Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition Review

The Verdict

If the previous page wasn't an indicator, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. Sometimes it certainly pays to wait and in this case, with the crazy amount of tweaks, changes, and updates, Enhanced Edition was an absolute joy to play.

PC players who have already delved into Original Sin get the Enhanced Edition free, which comes with all the new goodies as well, so it's worth revisiting there as well. However, the biggest triumph is that console owners will get to experience this otherwise PC-centric title with fantastically translated controls, stellar voiceovers for all characters, and some gorgeous graphics for good measure.

Don't let Divinity: Original Sin pass you by, especially if you're a fan of long, deep and ultimately enjoyable RPGs. What made reviewing this game even better, was knowing that Divinity 2 successfuly got funded on Kickstarter just under a month ago, meaning that an entirely new adventure awaits next year.

The Positives

• This is going to be a long list of positives, so let's start out with the technical stuff. While it is slightly disappointing that Larian decided to go with 30fps for the entire game, citing that split-screen play would require it, the good thing is that it's locked. I never saw a dip under 30, which makes the framerate looks a lot smoother, even when it's not the full 60.

• Larian made the jump to consoles seem rather effortless. Tooltips pop-up frequently (though they can be turned off) to help or remind you how to do something with the new controls, and visually the game looks fantastic.

• I never would have imagined cRPGs work with a gamepad but Larian pulled it off. Everything feels right, from movement, to various shortcuts to access menus. Even battles are handled quite well. It feels so good that I'm inclined to recommend PC folks who are upgrading to the Enhanced Edition for free to give it a shot.

• The story takes an unexpected turn quite early on in the game, which was a nice surprise. I won't spoil much but let's just say you play a much larger role in the preservation of the entire world than you might realize. It also helps that a lot of the dialogue is rife with humor as well, to counteract the seriousness of, well, the world ending.

• There is very little hand-holding when it comes to progression. In fact, even the quest log doesn't outright tell you what you have to do. Some might find this frustrating, but figuring out steps to completing your quests completely on your own feels really rewarding.

• There are tons and tons of side-quests to partake in. Whether it's trying to save a severed head from a life of standup comedy, helping a cat win the heart of his lady-cat friend, escorting a man back to the safety of the city, or even rounding up lost sheep. All of these listed are optional, but totally worth undertaking.

• Various combat mechanics go unexplained but reward those that experiment with it. The game doesn't really tell you this, but you can combine a lot of spells for increased effect. You can cast a rainstorm above enemies to make them wet, and then zap them with a lightning bolt. Or you could throw a vat of oil on the ground, and then light up anyone standing in it by throwing a fireball into it. This also extends into exploration as well. Some areas are inaccessible due to poison clouds, which can then be exploded and dispelled by a fire spell.

• The turn-based tactical combat certainly harkens to the original days of cRPGs, and yet feels new. Every action, from movement to combat, is executed by spending AP. Unspent AP can carry over to the next round, giving you more options per turn. There are also a ton of skills to learn throughout the game, as well as classes to mix and match, making it an extremely customizable and tailor-made experience.

• The environment is very interactive, as you're allowed to pretty much move anything you come across. Traps can be triggered by placing items, such as barrels, on the switch.

• You start the game with creating two original characters, pick their classes and their unique look. Both are playable right from the beginning.

• Original Sin has one of the most unique party member mechanics I've ever seen in an RPG. When you're not controlling your other party member, or any other members you pick up along the way, they have a personality of their own. Frequently they'll have exclamation marks above their head after you've accomplished something or performed an action, which will start a dialogue. You can then choose to answer it in different ways. Doing this will form both of your personalities, shaping future responses.

• This mechanic goes a step further when you're making difficult choices in the game. One of the earlier choices revolves around choosing which one of two patients gets to live, the young boy or the old man. I decided to go with the young boy since he had his whole life ahead of him. When I made the decision, my other created character jumped in and told me I'm making a mistake, that the old man has a huge family who loves him. I could have agreed with her, but instead I chose to continue along with my original decision. This then prompted a mini-game where we had to play rock, paper, scissors to determine the outcome. I lost and we ended up saving the old man instead. It might seem silly that something as trivial as rock, paper, scissors decided the fate of man's life, but given that my original choice didn't actually make it made my party members feel more alive, and certainly more real.

• You can freely split your party to explore with a single character, but there are other uses for this as well. You can distract NPCs with one character, and then switch to another to swipe some items without them noticing, or pick a locked door. To call Larian devs geniuses would feel like an understatement.

• Pro-tip to the above point: Steal everything, especially paintings. Seriously, it's the best way to make money in the game.

• The whole game can be played co-operatively with a friend locally or online. To say this enhances the experience would be extremely underselling it. The same way an NPC companion might interject your conversation, a human player can too. If your buddy doesn't agree with a decision you're about to make, he can challenge you on it too. It creates a very dynamic approach to conversations, especially when there's another real player in your party.

• Since the split-screen is dynamic, you don't always have to venture off together. Split apart, and work on entirely separate questlines. That's pretty damn great.

The Negatives

• If you're the type of player that needs an in-depth questlog or an arrow pointing you to the next quest objective, you're going to have a bad time. Even the very first major questline, which has you solving a murder, won't offer you any guidance besides talk to a few people.

• The inventory system isn't all that user friendly. Since each character has their own inventory, you'll have to keep switching from character to character to get the items you want. It's perhaps the bane of RPGs coming from the PC to consoles, but the inventory system never seems to translate all that well.

Last year, both cRPG and Divinity fans were treated to an absolutely stellar experience with Original Sin on PC. The once prominent genre faded into obscurity in the 2000s, but Larian Studios decided to do something about it, and of course, gauge public interest through Kickstarter. Divinity: Original Sin was a fantastic combination of both old and new. It preserved the classic turn-based gameplay that cRPGs were known for, and kept the open ended gameplay of Divinity, while introducing some stellar new companion mechanics, and bringing the once 2D isometric game into a full 3D isometric view, with a fully rotatable camera view.

This year, owners of the original will be getting the Enhanced Version for free while console players will be getting a chance to try out this previously coveted PC-only genre for the first time.

But how does The Original Sin translate to consoles, and is the Enhanced Edition worth checking out?

Let's find out.

*Note: Since we never got around to reviewing The Original Sin when it first came out, we'll be diving into the story as well as the gameplay elements that make this game unique, which would have already been covered in the original review.

The Positives / The Negatives

The Verdict