I must admit, Divinity: Original Sin snuck up on me. Here I was thinking I’d have to survive all of Summer without a quality RPG to play. Boy was I wrong.
Not only is Divinity: Original Sin one of the most surprising games of the year, it’s an RPG that is bound to affect the genre as a whole. It’s accomplished so much with so little, and if you enjoy RPGs you need to give it a look.
We’ve compiled a list of 5 reasons that Divinity: Original Sin is not only the best in the series, but deserves your attention. Check out the gallery below.
5 Reasons You Need to Check Out Divinity: Original Sin If You Enjoy RPGs
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It's a cRPG revival
Some gamers are already referring to Divinity: Original Sin as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 2. It certainly has all the elements that made cRPGs in the 1990s and early 20th century overwhelmingly compelling; you explore environments, take part in an epic storyline, and make impactful decisions along the way. However, it has modern qualities that bring it up to today's standards making it much more than just a nostalgic experience.
The game looks absolutely stunning with outstanding visuals and inarguably the best user interface the genre has ever seen. It also has dynamic dialog that allows you to foster relationships with qualities of your choosing, forging personalities for each character in your party. The dialog system in and of itself makes reading all that characters have to say well worth it even for gamers who ususually skip text.
It isn't easy to modernize what many consider a dated genre, but Divinity: Original Sin has accomplished it with flying colors.
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Tactical, turn-based combat done right
I keep hearing that big development studios, including the Final Fantasy team at Square Enix, are struggling to come up with compelling new combat systems. Let me tell you, those juggernauts may have all the money in thie world, but they have been bested by a smaller team.
Divinity: Original Sin has some of the best combat I've experienced in an RPG in a long, long time. It has some of the flair of SRPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre with percentages, unit placement, and tons of abilities making it feel like an RPG form of chess. However, it takes place in full 3D within the same environments you traverse. It requires thought and planning, two things that make RPG combat fun in the long-term.
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A bold adventure you can share with friends
If you read forums, you'll find a lot of people who have already invested over 25 hours into Divinity: Original Sin and haven't even left the first main hub. It's a game with well over 100 hours in content.
Made better, you can begin your game in multiplayer mode, allowing you and a friend to go through the entire experience together. Sure, it takes a lot of commitment since it isn't drop-in/drop-out, but no other game on the market allows you to do the same.
There's also online multiplayer functionality allowing other players to join your games and command characters in your party. Why play alone if you don't have to?
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It's reasonably priced
While most games, including PC titles, have deferred to the $59.99 mark, Divinity: Original Sin is only $39.99. Considering this is a game that can give you well over 100 hours of quality playtime, that's a bargain.
Developer Larian Studios was able to create the game as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. While the game cost $4 million to make, $1 million of that was pledged from RPG fans around the world. It sounded like a great game at the time, and it's delivered.
Larian Studios announced on July 3rd that the game sold 160,000 copies during its first few days on the market, becoming its fastest-selling game in a library of over a half-dozen titles. Word is getting around quickly.
You can read more about its Kickstarter campaign here.
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What else are you going to play?
Let's be real here, it's July and there's very little to play. I know I've been invested in tackling some of the games from my backlog, but there's something about playing a brand new game that is just so much better.
Divinity: Original Sin is brimming with content, and is the best RPG you're going to see all Summer. At $39.99, it's an easy recommendation.
You can see all the games coming out in July in our Video Game Release Calendar.
