[X] Singleplayer
[X] Multiplayer
[ ] MMORPG

The Game can be played alone or in coop with up to 3 other people. If you play alone, you can decide if you still want to play with 3 companions or a single more powerful character. If you chose companions you can control them yourself or let AI take over in fights.

[ ] has no story
[ ] not interesting/important
[ ] decent story
[ ] good story
[X] excellent storytelling / emotional rollercoaster

The story is what elevates this game from so many other good RPGs. From the beginning on the story is intriguing and motives to continue playing.
Rarely does a game provide so much backround, emotion and depth to so many aspects of this world.
The quality of storytelling gets only better as the game progresses and you start to really care for the fate of every single character. This is the first time I've hesitated to kill off villains in a videogame.
Dialogues / Interactions with characters and the world are told like a book. There is no visual action besides standing next to each other but every character as well as the narrator are voiced and they do an excellent job. This is also not Skyrim where roughly every third character has the same voice.
The quests are not simply designed with typical main- and sidequests. You have a general goal you want to achieve but no clue on how to get to it. You need to speak with others, do favors and explore to find different ways to progress. You never know if a quest just grants you a bit of gold or plays a major role for the fate of Rivellon.

[ ] strict course of the story, nothing can be changed
[ ] few possible decisions that mark some character qualities or minor changes in the story
[X] many possible decisions that change the course or provide a different ending

Many games advertise decisions as a huge feature of their game but Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the first to actually do it right. The decisions you make further affect the story so you always think twice before everything you say and do. As mentioned before, there are different paths to reach your goal and different outcomes based on your decisions.
Those you insult will continue to defy you and characters you kill will stay permanantly dead - good or bad alike. This also motives to do a complete opposite run and play the villain.

[ ] following a strict path in every level
[ ] some diversity in level design / not always single route
[X] very complex / open world

The game is open world and extremely detailed in every corner of it. You can spend hours exploring every little detail and searching every barrel on your journy. It will almost never not be rewarded with more quests, more information or additional rewards.

[ ] veryshort (<10h)
[ ] short (10-20h)
[ ] meehh... (20-50h)
[ ] long (50-100h)
[X] very long (>100h)
[ ] endless

This is a really long game and it took me over 100h to complete while doing most side quests. Divinity: Original Sin 2 also has a high replayability since you can approach everything in so many different ways or play on honour mode.

[X] very easy
[X] doable for everybody
[X] might be challenging
[X] very hard
[X] Dark Souls hard

This very much depends on which of the 4 difficulty you choose. There is also an additional honour mode for a single life run through - some games would call it hardcore.
Therefore it ranges from being able to complete it half asleep on Story Mode to Tactician Mode where you'll bite your teeth out, quick-save after every step and redo fights multiple times.

[X] relies purely on skill
[ ] need to invest some time, but skill will help
[ ] a lot of grinding
[ ] lock yourself up in the basement

Every quests feels different from the previous and no tasks need to be done multiple times.
The better you are, the less time needs to be spend on side missions. Although there are boss-fights that will force you to level up more and come back later, this is all done by simply playing the game and it never gets tedious.
The combat is turn-based so the fights rely on tactical thinking rather than physical skill. This is quite uncommon in an RPG but since there's a huge amount of skills and items, it's never stale and far from easy

[ ] same thing over and over again
[ ] sometimes a little monotonous
[X] a lot of different things to do
[ ] Surprise Motherf***er!

Divinity is not GTA where you throw in a round of golf or blackjack after a long day of hitting civilians with your car.
It doesn't invent anything new. And it doesn't need to. The game surpasses other RPG series that have been around for decades in many aspects. The storytelling is where it shines and it's diversified enough to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.

[ ] none
[ ] few possible changes
[ ] a lot of ways to upgrade/design your character
[X] essential for the game

The game lets you create your own character or choose one of the important NPCs in the game. I would highly recommend using one of the fixed characters for an even more complex story.
The customization of talent points, skills and attributes has hardly any limits and is not bound to a specific class. Every character can potentially use any item and you'll rather build your own class by combining different types of skills.
During later parts of the game you can reset all talent points and choose a completely different path. The same customization works for any companion you choose to take along.

[X] few buttons
[ ] might need some time to get used to
[ ] complex
[ ] wait... which button again?

The controls in Divinity: Original Sin 2 are very easy. As I mentioned, the turn-based combat is very complex but gives you unlimited time to plan your next move.
As I got more and more skills, I stopped binding them to hotkeys and just used the hotbar to click on them. The game can essentially be played with mouse only.

[ ] complete garbage
[ ] not THAT great
[ ] looks nice sometimes
[X] good graphics but nothing special
[ ] beautiful
[ ] jaw dropping

The graphics are good but nothing you haven't seen before. It will run on older PCs and and the visuals are sort of limited due to the bird-view the game is played in.
The world is very detailed though and you won't ever feel like something is missing or looking misplaced. Special effects are satisfying. The graphics don't need to excel when every stone is placed with caution and purpose.

[ ] none
[ ] my ears are bleeding...
[ ] I'll just listen to my own music
[ ] can be quite nice
[X] absolutely beautiful

The soundtracking is quite beautiful and always fits the situation and dialogue. Due to the length of the game it does get a bit repetitive the longer you play but I never felt annoyed by it.

[ ] boring
[ ] looks good
[X] stunning

The combination of world detail and soundtrack makes for a perfect atmosphere. Cities feel like they are actually populated and corpse-filled dungeons achieve to give you oppresive and creepy vibes.

[ ] paid DLCs
[ ] free DLCs
[X] no DLCs

No DLCs, no hidden pay-walls, no in game transactions. You purchase the game and get the full experience.


Divinity: Original Sin 2 will set a milestone for future RPGs as well as other genres. The storytelling is the best I've ever played and the gameplay is fun. The complexity will often leave you with a sense of "What if?" and make you replay certain areas if not the whole game. The coop option also makes this the perfect game to play together with friends.
I wasn't entirely sure before purchase - now I regret not buying it earlier.

[h1]Player(s)[/h1] [X] Singleplayer [X] Multiplayer [ ] MMORPG The Game can be played alone or in coop with up to 3 other people. If you play alone, you can decide if you still want to play with 3 companions or a single more powerful character. If you chose companions you can control them yourself or let AI take over in fights. [h1]Story(telling)[/h1] [ ] has no story [ ] not interesting/important [ ] decent story [ ] good story [X] excellent storytelling / emotional rollercoaster The story is what elevates this game from so many other good RPGs. From the beginning on the story is intriguing and motives to continue playing. Rarely does a game provide so much backround, emotion and depth to so many aspects of this world. The quality of storytelling gets only better as the game progresses and you start to really care for the fate of every single character. This is the first time I've hesitated to kill off villains in a videogame. Dialogues / Interactions with characters and the world are told like a book. There is no visual action besides standing next to each other but every character as well as the narrator are voiced and they do an excellent job. This is also not Skyrim where roughly every third character has the same voice. The quests are not simply designed with typical main- and sidequests. You have a general goal you want to achieve but no clue on how to get to it. You need to speak with others, do favors and explore to find different ways to progress. You never know if a quest just grants you a bit of gold or plays a major role for the fate of Rivellon. [h1]Decisions / Influence on the story[/h1] [ ] strict course of the story, nothing can be changed [ ] few possible decisions that mark some character qualities or minor changes in the story [X] many possible decisions that change the course or provide a different ending Many games advertise decisions as a huge feature of their game but Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the first to actually do it right. The decisions you make further affect the story so you always think twice before everything you say and do. As mentioned before, there are different paths to reach your goal and different outcomes based on your decisions. Those you insult will continue to defy you and characters you kill will stay permanantly dead - good or bad alike. This also motives to do a complete opposite run and play the villain. [h1]Level Design[/h1] [ ] following a strict path in every level [ ] some diversity in level design / not always single route [X] very complex / open world The game is open world and extremely detailed in every corner of it. You can spend hours exploring every little detail and searching every barrel on your journy. It will almost never not be rewarded with more quests, more information or additional rewards. [h1]Long term motivation / play time[/h1] [ ] veryshort (<10h) [ ] short (10-20h) [ ] meehh... (20-50h) [ ] long (50-100h) [X] very long (>100h) [ ] endless This is a really long game and it took me over 100h to complete while doing most side quests. Divinity: Original Sin 2 also has a high replayability since you can approach everything in so many different ways or play on honour mode. [h1]Difficulty[/h1] [X] very easy [X] doable for everybody [X] might be challenging [X] very hard [X] Dark Souls hard This very much depends on which of the 4 difficulty you choose. There is also an additional honour mode for a single life run through - some games would call it hardcore. Therefore it ranges from being able to complete it half asleep on Story Mode to Tactician Mode where you'll bite your teeth out, quick-save after every step and redo fights multiple times. [h1]Time investment / Grind[/h1] [X] relies purely on skill [ ] need to invest some time, but skill will help [ ] a lot of grinding [ ] lock yourself up in the basement Every quests feels different from the previous and no tasks need to be done multiple times. The better you are, the less time needs to be spend on side missions. Although there are boss-fights that will force you to level up more and come back later, this is all done by simply playing the game and it never gets tedious. The combat is turn-based so the fights rely on tactical thinking rather than physical skill. This is quite uncommon in an RPG but since there's a huge amount of skills and items, it's never stale and far from easy [h1]Diversity[/h1] [ ] same thing over and over again [ ] sometimes a little monotonous [X] a lot of different things to do [ ] Surprise Motherf***er! Divinity is not GTA where you throw in a round of golf or blackjack after a long day of hitting civilians with your car. It doesn't invent anything new. And it doesn't need to. The game surpasses other RPG series that have been around for decades in many aspects. The storytelling is where it shines and it's diversified enough to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. [h1]Characters customization[/h1] [ ] none [ ] few possible changes [ ] a lot of ways to upgrade/design your character [X] essential for the game The game lets you create your own character or choose one of the important NPCs in the game. I would highly recommend using one of the fixed characters for an even more complex story. The customization of talent points, skills and attributes has hardly any limits and is not bound to a specific class. Every character can potentially use any item and you'll rather build your own class by combining different types of skills. During later parts of the game you can reset all talent points and choose a completely different path. The same customization works for any companion you choose to take along. [h1]Controls[/h1] [X] few buttons [ ] might need some time to get used to [ ] complex [ ] wait... which button again? The controls in Divinity: Original Sin 2 are very easy. As I mentioned, the turn-based combat is very complex but gives you unlimited time to plan your next move. As I got more and more skills, I stopped binding them to hotkeys and just used the hotbar to click on them. The game can essentially be played with mouse only. [h1]Graphics[/h1] [ ] complete garbage [ ] not THAT great [ ] looks nice sometimes [X] good graphics but nothing special [ ] beautiful [ ] jaw dropping The graphics are good but nothing you haven't seen before. It will run on older PCs and and the visuals are sort of limited due to the bird-view the game is played in. The world is very detailed though and you won't ever feel like something is missing or looking misplaced. Special effects are satisfying. The graphics don't need to excel when every stone is placed with caution and purpose. [h1]Music / Soundtrack[/h1] [ ] none [ ] my ears are bleeding... [ ] I'll just listen to my own music [ ] can be quite nice [X] absolutely beautiful The soundtracking is quite beautiful and always fits the situation and dialogue. Due to the length of the game it does get a bit repetitive the longer you play but I never felt annoyed by it. [h1]Atmosphere[/h1] [ ] boring [ ] looks good [X] stunning The combination of world detail and soundtrack makes for a perfect atmosphere. Cities feel like they are actually populated and corpse-filled dungeons achieve to give you oppresive and creepy vibes. [h1]DLCs[/h1] [ ] paid DLCs [ ] free DLCs [X] no DLCs No DLCs, no hidden pay-walls, no in game transactions. You purchase the game and get the full experience. [h1]Personal thoughts[/h1] Divinity: Original Sin 2 will set a milestone for future RPGs as well as other genres. The storytelling is the best I've ever played and the gameplay is fun. The complexity will often leave you with a sense of "What if?" and make you replay certain areas if not the whole game. The coop option also makes this the perfect game to play together with friends. I wasn't entirely sure before purchase - now I regret not buying it earlier.