotta playtime wasted. Saving often protects against this. The other option is just to play the cards as they're dealt. Indeed this is how I played (whatever happened I accepted) but I was lucky with my playthrough as nothing awful happened. No party members left and no important NPCs died, had that happened I might well have reloaded an old save. But, either way, save often. Make it a habit.

                          • Create specialists, not jack of all trades. It isn't a game like Skyrim where you can become powerful in every field. If you're a fighter then put your points into being a good fighter. You have a limited number of ability points and they really matter so make them count. A good starting party is to have one fighter, one ranger and two wizards (one geared towards offensive magic, one defensive/healing). That setup can deal with most scenarios. After act 1 you can repec all your characters abilities as many times as you want and are free to experiment - and so you can create thieves and battle mages and pyros and all manner of imaginative builds.

                          • Money is hard to come by for much of the game so should be spent wisely. Appropriate weapons and armour can be looted from the enemies you defeat and treasure chests so, tempting though it is, don't bother spending your money on those. Instead spend it on skillbooks which are the only way to unlock new spells, moves and skills. Oh, and buy every resurrection scroll you can. Your party members will die a lot and the only way to resurrect them is, yes, you guessed it. So when you see them, buy them. All of them.

                          • During battles try to separate your party so that powerful area of effect spells cannot decimate your entire party in one swoop.

                          • If a battle is too difficult, don't lose heart, leave it and come back when you are better equipped. The game allows such freedom that you can easily wander into fights that you cannot win. Sometimes leveling up just once more can make those fights manageable.

                          • Unlock the pet pal perk asap. This will allow you to converse with animals which is where many of the most humorous moments are found. From idiotic bears, to arrogant cats, to sad dogs, to deluded rats - the dialogue from the game's beats is brilliant.

                          • Spread all your items around your party members intelligently. If you have one character carrying all the scrolls and he goes down he takes all those scrolls with him and that's a big handicap in a tough battle.

                          • You cannot damage an enemy's health until either it's physical or it's magical armour is depleted. This is very important. so keep track of both armours. Don't waste your powerful magic spells if it can be blocked by magical armour, likewise don't waste powerful skills that take a long time to charge when they can be blocked by physical armour. The armour system is where game differs most from the original and requires a much more tactical approach. Same goes for you. If one of your armour types gets depleted, you are now very vulnerable so look to restore it asap instead of attacking enemies. This is where the game really shines, because the game is so hard and the AI is so good, almost every battle becomes a tense dance along a knife edge as you weigh up whether you should heal and restore your own party or attack the enemy.

                          • Try sticking to classic difficulty. Classic is normal. And, admittedly, normal is very hard. There's no denying it. But the next difficulty down is supposedly very easy (too easy from what I've read) and the battle system is such a brilliant part of the game that if you don't even have to think about the fights, if you don't have to employ clever tactics and guile then you're missing out on one of the game's best features.
                          Last edited by Zen Monkey; 11-10-2018, 16:05.

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                            #14
                            I don't know anything about this game. I've just watched a bit of a video to suss out what it is (I thought it was a knight fighting game rather than an isometric dungeon crawler!).

                            Is this better than Diablo III?

                            Is it 4-player co-op?

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                              #15
                              Better than Diablo 3? I think so but then it's a completely different style of game to Diablo (they look similar, I know, but they don't play anything like each other). This a is turn based rpg, much slower paced, with deeper mechanics and systems. It's basically D&D in video game format.

                              It is 4 player co-op, yes. Has an online arena mode too where you can forget the story and pit your tactics against other players in online battles.

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