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.