Lots of text, lots of possibilities. Classic role-playing games are quickly overwhelming. But Alex is glad he gave Divinity: Original Sin 2 a chance.
Sometimes you get life so wrong that it almost hurts. At the young age of 24, I”ve had this feeling far too often – I can easily do a 4 in maths, I can climb this tree with no problem and I”m sure my hair won”t fall out as fast as my dad”s are just a few of them. My most recent pain point, however, was years of assuming that old-fashioned role-playing games weren”t for me … ouch.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 has proved me wrong, though. On the one hand, of course, I”m delighted to have found the enthusiasm for yet another genre, but on the other hand, I can see all those years in front of my mind”s eye when I scorned Baldur”s Gate and co. So a little appeal to all the role-playing game muffleheads out there: give Divinity a chance!
Right now is an ideal opportunity to get the game: Thanks to the Steam sale (Divinity: Original Sin 2 costs just under 18 Euro, 60 percent less than the full price. If you prefer to be convinced by moving pictures, you should definitely watch our test video:
All beginnings are hard
It was by no means love at first sight. made me curious about the release, but I was still sceptical. A huge range of ways to customize your character sounds cool, but that”s an almost constant phrase in video games.
But with Divinity it doesn”t just sound nice, it”s also bloody fun! Whether I want to talk to animals, engage in cannibalism as an elf to see the last thoughts of the deceased, or wear the skin shreds of my victims as an undead to avoid being recognised: There”s just so much cool stuff to try.
Despite this, my first playthrough was barely five hours long. My mistake: I played it in co-op. Fatal thing, after the first evening of play we were still on the beginner”s island and by the time we found the time again, all knowledge about the game and thus the desire was already gone. That”s what happens when you play with friends who have something like a life! Personally, I never thought much of the concept.
Admittedly, the first failure was not only due to the abstinence of my playing partner: After a hard day at work, long dialogues are not necessarily the easiest fare. Whenever we both had time, we reverted to familiar games. And yes, the iso-perspective is and remains just not the most palatable for me.
To a new
So time passed, Divinity went back in the bin after all and … luckily that wasn”t the end of the story! I don”t know why, but a few months ago I was overcome by an incredible surge of motivation to give Divinity another chance. I literally fought my way through the first few hours, recalled the mechanics and at some point it suddenly clicked. Imagine a training montage with music from Rocky – including the steel body, of course.
The story, the game world, the turn-based combat system, the sheer endless possibilities! Suddenly, there was hardly any effort left to fire up Divinity even after the most exhausting days.
But in return, the inner pain returned: when am I supposed to play all the missed titles like the Baldur”s Gate series? After all, I”m not even all the way through Divinity yet – and actually, after my elven cannibal, I”d like to then start two new scores with an undead lizard and a dwarven mage. 24 hours is simply too little for one day.
But I don”t want to complain too much: I could have given Divinity another chance 20 years from now. By then, I”m sure I would have made a few dozen other painful mistakes.
Apparently I”m not the only one who”s discovering oldschool role-playing games now.
Which titles do you regret not having played before? Feel free to post it in the comments, I”m curious!
