Divinity: Original Sin II - Review by Ye Old Entertainment

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Ye Old Entertainment reviews Divinity: Original Sin 2 in his series "Our Road to Baldur's Gate 3".

Divinity Original Sin 2 review: An RPG by the creators of Baldur's Gate 3. Worth playing in 2021?

Welcome to our Divinity Original Sin II Review, a game by the creators of Baldur's Gate III: Larian Studios. Divinity Original Sin 2 builds and overall gameplay revolutionized the world of RPGs. It's not perfect though and CRPG fans have some conflicting opinions, but herein lies ours.

Disclaimer: This is a computer RPG review, it's not meant to comment on Divinity Original Sin 2 builds or serve as guide, nor are the videos on these series meant to serve as comment on the the D&D ruleset or on how well the game implemented it in its mechanics. This review is for a non RPG specialized gamer who got hyped about Baldur's Gate III after watching the trailers and footage of BG3, someone who has maybe played Larian Studio's Divinity Original Sin II and wants more.

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Very nice review overall :)

I'm surprised he doesn't mention the AoE mess or the double-armour failed attempt at balancing the game, to me they're the main obstacle. But to each their own after all. On the other hand, he doesn't find the music that good while I find it remarkable, like the voice acting (except the looped dialogues ... like the town crier and the other lass nearby, ugh).
 
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"Divinity Original Sin 2 builds and overall gameplay revolutionized the world of RPGs. It's not perfect though and CRPG fans have some conflicting opinions, but herein lies ours."

I mean, DOS:2 has a 93 average score combining all the critic media of the world, and nothing ever since BG2 has come close to that (BG2 had 95 average score, DAO and BG come after with 91). CRPG fans come in all shapes and colours and will always find points of conflict, mostly down to nitpicky styles or preferences (RTwP vs TB, 4 party sizes vs 6 party sizes, etc), but as he announces himself as a non-RPG fan, and without intending to watch the video, I don't know what value he thinks his opinion has. Everything that ever had to be said about DOS:2 has already been said, by people who actually cared or had vast experience with the genre they were talking about. *shrug*
 
I've never even finished Divinity: Original Sin I or Divinity: Original Sin II. There I said it as both games can't even keep my attention long enough for me to finish them.:(
 
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I've never even finished Divinity: Original Sin I or Divinity: Original Sin II. There I said it as both games can't even keep my attention long enough for me to finish them.:(

You're not alone, and I know this site in particular has a large sequit of Larian-haters for some reason, especially since they got the BG IP. Which is funny when you consider at the same time there is an equally large sequit of fans of mediocre studios like Piranha Bites and similar companies that have showed nothing but clunky and disappointing products for the last 15 years. It is what it is.

That said, I appreciate that you couldn't finish it, I had trouble too because the game went on for too long it felt. I always have that problem with games that last more than 80-100 hours, and that's the reason for I never finished Fallout 4 or Skyrim either.

The reason I do manage to push myself with CRPGs like DOS, or more recently, Pathfinder WotR, is that the challenging turn-based combat in the higher difficulties alone works as an incentive. most other long games tend to become trivial past the halfway point when the character is a god amongst peasants and that's where I eventually drop it off.
 
but as he announces himself as a non-RPG fan, and without intending to watch the video, I don't know what value he thinks his opinion has. Everything that ever had to be said about DOS:2 has already been said, by people who actually cared or had vast experience with the genre they were talking about. *shrug*
Did he write that he's a non-RPG fan? From what I understood, he's a big fan of the genre, and his series confirms it beyond any doubt.

IMO he makes a few good points and it's interesting to compare opinions, but I saw that as a retrospective more than a review of a new game. Indeed a lot has already been said on D:OS2.

EDIT: I couldn't finish this game either, but I can't really give any good reason except other things got in the way. It's long, for sure. In any case, I had a lot of fun with it.
 
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Did he write that he's a non-RPG fan? From what I understood, he's a big fan of the genre, and his series confirms it beyond any doubt.

IMO he makes a few good points and it's interesting to compare opinions, but I saw that as a retrospective more than a review of a new game. Indeed a lot has already been said on D:OS2.

Maybe I missunderstood the preface of the video, and it means that the video is meant for non-RPG fans, rather than him being a non-RPG fan.

Either way, it's good to compare opinions. It's just too late for it to matter. DOS:2 already went down in history as the greatest CRPG since BG2, with no less than 10 points difference above, for example, PF:WotR both in critic and user score, however hard that may for some to digest.
 
Maybe I missunderstood the preface of the video, and it means that the video is meant for non-RPG fans, rather than him being a non-RPG fan.

Either way, it's good to compare opinions. It's just too late for it to matter. DOS:2 already went down in history as the greatest CRPG since BG2, with no less than 10 points difference above, for example, PF:WotR both in critic and user score, however hard that may for some to digest.
Yeah, I should probably have omitted that in the quote, it's hardly relevant.

Critics' scores don't make a game the best in its genre, those people mostly live in their bubble (and rush their review so it's out earlier than others) and sometimes their score happens to correspond to the reality. ;) But user's scores don't lie, it is a good game. Nevertheless, if so many players are divided on the question of Baldur's Gate 3 because of the way Divinity: Original Sin 2 was made, there must be something more to say about it.

So I think it's not too late, especially given his question related to the theme of his series, Baldur's Gate 3, and the evolution of CRPGs in general. He could have pressed this point further in the conclusion of his review though.
 
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Never finished the first. Completed the second and, while better than the first in terms of drawing you in, the pacing of the game is awful. Why does Act 2 comprise 75% of the game? And why does Act 3 feel so monumentally out of place and irrelevant?

Then there's the aforementioned armor system and map-wide bombs of area effects.

Larian's an ok developer but I think they are vastly overrated. I chalk it up to Sven being in the industry for so long that he's learned who to contact for press coverage of your game. So, kudos to him, but the games themselves are aimless and sloppy in various elements of their design.

I have yet to play BG3, but I imagine that the mechanics won't be the usual Larian slovenly mess, due to them having to adhere to at least a semblance of D&D rules. I have no such optimism for the story and pacing however.
 
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Yeah, I should probably have omitted that in the quote, it's hardly relevant.

Critics' scores don't make a game the best in its genre, those people mostly live in their bubble (and rush their review so it's out earlier than others) and sometimes their score happens to correspond to the reality. ;) But user's scores don't lie, it is a good game. Nevertheless, if so many players are divided on the question of Baldur's Gate 3 because of the way Divinity: Original Sin 2 was made, there must be something more to say about it.

So I think it's not too late, especially given his question related to the theme of his series, Baldur's Gate 3, and the evolution of CRPGs in general. He could have pressed this point further in the conclusion of his review though.

I take critics score with a pinch of salt, but even more so user scores, because they are biased by whether it's their favourite company that made the game or one of the writers is a misogynist, or the son of the CEO hit a pregnant woman with a car and give 0's and 10's arbitrarily with no hint of coherent thought. I like judging games for what I can see in the game, not the people who made it. if the game is awesome but it was made using illegal underaged Taiwanese labourers, then I may still choose not to buy it, but that while admitting that the game is actually very good and giving it the appropriate evaluation, or none at all, if I don't play it at all.

The combination of both critics and users, however, tells the better story, and when games are similar, that story tends to be more true than not.

I will also say that as much as I love DOS:2, I hope BG3 won't be DS:3. I trust it won't because it would be absurd if it was, and Larian would be dead to me. But I choose to believe in the better scenarios rather than the worst, which seems to be the trend. We will see either way.

Oh, and I will be sorely disappointed if BG3 racks up a 7.8 user score in Metacritic. Just saying.
 
I did not finish 1 but did finish 2. In general terms I thought both games were quite good, with a few issues from my perspective (and I appreciate these are highly subjective):

- Too long. This is a general complaint for me for any game. I personally find it hard to sustain interest in a game that might take 70 or 80 hours to complete - especially games that rely on narrative that feels stretched thin or padded.
- Tone. I found both games tone and constant thread of humour a pretty big turn off. I prefer games with a more adult, serious vibe to them - say "epic", but there was something about 1 and 2 that always made the games not feel epic to me, in spite of their length and themes.
- Combat. I thought the combat was generally ok except the fact that it often took far too long. Too many battles dragged on and became utter slogs. This is maybe my biggest gripe and something I wish Larian would look harder at - and at other games that do it better like the Xcoms or more recently, Wasteland 3.
 
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The D:OS games are pretty good, but they're not as good as most Super Mario titles.

That's a fact because most Super Mario games have higher metascores than D:OS II or any other game mentioned in this thread. ;)
 
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The combination of both critics and users, however, tells the better story, and when the games are similar, that story tends to be more true than not.

I knew that post would ruffle some feathers. It feels good.

Unfortunately, sarcasm fails where reading comprehension succeeds.

Sarcasm is fun debating tool I appreciate, but only when the interlocutor has a clue of how to use it and doesn't debunk himself in his own statement.
 
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I really enjoyed the first Divinity: Original Sin, couldn't stand the second one. The first game seemed, to me, quite well balanced and fun, the second wildly unbalanced and not at all entertaining. I don't dismiss the studio entirely, I'm just hopeful for better games in the future, for me their superior games were, to this date, made before the Original Sin duo.
 
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Indeed, there are certainly some ruffled feathers here, and it's easy to see who's emotionally invested. :)

I don't know how old are you, but where I live kids stopped pretending to be tough and calling girls emotional to win arguments only in their own mind, after being blatantly exposed. It's not only childish, it's also sexist.

But hey, man. Whatever works for you. Don't let nobody judge you.
 
uh.. ok. Anyhow I liked D:OS quite a bit but still didn't finish it. And although I appreciate the accomplishment and fans thereof for the second game, I really wasn't into it. I did like all the Divinity games leading up to that point though and played them all extensively.
 
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I didn't enjoy the game for these three reasons :

1. Over-annoying area effect spells.
2. The two-armor system that made combat overly long.
3. That silly equipment system where the stuff in the shop auto-level whenever you gain a new level.

I can understand why some people like this game. But for me, it quickly became a chore, even before the end of chapter one. The story was interesting and it was certainly well voiced, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.
 
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I didn't enjoy the game for these three reasons :

1. Over-annoying area effect spells.
2. The two-armor system that made combat overly long.
3. That silly equipment system where the stuff in the shop auto-level whenever you gain a new level.

I can understand why some people like this game. But for me, it quickly became a chore, even before the end of chapter one. The story was interesting and it was certainly well voiced, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

I saw 2 and 3 as flaws too, but I could live with them because of how fun combat was, and honestly, I was into the plot too. While light-hearted and silly humor-ridden, I enjoyed getting through the storyline.

Your 1. I loved. It gets brought up often as one of DOS negatives, so it's not like your opinion is a rarity, but I simply loved those elemental chain reactions. I do hope they are a bit less spectacular in BG3, but it's funny how something that's a selling point for some people, it's a detriment for others.
 
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