I would like to start this article with a small preface. I watched a video review on Divinity: Original Sin 2 from Stopgame and, frankly, I remained a little not satisfied with the material set there. The fact is that, in my opinion, the topic is not entirely disclosed, since some gameplay aspects were not affected, which take place when compared with Divinity: Original Sin. It is these aspects that I would like to share.
We have already told us that in the second part of the game there was such a feature as physical and magical protection, expressed in numbers.
This innovation, like a butterfly, creates with its wave of wings a series of controversial consequences. Thanks to this mechanics, the battles became more interesting, since magical armor blocks damage from any surfaces until it exhausts itself. And what is so radically interesting about this, you ask. Everything is very simple. There was no defense in the first Divinity, and any battle after some time turned into a monotonous process – to throw all enemies (substitute the desired element) in order to spoil the Earth under them and get an advantage.
Almost all the battles were built on the interaction of the elements, and the developers only pushed to this, pouring oil in the field or placing barrels. As a result, the combat system, which was initially perceived as something unimaginable, became boring and monotonous. In the second game, all battles warm up interest and make the brain work in several directions. From now on, you will use various surfaces, but not as an ultimatum, but as a strategic tool, which, in turn, allows you to make contractions more exciting. The combat system is one of the pillars that keeps the gameplay Divinity: Original Sin 2, and it is its main sin.
Environmental impact
We found out that the fighting https://ukcryptocasinos.co.uk/ethereum-casinos/ became more complex, and threw their first coin in the piggy bank for this for this.
Now let’s talk about the influence of this very fighting world. The fact is that the first Divinity was more interesting to explore. Entire locations were built there on secret paths, riddles and traps. If you saw a strange hut nearby and found a note that spoke of traps, you knew that this was the end. If these traps are not found, then this place can only be done well with your brains, because the traps were really killed. They made sense from them.
In Divinity: Original Sin 2, due to magic armor, any mines and traps are absolutely meaningless. Magic armor simply absorbs damage from them. So it turns out that adrenaline and the intensity of passions have disappeared. You will just remember how beautiful it was, going to a random door to call a dialogue with a ghost that threatens to blow up everything to hell if you move. It really worked, and you, as a player, understood that it was necessary to look for a way out of the situation. In the realities of the second game, such a situation is simply impossible, because if you move, you will get it by magic armor. Moreover, friends. I felt terribly offended when I realized that my wizard could endure much more damage than a warrior. Where it is seen, so that instead of a brave gnome-warrior, to neutralize the traps sent a frail elf-wizard?
Thus, we conclude that a certain atmosphere and the obscure layer of the gameplay along with the quests that could be built on it sunk into the abyss, for which we have every right to pick up, previously laid in a piggy bank, a coin.
Oh, this is a mirror.
For those who played both last Divinity, it is no secret that in the second part there are more skills, spells and classes (not to mention the presence of a race). I want to try everyone, and to tickle with skills easier. Especially for such a case, the developers provided us with a mirror, which allows you to rebuild everything with the exception of the race. Now let’s move on to my favorite part – analytics and consequences. It became again more interesting to fight compared to the first game. You have become more mobile, you are able to try out all classes for one passage, feel each spell and decide what suits you more. Having mastered in the game, you easily determine which company of heroes you want to see, and you will also have a clear idea that they should be able to.
However, in the game, as before, you can talk with animals, you can convince the interlocutors in an acute situation, thereby receiving new information or quests. In the context of these social interactions – the mirror is the worst that could be invented. What is the point of downloading belief if you can be a leader, and at the right time just run to the mirror, throw your skills and convince anyone of anything? What is the point of spending talents on some kind of conversation with animals, if you can take something more effective in battle, and at the right time go to the mirror to transfer talents? For what? It hits a lot of social interaction. Again, the same spirit of adventurism that was present in the first part disappears. Having missed the conversation with the dog there it was possible to simply drive yourself to a dead end, because this game never gave the obvious ways to solve the problem, and animals-a powerful social tool, thanks to which you can get important plot information. This is not to mention the fact that with animals always the most cool dialogs. There was no division into race in the first part, there were no tags, so the dialogs had to be diversified by belief. Oratory really had weight and could radically change the situation. In the second game, this system is easy to deceive.
Influence on dialogs
I would really like to knock on the head developers for what they did with dialogs. There are more options for dialogs. Much. But. They are meaningless. In the first game, if the character cannot tell you anything useful, it was impossible to speak with him in dialogue form, which saved time, helped to structure non -heating characters and understand who is who is who. In the second game, you can talk to everyone, but 70% of the population is useless dolls that are needed for extras in cities.
For a ton of words, if you do not look closely, it is easy not to notice the hack. Now, during the dialogue, we have a large range of answers, sometimes even from six options, but in fact, these are just water, since all options mean either “yes” or “no”. In the first part, you did not catch dust in the eyes, and from a pair of three options you could choose, realizing that each of these phrases would lead to different outcomes. The outcome could be a fight, friendship or completely leaving dialogue. Most importantly, it was written better. In the second game, we have a bunch of options, and all of them are written through the sleeves, because in fact they are a copy of each other.
I’m not talking about the fact that the dialogs have become not interesting. This is wrong. They just appeared in them an artificial volume that creates the illusion of a unique choice. In fact, the answer to your unique replica will be absolutely the same as the other two. Such a scheme is not true for all conversations, but the vast majority, alas, should be given this algorithm. It is also worth noting the fact that even with successful conviction in some situations, the answer remains the same as with failure. In the first game, successful conviction has always guaranteed a new outcome of the situation. It is about this quality that I am talking about.
I do not want to say that Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a bad game. No. This is an undeniably amazing game, and I agree with what was said in a review from Stopgame, but it seemed to me that this review did not affect all changes, so I touched them myself. It seems to me that Larian Studios tried not to step on the old rake, but stepped on new. The combat system of the first unit was already bored with the second city, and the main interest was heated by history. In the second game, the main forces threw into fascinating interesting contractions, which prompted a less high -quality social component. How, in my opinion, one could solve these problems? Firstly, disconnect magic armor outside combat interactions, so that it makes sense to use traps and riddles with their use. Secondly, turn off in the functions of the mirror the ability to redistribute talents and peaceful skills (characteristics and combat skills could still be changed, which would not hurt to change the build). Thirdly, do not try to create an artificial volume in dialogs. It gives rise to only bugs, because in the game you can sometimes not close the task if you choose the wrong answer option, although, in fact, it was only a copy of the right option. In general, I would like to note that Divinity: Original Sin 2 is still playing better, since the battles make up most of the gameplay and do not have time to get bored. Thank you for your attention. All the best!