Played with Hydr0_M
This is the best turn based/tactical RPG I have ever played, without a doubt. The world truly feels vast and lived in. Every NPC you encounter has something to say and a few items to trade. Every corner of the map is filled with details, loot to find, enemy encounters (often with their own small mini stories and motivations), and fun interactions. You'll find a random statue in the wild, you discover you can solve a small puzzle to interact with it, and boom, it's one of the most memorable and funny parts of the game, just out there, randomly in the wild. You could have easily missed it (and I am sure many does!). Small things like this really make every moment feel special.
The story is filled with interesting characters, with their own motivations, stories, history, and have their own things going on completely detached from what the player is doing, making the world feel a lot larger than what you see. You'll help these characters, they will help you, and depending on your choices, and the people you help, the crew you make, the story will change.
It all feels larger than the sum of its parts, and there are a lot of parts.
The combat revolves around an "Action Points" (AP) economy system, and a special armor system where you can deplete either someone's magic armor or physical armor. This means that different encounters feel more unique, as a mage enemy might be really strong against magic, but weak against physical hit, it makes every encounter feel unique. There are many fun combos and synergies you can discover, and sometimes it really feels like you are cheating, only for the game to throw yet another curve ball at you, making what was previously an "insane combo, the devs probably didnt think you'd be able to do this" into a "Oh yeah, I totally need this, the enemy combos are way stronger!".
There is something so satisfying about doing a combo like "Okay, I will save some AP for the next turn, then the turn after I can do a move that spawns blood under me, making my blood moves stronger, then I can hit them with a move that removes their armor, then a move that makes them bleed, then finally a move that uses that blood to totally destroy them". It all synergizes so well, and the more you look into it, the better it gets.
With you being able to spec into as many classes as you want and learn pretty much any spell you can imagine, there are countless of ways to play the game, and a ton of strategies for you to discover. You can't see it all in one playthrough. For example, I used a combo that made it so when enemies walk, they take very heavy damage, then I used another spell to make them "Terrified", which will force them to run away on their next turn. These combos belong to different classes, and there are plenty of examples like these ones, there is so much to discover, use and abuse.
You can play as an assortment of different characters (or make your own), all of which have different main stories, different interactions with characters, and ways to play the game. Your party can be 4 of these characters, or you can make your own party from hired characters you find in the game. Depending on the characters in your party, characters will react differently to you. Some places might not welcome an undead character, while others may let you pass because one of your characters are a royal lizard. Some will straight up pick fights with you because you are an elf, and if you were to talk to that same character with a different character they might be all friendly and even have a quest for you. The world truly reacts differently to your characters, which is fun and must have taken a lot of development time.
All of this on top of a fantastic skill system, crafting system, exploration, character affinity, stealth systems and more. It is a complete video game, that has all the video game things, maybe except for the now common DLCs and Microtransactions (remember when those were controversial?). There is so much to this game that I know for a fact that if I were to play it again, I would have a whole different experience, despite my 170 hours of playtime.
For example, I barely engaged with the crafting system in the game, and the few times I did use it, I found I could craft incredibly powerful armor.
The only thing really holding this game back is some quality of life for certain things. There are many small frustrations all over the game, and they can sometimes add up. You have an endlessly large inventory with things you need to keep "just in case" (after all, did you use that key yet or was that for something you'll need in the future?), but no search bar. Some characters especially in the town squares repeat the same voicelines way too quickly, truly making them feel like bots, and sometimes the combat can be quite frustrating because the game does not properly predict what will happen (it might say your move costs 1 AP, but it spends 2, meaning you can't afford to do your move). Furthermore, enemies sometimes just cheat. They straight up don't follow normal game mechanics like cooldown for moves, or they can't be stunned despite not having stun immunity, or they can't be targeted from where you're standing but they can target you. It can sometimes make the game feel frustrating. This is mixed with the game giving you very exciting abilities near the end, which you never get to use. For example, near the end I received a "Control Voidwoken" spell, but I only ever encountered Voidwoken twice after that point, which was a huge shame.
My main other gripe with the game, which is quite funny considering I spent 170 hours to beat the game, is that there isn't more of it. I really wanted more, and I wish they would spend more time to flesh out certain aspects of the game. You have seen and probably learned all the spells you will need by the time you're halfway through the game. I wish the game would let you discover more spells as you get stronger. Some spells also require you to multi class, but it's literally "ehh, put two points into this other class".
Some story elements also get glossed over a bit near the end. There is a huge voidwoken build up and attack, but you don't really see any voidwoken. They tease you with giant voicwoken you never get to fight, and you almost have to wonder what happened to them all considering theyre a world wide threat. A certain important story character you meet near the end of the game is also just... glossed over. You have one conversation with them, then you fight, then the game is over. For such an important character it is very weird that they get so little screen time. I wish there was more. And hopefully there will be more in a Divinity 3.
My gripes aside, this is still such a fantastic game, and Larian have shown that they are truly the masters of turn based RPGs. My dream Larian game would be a game with Divinity's combat, but with even more spells, mixed with Baldur's Gate's cinematic camera and quality of life features like a searchable inventory.
Needless to say, this game is absolutely fantastic, I recommend it to all.
The story is filled with interesting characters, with their own motivations, stories, history, and have their own things going on completely detached from what the player is doing, making the world feel a lot larger than what you see. You'll help these characters, they will help you, and depending on your choices, and the people you help, the crew you make, the story will change.
It all feels larger than the sum of its parts, and there are a lot of parts.
The combat revolves around an "Action Points" (AP) economy system, and a special armor system where you can deplete either someone's magic armor or physical armor. This means that different encounters feel more unique, as a mage enemy might be really strong against magic, but weak against physical hit, it makes every encounter feel unique. There are many fun combos and synergies you can discover, and sometimes it really feels like you are cheating, only for the game to throw yet another curve ball at you, making what was previously an "insane combo, the devs probably didnt think you'd be able to do this" into a "Oh yeah, I totally need this, the enemy combos are way stronger!".
There is something so satisfying about doing a combo like "Okay, I will save some AP for the next turn, then the turn after I can do a move that spawns blood under me, making my blood moves stronger, then I can hit them with a move that removes their armor, then a move that makes them bleed, then finally a move that uses that blood to totally destroy them". It all synergizes so well, and the more you look into it, the better it gets.
With you being able to spec into as many classes as you want and learn pretty much any spell you can imagine, there are countless of ways to play the game, and a ton of strategies for you to discover. You can't see it all in one playthrough. For example, I used a combo that made it so when enemies walk, they take very heavy damage, then I used another spell to make them "Terrified", which will force them to run away on their next turn. These combos belong to different classes, and there are plenty of examples like these ones, there is so much to discover, use and abuse.
You can play as an assortment of different characters (or make your own), all of which have different main stories, different interactions with characters, and ways to play the game. Your party can be 4 of these characters, or you can make your own party from hired characters you find in the game. Depending on the characters in your party, characters will react differently to you. Some places might not welcome an undead character, while others may let you pass because one of your characters are a royal lizard. Some will straight up pick fights with you because you are an elf, and if you were to talk to that same character with a different character they might be all friendly and even have a quest for you. The world truly reacts differently to your characters, which is fun and must have taken a lot of development time.
All of this on top of a fantastic skill system, crafting system, exploration, character affinity, stealth systems and more. It is a complete video game, that has all the video game things, maybe except for the now common DLCs and Microtransactions (remember when those were controversial?). There is so much to this game that I know for a fact that if I were to play it again, I would have a whole different experience, despite my 170 hours of playtime.
For example, I barely engaged with the crafting system in the game, and the few times I did use it, I found I could craft incredibly powerful armor.
The only thing really holding this game back is some quality of life for certain things. There are many small frustrations all over the game, and they can sometimes add up. You have an endlessly large inventory with things you need to keep "just in case" (after all, did you use that key yet or was that for something you'll need in the future?), but no search bar. Some characters especially in the town squares repeat the same voicelines way too quickly, truly making them feel like bots, and sometimes the combat can be quite frustrating because the game does not properly predict what will happen (it might say your move costs 1 AP, but it spends 2, meaning you can't afford to do your move). Furthermore, enemies sometimes just cheat. They straight up don't follow normal game mechanics like cooldown for moves, or they can't be stunned despite not having stun immunity, or they can't be targeted from where you're standing but they can target you. It can sometimes make the game feel frustrating. This is mixed with the game giving you very exciting abilities near the end, which you never get to use. For example, near the end I received a "Control Voidwoken" spell, but I only ever encountered Voidwoken twice after that point, which was a huge shame.
My main other gripe with the game, which is quite funny considering I spent 170 hours to beat the game, is that there isn't more of it. I really wanted more, and I wish they would spend more time to flesh out certain aspects of the game. You have seen and probably learned all the spells you will need by the time you're halfway through the game. I wish the game would let you discover more spells as you get stronger. Some spells also require you to multi class, but it's literally "ehh, put two points into this other class".
Some story elements also get glossed over a bit near the end. There is a huge voidwoken build up and attack, but you don't really see any voidwoken. They tease you with giant voicwoken you never get to fight, and you almost have to wonder what happened to them all considering theyre a world wide threat. A certain important story character you meet near the end of the game is also just... glossed over. You have one conversation with them, then you fight, then the game is over. For such an important character it is very weird that they get so little screen time. I wish there was more. And hopefully there will be more in a Divinity 3.
My gripes aside, this is still such a fantastic game, and Larian have shown that they are truly the masters of turn based RPGs. My dream Larian game would be a game with Divinity's combat, but with even more spells, mixed with Baldur's Gate's cinematic camera and quality of life features like a searchable inventory.
Needless to say, this game is absolutely fantastic, I recommend it to all.
This game absolutely blew my mind back when i played it back in 2019, it had so many possibilities and you could do whatever you wanted to in order to complete the quests, as killing important npcs or finding different ways to overcome the problems.
Everything was almost perfect, from the characters to the world.
I would have prefered a little more complexity in the builds, and the story could have been a little better, but those were only minor problems, and they also got solved in Larian's next game. Cheers.
Everything was almost perfect, from the characters to the world.
I would have prefered a little more complexity in the builds, and the story could have been a little better, but those were only minor problems, and they also got solved in Larian's next game. Cheers.
Fantastic stepping stone to Baldurs Gate 3. The story is very entertaining and the world they built is immersive. Game can be a little broken on higher difficulties (scaling gets a little silly in the late game) but a fun time solo or with friends. Soundtrack is a banger as well.
DISCLAIMER
I just finished the game for the first time, and while I acknowledge that I must not have done everything, I had a pretty good run. It could have been better, but I don't plan for it to be the only one.
This review is my fresh raw opinion of the game, just as I finished it.
TL;DR
This game has hands down the best and most entertaining combat system of the genre I've ever laid my hands upon. I'm not a person who enjoys turn-based combat, yet I loved fighting in this game! So getitgetitgetit, especially if you like a good RPG and a great turn-based combat system!
THE GOOD AND THE NOT-SO-GOOD
Now with that out of the way, I got into Divinity 2 thanks to a friend who wanted to play it and asked me to play through it together. I knew about Larian Studios but I've never played a game from them before. I had heard this was a great RPG title, but that's essentially all I knew, before purchasing it and going in full-blind while giving it a try.
I gotta say that, while we did have some idea of what we were getting into when it came to this type of game, we were not prepared for the length of it. We clocked in at 111h of co-op just for the first run in "Normal" - called "Classic" in the game - and we did get some hints during the run from some friends and sometimes checked the wiki when we were really stuck or before leaving a map.
This game features 6 "Origin Stories"; think of them as unique quests for each of these characters, all having their own motive and individual endings. Surprising but quite welcomed, the characters are fully dubbed! We went for Ifan and Fane, plus we recruited with us The Red Prince and Lohse.
The creation of the character doesn't allow you to change the characters too much and has no sliders whatsoever, but you can choose between a dozen faces/hairs/beards. Customization comes through especially with attributes and talents giving you a good start, added to the great selection of starting skills from your class, so you can already somewhat set an objective for your build right from the start.
The game has some really great design choices. For example, once the very lengthy introduction and 1st Act are finished you unlock the possibility to respec the character stats and change their appearance as many times as you want, which is great because by then we knew the game enough to have an idea of what to change and how we wanted to proceed going forward. The interactions with NPCs are amazing, for example, it's possible to steal from a merchant while a friend talks to them because, obviously, they're distracted. The game gives you constant choices and a lot of opportunities to build and approach situations the way you want, and it's just fun to play with different ideas! I do gotta say, the interaction with the world and your choices are astonishing, really. Your actions have consequences not just at the end of the game in a finale scene, but during the whole game and with various NPCs you'll meet in your journey.
Amidst the great ideas, there are also not-so-good ones, but I'll mention just a few that stood out to me. is such a strong talent that, when playing solo, it's almost a borderline no-brainer pick. In the last Act, we met enemies who could constantly resurrect thanks to x while being able to make more x, and that was really frustrating.
We played in Normal, and it gave us a decent challenge, but sometimes it felt a bit unfair. Two levels can make a huge difference for armor and weapon values, but that would also mean that we'd get destroyed just because a level 12 enemy stabbed us and we are a fresh level 11 with level 10 equipment.
I know the game is inspired by D&D, but on a gameplay level when you're on such a big map and you go a couple of meters ahead at level 11 you don't expect 12 to be completely impossible until you gear up, although on a lore level, it might be reasonable, at least not in Normal. Following that, I read Easy is just too easy, to the point we forced ourselves to continue in Normal even during hardships pulling out crazy strategies to go forward, and sometimes going around and checking the wiki just to be sure we did all fights and quests available in that area we could at that level, just to make sure we were at the highest level and had all equipment we could by that point.
The key for us was when we stopped using only loot we dropped from fights but started investing into buying stuff from merchants since they have some new items immediately when you level up, at your new level, so it's definitely something to keep in mind. Not as strong as something you drop, but when the difference between level 10 and 11 is a few hundred points in defense, it all adds up.
The design of the maps, story, and enemies is just stellar, with so many little details that it just felt like a very well-done campaign, and one I want to revisit. When it comes to story Acts they are very balanced getting more focused closer to the end, having most of the side content earlier in the game, that way there was no need to leave the main quest on pause!
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my hours on this game, and I'm looking forward to the future when I'll do a second and even third run!
It's great, and it could have been even more, but I wonder whether some things could have been even better or more polished thanks to a higher budget and some more time in the oven, but I guess we'll find out with Baldur's Gate 3. :^)
This wonderful title is 100% recommended by me, with a solid 8.9/10.
I just finished the game for the first time, and while I acknowledge that I must not have done everything, I had a pretty good run. It could have been better, but I don't plan for it to be the only one.
This review is my fresh raw opinion of the game, just as I finished it.
TL;DR
This game has hands down the best and most entertaining combat system of the genre I've ever laid my hands upon. I'm not a person who enjoys turn-based combat, yet I loved fighting in this game! So getitgetitgetit, especially if you like a good RPG and a great turn-based combat system!
THE GOOD AND THE NOT-SO-GOOD
Now with that out of the way, I got into Divinity 2 thanks to a friend who wanted to play it and asked me to play through it together. I knew about Larian Studios but I've never played a game from them before. I had heard this was a great RPG title, but that's essentially all I knew, before purchasing it and going in full-blind while giving it a try.
I gotta say that, while we did have some idea of what we were getting into when it came to this type of game, we were not prepared for the length of it. We clocked in at 111h of co-op just for the first run in "Normal" - called "Classic" in the game - and we did get some hints during the run from some friends and sometimes checked the wiki when we were really stuck or before leaving a map.
This game features 6 "Origin Stories"; think of them as unique quests for each of these characters, all having their own motive and individual endings. Surprising but quite welcomed, the characters are fully dubbed! We went for Ifan and Fane, plus we recruited with us The Red Prince and Lohse.
The creation of the character doesn't allow you to change the characters too much and has no sliders whatsoever, but you can choose between a dozen faces/hairs/beards. Customization comes through especially with attributes and talents giving you a good start, added to the great selection of starting skills from your class, so you can already somewhat set an objective for your build right from the start.
The game has some really great design choices. For example, once the very lengthy introduction and 1st Act are finished you unlock the possibility to respec the character stats and change their appearance as many times as you want, which is great because by then we knew the game enough to have an idea of what to change and how we wanted to proceed going forward. The interactions with NPCs are amazing, for example, it's possible to steal from a merchant while a friend talks to them because, obviously, they're distracted. The game gives you constant choices and a lot of opportunities to build and approach situations the way you want, and it's just fun to play with different ideas! I do gotta say, the interaction with the world and your choices are astonishing, really. Your actions have consequences not just at the end of the game in a finale scene, but during the whole game and with various NPCs you'll meet in your journey.
Amidst the great ideas, there are also not-so-good ones, but I'll mention just a few that stood out to me. is such a strong talent that, when playing solo, it's almost a borderline no-brainer pick. In the last Act, we met enemies who could constantly resurrect thanks to x while being able to make more x, and that was really frustrating.
We played in Normal, and it gave us a decent challenge, but sometimes it felt a bit unfair. Two levels can make a huge difference for armor and weapon values, but that would also mean that we'd get destroyed just because a level 12 enemy stabbed us and we are a fresh level 11 with level 10 equipment.
I know the game is inspired by D&D, but on a gameplay level when you're on such a big map and you go a couple of meters ahead at level 11 you don't expect 12 to be completely impossible until you gear up, although on a lore level, it might be reasonable, at least not in Normal. Following that, I read Easy is just too easy, to the point we forced ourselves to continue in Normal even during hardships pulling out crazy strategies to go forward, and sometimes going around and checking the wiki just to be sure we did all fights and quests available in that area we could at that level, just to make sure we were at the highest level and had all equipment we could by that point.
The key for us was when we stopped using only loot we dropped from fights but started investing into buying stuff from merchants since they have some new items immediately when you level up, at your new level, so it's definitely something to keep in mind. Not as strong as something you drop, but when the difference between level 10 and 11 is a few hundred points in defense, it all adds up.
The design of the maps, story, and enemies is just stellar, with so many little details that it just felt like a very well-done campaign, and one I want to revisit. When it comes to story Acts they are very balanced getting more focused closer to the end, having most of the side content earlier in the game, that way there was no need to leave the main quest on pause!
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my hours on this game, and I'm looking forward to the future when I'll do a second and even third run!
It's great, and it could have been even more, but I wonder whether some things could have been even better or more polished thanks to a higher budget and some more time in the oven, but I guess we'll find out with Baldur's Gate 3. :^)
This wonderful title is 100% recommended by me, with a solid 8.9/10.
Playtime: 14 minutes.
Breaking Point: the narrator describing the dwarf rubbing the coins in his beard while the model did not move. Just loudly broadcasting how much that game was not going to be for me with how luxurious the fantasy set piece actions & descriptions were going to be in the THREE DIMENSIONAL GRAPHICAL GAME.
Breaking Point: the narrator describing the dwarf rubbing the coins in his beard while the model did not move. Just loudly broadcasting how much that game was not going to be for me with how luxurious the fantasy set piece actions & descriptions were going to be in the THREE DIMENSIONAL GRAPHICAL GAME.