Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Divinity: Original Sin 2

Hobo Elf

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
13,986
Location
Platypus Planet
Overall, the combat is so fun that it makes the game good. Picking up a two-hander, hitting the whirlwind button, and getting juicy crits feels great.

REVIEW said:
That people played it more or less on autopilot, ignoring the fact that it’s mechanically about as shallow as a puddle, because the pretty graphixxx, undead lizardmen player characters and battle teleportation managed to effectively distract them.

Darth Roxor was right again.
 

Eyestabber

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
4,733
Location
HUEland
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
Congrats ratface. I thought you would cuck out after Larian became a codex darling and the game went GOTY. Reading the review now.
 

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,736
Great review, hate it people think this is what a good TB-based CRPG looks like

RNG >> Deterministic system
 

Zer0wing

Cipher
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
2,607
Only 7 pages long? Welp, that escalated into general consensus quickly.
It's still a fun ride in coop regardless. :dealwithit:
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,107
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
"Should be posted sooner" you say as if we've got reviews just waiting around ready to be posted. Somebody has to write them, dude.

Let's hope he we can keep up this new momentum.
 

Eyestabber

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
4,733
Location
HUEland
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
What is interesting is that according to this review this is a bad game, yet it won the GOTY poll with a landslide. What does this tell of the Codex?

It tells me this place is full of retards who don't really play games past the first 30 min.

So, I need to drop my own pet peeve here: itemization. I know this has been glossed over in the review but I wanna go more in-depth for the benefit of anyone still on the fence about this game.

Saying "everything is up for replacement" doesn't give readers the full picture of the hellish nature of DOS2 itemization. Every character has the following slots (quoting from memory, sorry if incorrect):

- Helmet
- Chest armor
- Bracers/Gloves
- Greaves
- Boots
- Two rings
- Amulet
- Main hand weapon
- Off hand weapon/shield/nothing-when-2H

Which adds up to 9 slots in a game with a 4-man party. That adds up to 36 items, give or take. Considering that later on the stat bloat goes over 50%, that means a single unverleveled item is enough to compromise your effectiveness in combat. So playing D:OS2 on anything but the lower/game journo difficulties means that every time you level up you need to go over 36 items and replace them with level-adequate ones. Now add into the equation the Diablo-like tier system, the random vendor inventory system AND the fact that loot is RNG-based so 90% of your stuff is bought instead of found and the conclusion is...

EVERY TIME YOU LEVEL UP YOU HAVE TO GO ON A PILGRIMAGE TO CHECK VENDORS FOR 36 ITEMS TO REPLACE YOUR PREVIOUS SET. EVERY SINGLE TIME. THIS IS THE FIRST RPG THAT ACTUALLY MANAGED TO MAKE ME GO "OH SHIT, I LEVELED UP AGAIN. FUN IS OVER"

The itemization in this game comes straight from the pits of Hell. Upgrading your gear is an unrewarding CHORE. Now compare that to a game with GOOD itemization like Baldur's Gate 2. Items are mostly taken off the enemy cold dead hands. Defeat badass dragon, get best paladin sword that lasts the entire game. Feel rewarded. In DOS2 it's more like "buy generic level scaled sword, stab some dudes, lvl up and ditch the sword, rinse and repeat".

I wouldn't at all be surprised if this sort of garbage itemization is backed by (((studies))) on how to get people hooked up on a cheap reward system. Shame they fail to account for the fact that excessive stimuli makes you stop caring at some point.
 
Last edited:

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
What is interesting is that according to this review this is a bad game, yet it won the GOTY poll with a landslide. What does this tell of the Codex?

It tells me this place is full of retards who don't really play games past the first 30 min.

Some games are good at giving out honeymoons, others are not very good but still a fun romp worth playing once. I would put DOS2 in the latter, and mostly enjoyed my playthrough, even though I agree with roxor that it is a dumbed down DOS1. The real disappointment is that the game seems now to set Larian's path towards shiny gimmicks lighting up a mediocre RPG with boring writing and puddle-deep mechanics.

As for people who play Fallout 4 and Dragon Age 2 for more than 15 seconds, I don't know, you'd think some games are so retarded that you can tell before you ever run the exe.

And yeah, the itemisation is straight out of candy crush, and probably works well for a lot of consumers.
 

Projas

Information Superhighwayman
Patron
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Messages
1,202
Location
Best Republic
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Which adds up to 9 slots in a game with a 4-man party.
Itemization was the number one reason I decided it would be wiser to play the game with two lone wolves. Only half as much shit to replace. It was still terrible, can't imagine doing it for two more characters.
 

Gecos

Learned
Joined
Sep 26, 2015
Messages
79
Hat off to Darth for ripping Larian a new one. I've had pretty much the same issues with it few days after post-launch and couldn't move past the starting island. Never touched the game since. It may be a commercial success but it's a bad game. And I like Larian and I hope they stay in business and keep releasing. But I can't play such a game. And I can only (yet again) lament on the thought that so many gamers are not only fine with it but actually make it a GOTY. Now back to playing ELEX...
 

Bumvelcrow

Somewhat interesting
Patron
Dumbfuck
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
1,867,060
Location
Over the hills and far away
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Strap Yourselves In
Good review. As someone who found D:OS1 tedious to the point of unplayability, I don't think the sequel is for me. But at least the collector's box is nice to look at.

Larian - get your shit together. Divinity 2 is one of my favourite games.
 

AwesomeButton

Proud owner of BG 3: Day of Swen's Tentacle
Patron
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
16,144
Location
At large
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
"Should be posted sooner" you say as if we've got reviews just waiting around ready to be posted. Somebody has to write them, dude.

Let's hope he we can keep up this new momentum.
Oh, I was't being serious, come on. :)

<Feverishly scribbling Deadfire's review draft>
 

Diggfinger

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
1,199
Location
Belgium
Codex votes (said) title GAEM OF THE YEAR 2017!

Fast forward a few months, and da Codex publishes a review of that very same game...saying it sucks donkey balls:D

It's this kind of irony that keeps me coming back to this distinguished site :obviously::salute:

:greatjob:
#OnlyOnTheCodex
 
Last edited:

Shilandra

Learned
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
152
Location
The Hive
What is interesting is that according to this review this is a bad game, yet it won the GOTY poll with a landslide. What does this tell of the Codex?

It tells me this place is full of retards who don't really play games past the first 30 min.

So, I need to drop my own pet peeve here: itemization. I know this has been glossed over in the review but I wanna go more in-depth for the benefit of anyone still on the fence about this game.

Saying "everything is up for replacement" doesn't give readers the full picture of the hellish nature of DOS2 itemization. Every character has the following slots (quoting from memory, sorry if incorrect):

- Helmet
- Chest armor
- Bracers/Gloves
- Greaves
- Boots
- Two rings
- Amulet
- Main hand weapon
- Off hand weapon/shield/nothing-when-2H

Which adds up to 9 slots in a game with a 4-man party. That adds up to 36 items, give or take. Considering that later on the stat bloat goes over 50%, that means a single unverleveled item is enough to compromise your effectiveness in combat. So playing D:OS2 on anything but the lower/game journo difficulties means that every time you level up you need to go over 36 items and replace them with level-adequate ones. Now add into the equation the Diablo-like tier system, the random vendor inventory system AND the fact that loot is RNG-based so 90% of your stuff is bought instead of found and the conclusion is...

EVERY TIME YOU LEVEL UP YOU HAVE TO GO ON A PILGRIMAGE TO CHECK VENDORS FOR 36 ITEMS TO REPLACE YOUR PREVIOUS SET. EVERY SINGLE TIME. THIS IS THE FIRST RPG THAT ACTUALLY MANAGED TO MAKE ME GO "OH SHIT, I LEVELED UP AGAIN. FUN IS OVER"

The itemization in this game comes straight from the pits of Hell. Upgrading your gear is an unrewarding CHORE. Now compare that to a game with GOOD itemization like Baldur's Gate 2. Items are mostly taken off the enemy cold dead hands. Defeat badass dragon, get best paladin sword that lasts the entire game. Feel rewarded. In DOS2 is more like "buy generic level scaled sword, stab some dudes, lvl up and ditch the sword, rinse and repeat".

I wouldn't at all be surprised if this sort of garbage itemization is backed by (((studies))) on how to get people hooked up on a cheap reward system. Shame they fail to account for the fact that excessive stimuli makes you stop caring at some point.

And this, more than anything has convinced me to put off the game.

Maybe they'll fix that 3 versions from now. On well. There's always something else to play in the meantime.
 

Ismaul

Thought Criminal #3333
Patron
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
1,871,804
Location
On Patroll
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech A Beautifully Desolate Campaign My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
I came here to say that these self-conditioning sessions about how tactical choices matter and are required by how the combat system is designed, remind me of the same arguments raging over how tactical choices matter in PoE.
My point isn't that these point allocation issues are "tactical" choices that matter; they're actually terrible choices that aren't even explained clearly by the game. My point is just that the ignorance of how the system actually works means that Roxor's credibility as a harsh reviewer of DOS2 is really limited. If you want to bash something in a critique, you must first give it its due. Otherwise you're just on a rage-driven rant.
 

Eyestabber

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
4,733
Location
HUEland
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
Maybe they'll fix that 3 versions from now.

No, they won't. You're just engaging in self-deceit. D:OS2 was succe$$ful and that means they won't rollback the :decline:. We have seen this happen many times before and the result is always the same: commercially successful :decline: is here to stay. Larian is joining the "big boys club" now, along Bethesda and Bioware. I won't bother with their next RPG because it's just going to be even more crap.

"You know what the problem with Skyrim was? It just sold way too many copies!" - Said no developer ever
 

AwesomeButton

Proud owner of BG 3: Day of Swen's Tentacle
Patron
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
16,144
Location
At large
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Agreed, but isn't it equally telling in and of itself, when knowing a game's mechanics doesn't make any difference to how well you preform in the game?
 

Lambinou

Novice
Joined
Jun 17, 2015
Messages
17
Location
France
As someone who still enjoyed the game, but hasn't finished it yet -i tend to play a lot, then get burned out), I must say Roxxor's point about gameplay are pretty spot on.

There are things that i can't make sense of if their goal was to make a deterministic system... why give your attack 95% chances to hit instead of 100 % ? why even have dodge at all ?

Also this equipment and loot systems feels like it would work and be OK in a game like ego draconis, with only 1 character, for a 4 player party based game, it's just too tedious.


I remember some codexers and even maybe Sven mentionning they had to redo or repurpose fort Joy, that it was different in earlier stages... Anyone has some details on that ? Because I kind of feel like I've missed some development drama that could explain some of the problems and oddities (not all, mind you).

To add to this and Roxxor's point about writing and the evasion of fort Joy,

You can save a dragon knight, but somehow the idea of him flying you out of the island never even get lampshaded, and his payback is pretty disappointing

Only thing I'm not so sure about is his point about romance and animals.
Now i could be misremembering this, but Red Prince is the only one so far to have talked about sex (i'm not yet at the romance sex moment), and he came off to me as a decadent guy that just overindulge in it after a somewhat secluded life in a golden prison.
I don't remember Ifan or Lohse doing anything similar so far. Speaking of Which, Ifan seemed to have more conversation options for answer compared to the other, which i apprecited, different writer maybe ?


As for animal cruelty
the source hounds comes to mind and does fit, but what else do you count in ? the orphan bear in fort Joy ? (i wouldn't), The corrupted deer ? the wolf abomination near the altar ? the shark ? the hens ? the exploding rats in the witch cellar ? the ones you sacrifice for a source point with Hannag ?
I don't really count the burning pig because they're cursed humans


Another detail, about Braccus rex, it isn't surprising, Larian tends to retcons various points in their game, i could document quite a few changes from game to game.
 

Ismaul

Thought Criminal #3333
Patron
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
1,871,804
Location
On Patroll
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech A Beautifully Desolate Campaign My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
Agreed, but isn't it equally telling in and of itself, when knowing a game's mechanics doesn't make any difference to how well you preform in the game?
Euhh, what? They do make a huge difference. If you don't build your character following the obfuscated damage formula, you're going to have a hard time (in Tactician) and end up complaining about Armor and HP bloat. This last complaint wouldn't be as big if the system was better at communicating how you improve your damage, or if the formula wasn't so obnoxious.
 

AwesomeButton

Proud owner of BG 3: Day of Swen's Tentacle
Patron
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
16,144
Location
At large
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Agreed, but isn't it equally telling in and of itself, when knowing a game's mechanics doesn't make any difference to how well you preform in the game?
Euhh, what? They do make a huge difference. If you don't build your character following the obfuscated damage formula, you're going to have a hard time (in Tactician) and end up complaining about Armor and HP bloat. This last complaint wouldn't be as big if the system was better at communicating how you improve your damage, or if the formula wasn't so obnoxious.
I wouldn't know about Tactician. I started on Classic, and after seeing what the combat system is like, never thought about going up from that.
 

Grampy_Bone

Arcane
Joined
Jan 25, 2016
Messages
3,619
Location
Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
I recall going from fun to bored to utterly loathing the game by the final act. Just a miserable slog I finished out of stubbornness.

Jeez, when was the last RPG anyone played where they didn't have to force themselves to finish it? Seems like every game nowadays is just bloat.
 

Pizzashoes

Scholar
Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Messages
444
Overall, the combat is so fun that it makes the game good. Picking up a two-hander, hitting the whirlwind button, and getting juicy crits feels great.

REVIEW said:
That people played it more or less on autopilot, ignoring the fact that it’s mechanically about as shallow as a puddle, because the pretty graphixxx, undead lizardmen player characters and battle teleportation managed to effectively distract them.

Darth Roxor was right again.
Yeah, he was able to accurately observe behavior. That's not difficult. But generally speaking, pretty graphics, undead lizardmen, and battle teleportation can be a huge part of what makes a game fun.
 
Last edited:

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom