One year ago Larian released Divinity: Original Sin 2, the sequel to their 2014 hit title once again kick-started by fans of the genre. To say it was great doesn’t do it justice, not only did Original Sin 2 beat out its predecessor, it’s likely one of the best RPGs ever made, with a bigger story, better combat, and an amazing list of new features that elevate it above other titles. Not content to rest on their laurels, Larian have once again updated their game with an Enhanced Edition and, for anyone that missed it the first time around, now is absolutely when you should be getting yourself into Original Sin.
First a refresher course: Original Sin 2 is a tactical RPG, placing you in charge of a party of 4 adventurers, exploring in real time and using turn-based free-form combat when needed. Each character can be customized in a variety of different ways and there’s a seemingly endless amount of skills and equipment to mix and match for different combinations. While the RPG mechanics aren’t necessarily as deep as other titles like Pillars of Eternity or Torment: Tides of Numenera, the game more than makes up for that with its approachable mechanics and simplified interface.
Improvements and new content are also available for the Game Master mode, meaning you’ll be able to create even better adventures with friends.
Where the game really shines is its reactivity to your actions, both in the writing and AI as well as in the world. Every action has a reaction, be that stealing from someone and getting caught or setting fire to an oil patch. The environmental effects in particular are fun to play with and there’s a great variety of different ways to scar up each battlefield.
But enough about the known, lets go into what’s been added for the new version, all of which is free if you already own the game on PC. First up is the release, complete with the new patch, to consoles (at least the X1 and PS4.) There have been rumours of a Switch release, but as of this writing nothing concrete. There’s a new companion in the form of Sir Lora the Squirrel Knight, provided you have a party member with the Pet Pal perk. Anyone that’s looking to just experience the story can now play the aptly named Story difficulty, with extra easy fights. Combat in general has been updated with re-worked fights for some of the later encounters. Speaking of later encounters, the entirety of the final chapter has been reworked with more things to do and quests to complete. Finally, and most importantly, the UI has been totally overhauled, now displaying the entire party inventory on one screen, marking a a massive improvement to the journal menu.
A new tutorial has been added to the start of the game, which can be skipped if you so choose.
That doesn’t include the already impressive feature lists, like the amazing and well-written story, the option for co-op play with up to four players (including 2 player couch co-op on consoles now!) the huge amount of quests to complete, the deeply satisfying combat, or the great world to explore. If you’ve ever wanted to see how close a game can come to capturing the enjoyment of a tabletop RPG, then Divinity Original Sin 2 is certainly the game that demands your attention, now more than ever.
