DISCLAIMER
I just finished the game for the first time, and while I acknowledge that I must not have done everything, I had a pretty good run. It could have been better, but I don't plan for it to be the only one.
This review is my fresh raw opinion of the game, just as I finished it.
TL;DR
This game has hands down the best and most entertaining combat system of the genre I've ever laid my hands upon. I'm not a person who enjoys turn-based combat, yet I loved fighting in this game! So getitgetitgetit, especially if you like a good RPG and a great turn-based combat system!
THE GOOD AND THE NOT-SO-GOOD
Now with that out of the way, I got into Divinity 2 thanks to a friend who wanted to play it and asked me to play through it together. I knew about Larian Studios but I've never played a game from them before. I had heard this was a great RPG title, but that's essentially all I knew, before purchasing it and going in full-blind while giving it a try.
I gotta say that, while we did have some idea of what we were getting into when it came to this type of game, we were not prepared for the length of it. We clocked in at 111h of co-op just for the first run in "Normal" - called "Classic" in the game - and we did get some hints during the run from some friends and sometimes checked the wiki when we were really stuck or before leaving a map.
This game features 6 "Origin Stories"; think of them as unique quests for each of these characters, all having their own motive and individual endings. Surprising but quite welcomed, the characters are fully dubbed! We went for Ifan and Fane, plus we recruited with us The Red Prince and Lohse.
The creation of the character doesn't allow you to change the characters too much and has no sliders whatsoever, but you can choose between a dozen faces/hairs/beards. Customization comes through especially with attributes and talents giving you a good start, added to the great selection of starting skills from your class, so you can already somewhat set an objective for your build right from the start.
The game has some really great design choices. For example, once the very lengthy introduction and 1st Act are finished you unlock the possibility to respec the character stats and change their appearance as many times as you want, which is great because by then we knew the game enough to have an idea of what to change and how we wanted to proceed going forward. The interactions with NPCs are amazing, for example, it's possible to steal from a merchant while a friend talks to them because, obviously, they're distracted. The game gives you constant choices and a lot of opportunities to build and approach situations the way you want, and it's just fun to play with different ideas! I do gotta say, the interaction with the world and your choices are astonishing, really. Your actions have consequences not just at the end of the game in a finale scene, but during the whole game and with various NPCs you'll meet in your journey.
Amidst the great ideas, there are also not-so-good ones, but I'll mention just a few that stood out to me. is such a strong talent that, when playing solo, it's almost a borderline no-brainer pick. In the last Act, we met enemies who could constantly resurrect thanks to x while being able to make more x, and that was really frustrating.
We played in Normal, and it gave us a decent challenge, but sometimes it felt a bit unfair. Two levels can make a huge difference for armor and weapon values, but that would also mean that we'd get destroyed just because a level 12 enemy stabbed us and we are a fresh level 11 with level 10 equipment.
I know the game is inspired by D&D, but on a gameplay level when you're on such a big map and you go a couple of meters ahead at level 11 you don't expect 12 to be completely impossible until you gear up, although on a lore level, it might be reasonable, at least not in Normal. Following that, I read Easy is just too easy, to the point we forced ourselves to continue in Normal even during hardships pulling out crazy strategies to go forward, and sometimes going around and checking the wiki just to be sure we did all fights and quests available in that area we could at that level, just to make sure we were at the highest level and had all equipment we could by that point.
The key for us was when we stopped using only loot we dropped from fights but started investing into buying stuff from merchants since they have some new items immediately when you level up, at your new level, so it's definitely something to keep in mind. Not as strong as something you drop, but when the difference between level 10 and 11 is a few hundred points in defense, it all adds up.
The design of the maps, story, and enemies is just stellar, with so many little details that it just felt like a very well-done campaign, and one I want to revisit. When it comes to story Acts they are very balanced getting more focused closer to the end, having most of the side content earlier in the game, that way there was no need to leave the main quest on pause!
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my hours on this game, and I'm looking forward to the future when I'll do a second and even third run!
It's great, and it could have been even more, but I wonder whether some things could have been even better or more polished thanks to a higher budget and some more time in the oven, but I guess we'll find out with Baldur's Gate 3. :^)
This wonderful title is 100% recommended by me, with a solid 8.9/10.
I just finished the game for the first time, and while I acknowledge that I must not have done everything, I had a pretty good run. It could have been better, but I don't plan for it to be the only one.
This review is my fresh raw opinion of the game, just as I finished it.
TL;DR
This game has hands down the best and most entertaining combat system of the genre I've ever laid my hands upon. I'm not a person who enjoys turn-based combat, yet I loved fighting in this game! So getitgetitgetit, especially if you like a good RPG and a great turn-based combat system!
THE GOOD AND THE NOT-SO-GOOD
Now with that out of the way, I got into Divinity 2 thanks to a friend who wanted to play it and asked me to play through it together. I knew about Larian Studios but I've never played a game from them before. I had heard this was a great RPG title, but that's essentially all I knew, before purchasing it and going in full-blind while giving it a try.
I gotta say that, while we did have some idea of what we were getting into when it came to this type of game, we were not prepared for the length of it. We clocked in at 111h of co-op just for the first run in "Normal" - called "Classic" in the game - and we did get some hints during the run from some friends and sometimes checked the wiki when we were really stuck or before leaving a map.
This game features 6 "Origin Stories"; think of them as unique quests for each of these characters, all having their own motive and individual endings. Surprising but quite welcomed, the characters are fully dubbed! We went for Ifan and Fane, plus we recruited with us The Red Prince and Lohse.
The creation of the character doesn't allow you to change the characters too much and has no sliders whatsoever, but you can choose between a dozen faces/hairs/beards. Customization comes through especially with attributes and talents giving you a good start, added to the great selection of starting skills from your class, so you can already somewhat set an objective for your build right from the start.
The game has some really great design choices. For example, once the very lengthy introduction and 1st Act are finished you unlock the possibility to respec the character stats and change their appearance as many times as you want, which is great because by then we knew the game enough to have an idea of what to change and how we wanted to proceed going forward. The interactions with NPCs are amazing, for example, it's possible to steal from a merchant while a friend talks to them because, obviously, they're distracted. The game gives you constant choices and a lot of opportunities to build and approach situations the way you want, and it's just fun to play with different ideas! I do gotta say, the interaction with the world and your choices are astonishing, really. Your actions have consequences not just at the end of the game in a finale scene, but during the whole game and with various NPCs you'll meet in your journey.
Amidst the great ideas, there are also not-so-good ones, but I'll mention just a few that stood out to me. is such a strong talent that, when playing solo, it's almost a borderline no-brainer pick. In the last Act, we met enemies who could constantly resurrect thanks to x while being able to make more x, and that was really frustrating.
We played in Normal, and it gave us a decent challenge, but sometimes it felt a bit unfair. Two levels can make a huge difference for armor and weapon values, but that would also mean that we'd get destroyed just because a level 12 enemy stabbed us and we are a fresh level 11 with level 10 equipment.
I know the game is inspired by D&D, but on a gameplay level when you're on such a big map and you go a couple of meters ahead at level 11 you don't expect 12 to be completely impossible until you gear up, although on a lore level, it might be reasonable, at least not in Normal. Following that, I read Easy is just too easy, to the point we forced ourselves to continue in Normal even during hardships pulling out crazy strategies to go forward, and sometimes going around and checking the wiki just to be sure we did all fights and quests available in that area we could at that level, just to make sure we were at the highest level and had all equipment we could by that point.
The key for us was when we stopped using only loot we dropped from fights but started investing into buying stuff from merchants since they have some new items immediately when you level up, at your new level, so it's definitely something to keep in mind. Not as strong as something you drop, but when the difference between level 10 and 11 is a few hundred points in defense, it all adds up.
The design of the maps, story, and enemies is just stellar, with so many little details that it just felt like a very well-done campaign, and one I want to revisit. When it comes to story Acts they are very balanced getting more focused closer to the end, having most of the side content earlier in the game, that way there was no need to leave the main quest on pause!
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my hours on this game, and I'm looking forward to the future when I'll do a second and even third run!
It's great, and it could have been even more, but I wonder whether some things could have been even better or more polished thanks to a higher budget and some more time in the oven, but I guess we'll find out with Baldur's Gate 3. :^)
This wonderful title is 100% recommended by me, with a solid 8.9/10.