Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

Special edition of a tactical role-playing game with turn-based battles in a fantasy setting for modern consoles. The game is fully adapted for gamepad control and features a number of graphical and gameplay innovations. Unlike the original, the sequel implements cooperative play for four players in a turn-based manner when it comes to the combat system. The game also features a completely open world with full freedom — go where you want, kill whom you want, the role-playing system will accommodate it.

Top-down RPG Divinity: Original Sin 2 is more interesting and expansive than the first part, developing an unconventional turn-based gameplay for role-playing games. An extensive combat system, excellent dialogues, well-thought-out characters, and plot — these are its strong points. They are complemented by good animation, colorful magic effects, and excellent graphics. Original Sin 2 holds the title of the best role-playing game of 2017.

All games in the series take place in the fictional world of Rivellon, where disasters often occur due to warring Gods and Demons or conflicting fantasy races. Original Sin 2 expands the franchise's world with new locations. Instead of an open world, there are well-developed locations ranging from small to huge, between which the player can move in a Diablo-like manner. The hero travels a lot, visiting cities and villages, fields and forests, mountains and dungeons, peeking into taverns and moving on ships.

The events of the sequel unfold a thousand years after the original, chronologically continuing Beyond Divinity, but not in terms of plot. In Rivellon, there is another catastrophe: all the Gods have weakened, and due to Source magic, monsters from the Void have invaded the world and are set to destroy all living things. Panic reigns. Church magisters capture everyone who has come into contact with Source magic and send them to a prison island built by Emperor Alexander, son of Lucian the Divine. There, a ritual is performed to extract magic, which completely erases the personality.

The imprisoned main character sails to the island, but the ship is attacked by Void monsters that have sensed Source magic. Taking advantage of this, the hero escapes. The task is simple: save the world and restore balance between Good and Evil. Companions will help in this, whom he will meet along the way. They can be recruited into his party.

The plot features many characters, different factions, and events. The story captivates with its presentation, well-thought-out plot twists, and quality intrigues. In the plot, it is impossible to make everyone happy; every decision made will please some and disappoint others.

In Original Sin 2, there are many playable races: humans, elves, and dwarves, their undead versions, as well as lizard-dinosaurs; the choice will influence the style of combat and communication. There are 14 classes available, most of which are magical, and each class is unique enough to solve problems differently.

Any character in the game has qualities, such as intelligence or strength, and as they level up, the hero becomes stronger, skillsthat allow the use of various weapons, as well as abilitiesthat enable the character to deliver special attacks or cast spells.

Thanks to this variety, each character turns out to be different, providing a unique experience with each playthrough. For the story, it doesn't matter who you choose; they will still be a Hero, but the combination of race, class, and character traits gives them maximum individuality.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 can be played alone or with a group of four friends. The latter is more interesting, as characters respond simultaneously in dialogues, can argue, joke, and tease each other. Battles become faster and more dynamic, increasing the difficulty and quality of dropped items.

In any case, the campaign has a lot of text presented through observations, dialogues, and a journal. Often, information is provided through a narrator from the outside, while everything else is spoken by characters during dialogues, where you can also ask clarifying questions. All of this will be useful for completing quests. The experience gained is spent on character development.

Turn-based gameplay is the main feature of the game. Party members and enemies have action points that are spent on movement, using abilities, attacking, and defending. During battles, you go first, followed by the opponent. As in all classic RPGs, there is friendly fire, many combined effects, and a well-thought-out damage calculation system. Party members must compensate for each other's weaknesses and act cohesively to achieve victory.