Divinity
Original Sin: Enhanced Edition
This article finally concludes Awkward Mixture's quest to complete Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. Instead of the first or the second article, which focused on combat and the broad plot arc respectively, this essay will examine a number of topics in lesser detail.
At first, Divinity
appears to be an open world, where the Protagonists are free to roam
at will in their quest to discover the murderer of Councilor Jacob
and the secrets of their true identities. At first. Over time the
player becomes aware that this open world contains a series of
obvious Level Gates.
Shamus Young at
Twenty
Sided, once
(and twice)
remarked that video game developers “design the layout to draw
players towards the action.” Instead of flashing messages on the
screen, or overly intrusive way-point markers, good designers use
lighting, resources (such as power ups or items), and well designed
scenery to encourage the player to move in the right direction. The
best game designers build scenes which lead the player effortlessly
forward. They construct environments which are engaging and funnel
the player toward the goal. They populate the path with items,
enhancements, and features, while inferior designs leave the player
lost and uncertain how to proceed (In this particular instance Shamus
was discussing Half-Life 2, but the idea is relevant to most genres).
The developers of Divinity
don't a have problem with uncertainty. It isn't always clear which
way the Protagonists should go, but it's always clear which paths are
prohibited until later. To prevent the player from wandering ahead
of the plot, the game doesn't require the collection of particular
items or the completing of objectives. Instead higher leveled
enemies block the player's path. Like any RPG, heroes level up by
earning Experience from completing quests and defeating enemies in
battle. Enemies also receive a level value, displayed prominently
above their head, but this number means both nothing and everything.
It means nothing because two level 10 characters can differ
dramatically in their power. Yet, levels mean everything because
it's nearly impossible to defeat enemies even a single level higher
(players on their second playthrough might achieve this, but most
first time players will find it inconceivable).
The player can judge
the outcome of any combat before it begins. All enemies the same
level or lower can be beaten (though it may require multiple
attempts), but enemies one level higher might as well be as
impervious as the Death Knights one encounters later in the game.
These leveled enemies are like the walls of corridor shooters,
shepherding the protagonists towards their next objective. They are
like gates, which requires a key, and the key is Experience.
Divinity
always makes it appear as if the player is free to roam, but in truth
there is rarely more than one path, never more than one choice.
These walls become so obvious that one wants to beat their hands
against them in a futile rage.
These
level walls reduce the openness of Rivellon and the freedom of the
player. As a solution to the slim skeleton of the plot and a lack of
independence, Divinity
is packed with an overflow of side quests. These stitched on stories
can be arduous and spread across multiple maps,
or simple with both the quest's trigger and conclusion residing in
the same screen. Occasionally they employ the wit which Divinity
rests upon, but mostly they are pointless filler, which clogs the
game and triples the length of a otherwise reasonable twenty hours.
Not only are there too
many quests, but they clutter an already expansive Quest Log. Every
entry in the Protagonists' journal is represented by a creative
title. Clicking the title expands the entry into a number of bullet
points, describing the relevant details of the quest. The Quest Log
is packed, partially because there are so many side quests, but more
consequentially, because there are too many entries relating to the
same topic. Twenty hours deep into Divinity, my Quest Log
contained not one, not two, not three, but nine articles
relating to the main quest. Most were restatements of other entries,
a curious and confusing jumble of each other. These nine included
the following entries: A Forge of Souls, A Source Hunter's Journey,
Investigating the Mines, A General's Tale, The Missing Threads,
Cassandra Who Art Thou?, Infiltrating the Immaculates, The
Initiation, and The General's Story. The two General titles
highlight the repetition, and these are just the categories. When
clicked each displays paragraphs describing in detail the title.
There's an unnecessary overload and repetition between multiple
topics, which could be condensed without any loss of information for
the player.
Aside
from the core mechanics of combat, plot, and levels, Divinity
also includes a repetitive activity which one might generously call
puzzles. Reasonable people would separate them into two categories:
trying to locate a book/item (most likely encountered two hours ago
and abandoned because it didn't seem relevant) or searching for
minuscule switches. There are also regular puzzles which require
problem solving and movement skills. Without the Air skill,
Teleportation and the Scoundrel skill, Cloak and Dagger, accessing
certain locations and levers may be difficult, if not impossible.
Even if these two skills are not necessary, puzzle solving becomes
much simpler as they allow access to areas protected by dangerous
terrain. Invisibility is another useful skill for these obstacle
courses, masquerading as puzzles.
A few final topics before
the conclusion. First, Divinity includes too many items
offering only infinitesimal improvement between an one picked up ten
minutes ago, and now. The over abundance includes armors, weapons,
grenades, scrolls, potions, skill books, but also the uncountable
component pieces. Worst of all are the books and quest keys. A
player should collect a personal library of books, because quests
often require an obscure tome from ten hours ago to proceed. A
player may find it more efficient to pick up every book they see,
rather than retread their steps looking for the requisite volume.
And the keys, used in quests, never disappear, even after use. Such
was my fear of dropping a valuable and unused key, that I kept them
all, crowding up the inventory screen. And always carry a shovel!
What else is bothersome?
A few absurdities; some NPCS are unhealable (by magic or potion),
just so Divinity can sacrifice them for dramatic effect. The
sounds of the market place in the center of Cyseal are repeated on a
one minute loop. The sellers speak no more than three lines, which
they repeat relentlessly, until one wishes this wasn't the best place
to sell their unnecessary items. This repetition issue is the same
in any location with villagers, but especially abrasive at this
particular location because of the size of the congregation and the
volume they generate. Throughout the game, the player receives
Bloodstones. They're created through evil magic overseen by evil
Sourcerers, and I planned to use them only in emergencies, because
Divinity doesn't indicate the importance of activating them.
But part of the plot can only be accessed by activating them, so use
them as soon as you find them. I learned quite a bit of the plot an
hour or so before the end of the game.
In conclusion,
Divinity
combines three key elements; combat with extended repetitive battles
of AOE and elemental labyrinths, a plot puffed with fluff scattered
confusingly through an oversized Quest Log, and an open world
circumscribed by obvious level gates. The whole packaged; wrapped
into a sixty, 60 hour game. In spite of the beauty, and occasional
inspiration of the writers, I was bored 20 hours in, exhausted at 40
hours, and desperate to finish at 60.
For those readers
who might believe I can not handle a sixty hour game, or a classic
role-playing game (and some people would find no enjoyment in either
of those issues), I'd like to declare that in addition to already
reviewing The Banner Saga 2
favorably, Awkward Mixture plans this year to review another
acclaimed RPG, and a sixty hour game. After all of these have been
written, I will also write a comparative review of these four
differently styled RPGs.
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