Divinity Original Sin: Review and Gameplay: Page 3 of 9

Divinity Original Sin: Review and Gameplay
An Original RPG in the Classic Style


Characters

A crowded inventory

If you can see it, you can usually stuff it into your inventory.

Apart from not being able to choose the vocation of your character, she is basically blank slates for you to write upon. Is your character romantic or pragmatic, independent or obedient, forgiving or vindictive? It’s up to you. And if you roleplay your character in a consistent way you will find that their traits reflect begin to reflect your vision of that character. Traits, in turn, connect to skills: A pragmatist, for example, is better at crafting, while an egotist is better at bartering.

A short while into your adventure, you will come across recruitable companions. I wish I could say that these companions had deep, enthralling backstories, but they do just don’t. Sure, they’ll chime in every now and then with commentary on what you have said or done, and that’s great, but don’t expect anything resembling the character-specific questlines of Dragon Age or Mass Effect.

A bustling tavern.

The tavern, well-worn RPG mainstay, is well executed here.

When it comes to non-playable characters, however, there is quite a bit of depth to go around. In keeping with the “figure it out yourself” philosophy inherent in Original Sin’s game design, NPCs will not simply divulge their entire life’s story to passer-by who selects the appropriate option from their dialogue trees. If you want to learn about a certain character, then you’re going to have to dig; literally and metaphorically. Are you suspicious that Romeo von Catalfuque might have nicked his best friend and long-time business partner’s brooch after the latter shed this mortal coil? Pick up a spade and head to the cemetery: You may well find the answer there. Want to know whether a particular garment of clothing belongs to a rumoured adulterer? Maybe some kind of four-legged creature with a strong sense of smell could help you out…

Observant players will find journals, snippets of dialogue, environmental clues, and a whole heap of other bits and pieces to shed a light on any character you happen to be curious about—and you will be very curious about some of them.



Raconteur of the RPG scene.
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: The Witcher III
Top 3 Favorite Games:Fallout: New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic


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