Although the consoles have loads of games that players can play, there has always been one area they have been lacking in, which is the traditional RPG genre. While the PC has had its Wastelands or Jagged Alliances, consoles have mostly missed out on equal strategic RPG experiences, mainly due to control limitations, so it is curious to see whether Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition comes with similar issues. As you can imagine, Original Sin 2 is a sequel that takes place ages after the first one, starting you off in captivity due to your fantastical abilities. One thing leads to another in the no holds barred opening and you find yourself on a prison island. From here the game gives you total freedom to shape the story and characters how you want, and I do mean freedom.
With how much choice there is, I spent a good chunk of the game avoiding conflict as much as I could, and I was successful most of the time, only failing due to my short-sightedness or lack of patience for some individuals. Now, although you can totally create your own character with its own background, you can also pick from pre-made protagonists who do get extra dialogue choices during gameplay moments that are more reflective of their past and personality, allowing even those who like playing as pre-made characters a choice.
You can form a party with the protagonists you do not choose though, who are stuck on the island initially just like you, and they will follow you around. In fact, you can even switch between them during opportune moments as they may have a different insight onto different obstacles. Same thing goes for the combat where different characters have different strengths, so it is wise to really think about changing between characters. So as you can imagine, there is a lot of choice.
Now speaking of choice, a lot of people like me may feel it a bit daunting to be given so many options, especially if you only tend to play the more mainstream or indie games, as it can easily lead to unintended outcomes, especially if you don’t have time to really explore the worlds you are given, as you may miss out on certain clues or hints to help you progress in-game, and although completion or more seasoned RPG veterans may appreciate this, it may also prevent you from fully getting on-board with the game.
However, the good thing is, the game’s world and stories are so interesting and full of different paths that it is hard not to get on board. Every NPC and quest you will come across will be quite interesting that you’d want to see it to the end. For example one of the first quests you can choose to partake on is in helping someone find their missing kid, however when you actually find out what happened to the kid, you are given some really tough choices that make you think. A lot of the game is similar in fashion with hard-hitting choices and interesting outcomes. The game truly is huge with 100’s of hours of content.
In terms of learning curve, I will admit, even though I grew up playing games like Wasteland and the first two Fallout games, these days I seldom get time to play them due to how much of learning they can take, and there is no doubt about it that Original Sin 2 does take a bit to learn as well. However, everything is done piecemeal and you can always take things at your pace which is the best thing about it, and when you consider the freedom available you can truly play it your way.
It is the combat that will mainly take you some time to get used to as it is turn-based and full of different possibilities, buffs, attributes and abilities, bringing it very close to a tabletop RPG experience. Still, if you try and play like how I did, you may have clever workarounds for the conflicts you face.
The main reservation I had from the Definitive Edition on the Xbox One was that it felt a little cumbersome controlling certain UI elements with a controller. I have tried the PC version before and with that you could easily use mouse and get contextual information by just bringing your mouse over certain items or people. However, here you are thrown into a few different menus that do take a bit of time to get used to, especially when it comes to inventory and UI management.
Still all in all, Divinity: Original Sins 2 Definitive Edition is easily a must play game that comes with hours and hours of content and interesting stories that you help shape along the way with a character that develops how you want them to. It is a classic RPG experience with a lot of updated designs of today that everyone should definitely give a try.