The bottom line is that Divinity Original Sin 2 is heaven-on-earth for D&D fans and/or gamers that love experiences that involves zero hand-holding and an extremely 'shades of grey' narrative and world. If that's your fancy, you really can't go wrong here.
What I have some beef with are some of the critic reviews that praise this game in a way that makes it seem like it has no flaws. Make no mistake, this game is flawed, and can be downright frustrating for some. It is -not- the second coming of Christ for RPG-fans like some reviewers make it out to be, unless you're a big fan of D&D. Then maybe.
There are many problems that I found with the game. Overall, the game plays nicely, looks and sounds good, and really delivers on its promise of an open world. What reviewers fail to tell you is that it is very difficult (to the point that it requires cheesing), confusing, annoyingly unfocused, and potentially frustrating. Maybe not so for a hardcore gamer, but when a review is praised as a high 9 or 10 and described as 'the greatest RPG ever made' or something of that vein, it's -got- to deliver, and it really doesn't.
1. Quest tracking: again, a boon for D&D hardcore players, a nightmare for everyone else. This game has no quest markers, which means if you're picking up numerous quests at once, you're going to get lost. It reminds me of games a la Arma 3, which can get a bit -too- realistic. The quest log is extremely vague, and you need to essentially pixel hunt for where to go next, or look them up in google. Again, something some people would like. A literal nightmare for others like myself that aren't hardcore gamers.
2. Atmosphere/story: I've played games like Planescape Torment and loved it because of its amazing story and characters. It hooked you in and made you want to keep on guessing with regards to what happens next. Despite really wanting to give this game a chance, it kind of bores me (conclusion made about 5-6 hours in). I find nothing unique or memorable and find myself confused about what I'm even doing. The lack of a focus makes the game feel like it has no compelling sense of direction or motivation to keep you moving.
3. Graphics/combat: The graphics aren't great; I understand though, it's a low-budget cRPG and Planescape Torment looked terrible but I still enjoyed it. That's fine. But the gameplay doesn't get any excuse. I have issue with any game that -requires- cheesing. Make no mistake, combat is crushingly difficult. Turning it on explorer mode solves these issues, but then it becomes insanely easy. There's no middle ground unless you look up some hints (again, online) of where to go to find decent starting equipment.
All in all, what I'm trying to say is if you want to heave massive praise on a game, titles like The Witcher 3 deserve it so much more; a game with compelling story, characters, atmosphere, and voice-acting, and a well crafted universe with fun/fair skill-dependent combat and excellent quests/side-quests. Giving an unfocused, niche-fan game such amazing praise ("the new standard for RPGs") just isn't right in my opinion, as it, at least to me, seems riddled with a ridiculous amount of bias.
Ultimately, D: OS2 is a good game, but not a great one. If you are a fan of D&D, this could be the amazing experience you've been looking for, but if you're a fan of RPGs as a whole, even turn-based ones, this is in no way the godsend that its made out to be by some critics. You could by all means really enjoy it, but it's definitely no guarantee. I recommend looking at some youtube videos to know what you're really getting into before purchase.