Really enjoyed this. I wasn't an isometric RPG player but have been meaning to get into them for the longest time (Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, etc.). I was always interested in the Divinity series but I wanted to jump in at the very beginning. I was expecting a game that was really difficult to get into, especially because of dated mechanics. To my surprise, this couldn't be further from the case.

Straightforward aRPG combat, entertaining quests and writing with some great humour, a surprisingly large world filled with meaningful content, intuitive UI, and awesome music & atmosphere made this a genuine delight to play. Except for a couple of boss fights (damn you Josephina), this game is not brutally punishing but is actually quite fair with its progression (stats & skills) system. I did also experience a few crashes and quest bugs, but these are really minor in hindsight.

After playing this game, I'm even more excited to play the rest of Larian's games. You can already see how they're one of the best in the business here.

i generally don't like these sorts of isometric ARPGs but divine divinity is pretty fun, with the caveat that it's 20+ years old at this point and the jank you'd expect exists in absolute spades. story is alright but nothing particularly special, there are no companions and whatever character writing is there is pretty shallow. you'll absolutely need a guide to navigate some of the most confusingly-designed levels i've seen in literally any game ever, but... like, it's fun. it's really fun. if you only wanted to pick one game up from larian's pre-dos catalogue, i'd honestly pick this.