Early this year, Larian Studios released a new entry in the Divinity RPG series, following 2004's Beyond Divinity and 2002's Divine Divinity (or just Divinity as I pretend it's called). If you're new to the franchise, Divinity is an isometric RPG loved by pretty much all RPG fans, while the reaction to the similarly-styled Beyond has been mixed -- some loved it more, some a lot less than its predecessor.
With Divinity II - Ego Draconis, Larian modernized the universe by bringing it into 3D. The reaction was also mixed -- though many loved it, (particularly the PC version which seems to have been better put together), it wasn't quite up to the high standards of either Larian or some fans.
And so, much like with its bretheren The Witcher, an expanded and refined edition has been released, titled Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga. This compilation packs the original game -- but remastered and retooled, so it plays better, looks better, and is a more polished experience overall -- and its expansion Flames of Vengeance, which boasts the same improvements over Ego. Both are integrated seamlessly, so the expansion starts up as soon as you complete Ego.
Unfortunately I didn't have any time with the original title, so there's no way to compare, but I can say off the bat The Dragon Knight Saga is a gem.
You play a nameless Dragon Knight, a hero of sorts with the ability to transform into a dragon. You get a taste of this at the beginning, but I was pleased to find it takes quite awhile before you're granted this ability for good -- there's quite a lot of build-up, and it's all worth it in the end. The dragon gameplay meshes well with the human gameplay, too -- each are necessary at different times, and skill trees for both adds a hefty layer of depth and fun.
Divinity II won't be remembered for an incredible story, but it is solid in its own right. The real treat is the dialogue and characterization, both of which stand up to heavyweights like Obsidian, Black Isle and Lionhead.
Conversations are well-written and at times outright hilarious -- I found myself many times having to really stop and laugh out loud. One scene in particular stands out, where I had the option of trading with a skeleton or giving him an existential crisis -- I'll leave the rest to your imagination and amusement. As with all skilled writing of this variety, it's woven perfectly in with the more serious overarching story, including some horrific bits.
Characters are well-formed, all likeable in their own way, and feel 'real' for the most part. I actually enjoyed their individual stories much more than the overall plot -- they really add a sense of homeliness to the universe. One major downside, and probably the only one I can think of which hurts the game is a lack of character models -- only a handful really are used throughout the entire game, though Larian is as creative as any developer could be in creating a lot of variety within that framework with different skin tones and hair styles and colours and whatnot. Still, it's definitely distracting or immersion-breaking at times, though not enough to put a serious dent in the experience. Note this doesn't apply to enemies, which are plenty varied.
Another detriment is the voices of a couple of characters. For the most part, the voice acting is excellent and highly enjoyable (phwew), but I found the main villain's voice completely unbecoming, for one. Thankfully, this is rare.
Perhaps even more memorable than the dialogue and characters (if only slightly so), is the music. My god, the music. This quickly made its mark as soon as I trekked my way through the first town and heard the first lovely composition you see below (it really gets going at 1:00). I listened to the tune about 10 or 20 times that day and found myself perusing the web for a place to purchase a soundtrack -- something I never do (note: you can download it free and legal here). In short, Divinity II has one of the finest soundtracks in gaming, period, and it really adds a lot the experience. It's quite varied, too, though like the writing, there's an undercurrent running through all of it, tying it together nicely.
Graphically, Saga is impressive enough and altogether pleasant, though will likely do little to stress your PC, even on 'Extreme' settings (there's a healthy variety of options, here). Still, with surely a much more limited budget, it manages to reach about the same heights as Dragon Age -- no complaints. One of my favourites touches is the trees which appear to have a watercolour effect applied to them -- beautiful stuff. The spell effects, meanwhile, are vibrant and thrilling every time.
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