One of the best examples of the old skool RPG genre

User Rating: 10 | Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Early Access) PC

If you played Divinity: Original Sin 1, and enjoyed it, well this more of the same but better, so I don't know why you're reading this. Buy it now.

If you haven't, then the decision might be a little more nuanced - but being a sequel shouldn't put you off; you needn't have played the first game to fully enjoy this one, although there are numerous references to it. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is very much a 3D top-down/isometric retro (or old skool) RPG. Think of games like Never Winter Nights 1 and 2 (inluding the superlative Mask of the Betrayer expansion), Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2, Planescape: Tides of Numenera, Tyranny etc. If those games are as much your cup of tea as they are mine, you're in for a real treat. Incredibly, D:OS2 game is FULLY voice acted - something you wouldn't expect in anything less than a "AAA" major studio game with an unlimited budget from their publisher, but nonetheless Larian Studios pulled it off. And it isn't bad voice acting either - it's easily as good as that offered by Bethesda or Bioware imo.

Initially the game can be tough - it doesn't hold your hand and the learning curve for its turn-based combat is steep. But you'll soon figure out what character builds work and which don't, and the game allows you from Act II onward to reconfigure all your characters (in your party of 4) as much as you like with no cost.

D:OS2 is possibly a new standard in this genre, which has enjoyed a resurgence in the last few years. Maybe not quite as well written (and focused) as NWN 2: Mask of the Betrayer, this is nonetheless an absolutely superb entry and a must play for fans of story/character-driven RPGs.

The game took me ~125 hrs to complete on "Classic" difficulty. There is a lot of additional potential for replayability given that you can only take 3 (of 6) scripted characters with you on your adventure, each having their own extensive story arc. Two playthroughs would be a bare minimum to experience everything the game has to offer and also provides an opportunity to try other character builds.

10/10.