Beyond Divinity underrated?

[Monocause]

A year ago or so I got bored with Divine Divinity and read that the sequel is different. My interest was ruined when I read how the Codex (and some mainstream review sites) bashed the game.

Now I decided to 'demo' it, and, well. I didn't get far but I found it more likeable than Divine Divinity.

The beginning was a bit painful - the UI is kinda crap, so is most of the voice acting. The visuals aren't that bad, but they don't help getting around. Playing around in a resolution lower than 1280x960 is a chore (not much visible and camera controls are sloppy at 1024x768), but the developers apparently didn't think about improving readability of the text or doing something with the small, small icons in the inventory - there is a 1600x1200 option, but I conjecture that the game must be unplayable that way. I could go on and list all these basic design fuck-ups, but that's not the point.

The point is, the game is fun. It has an interesting skill system and a more interesting premise than DD. Battles are harder - less of a mobfest, more of enemies that can kill you in a couple of blows. BD switched to being a party-based ARPG instead of being a Diablo clone DD was, coupled with a RTwP system which could be done better (no autopause? Geez) but makes the combat more unforgiving and yes, tactical - as tactical as ARPGs get from my experience.

So why the hate? Does the game get worse later on? Or were you people just disillusioned with BD because it's not really a proper DD sequel? I realise that the world is reportedly smaller and more linear, but seems to me that the game makes up for it by improving on other parts of the gameplay.

If someone uninstalled it five minutes after starting a new game due to design flaws mentioned before, give BD another try. You can get used to the UI and the general production values, they just require... a bit more leniency from the player than a decent game usually would - but after half an hour or so all the flaws stopped bugging me. Combat, the skill system and some other stuff seem worth the initial pain to me.

DISCUSS!!!

 

[Murk]

The battlegrounds are annoying/obnoxious but luckily entirely optional - tho talk states that you'll die too easily if you don't level up in them.

I personally found it to be pretty fun but worse than DD. It's also much more linear - but I did enjoy the alien lands and strange setting.

I'd rate it 7/10, where-as I'd rate DD 8.5/10.

 

[Shannow]

Bad game is bad, no tl;dr wall of text can change that. The worst game-purchase I ever made and I bought X-Com: Enforcer.

 

[Monocause]

Bad game is bad, no tl;dr wall of text can change that. The worst game-purchase I ever made and I bought X-Com: Enforcer.

I feel your pain, bro, but that doesn't explain much.

 

[DraQ]

tl;dr wall of text

This should be reserved for Andharias inane rambling and such, not thoughtful musings on an RPGCodex-relevant subject, you moran.

 

[Shannow]

tl;dr wall of text

This should be reserved for Andharias inane rambling and such, not thoughtful musings on an RPGCodex-relevant subject, you moran.

Let me rephrase that: I don't give a fuck what good anybody can find in Beyond Divinity. If someone finds it it means he's either braindead or his preferences are so far removed from mine that it's not worth discussing/arguing over. Walls of text of whatever quality not withstanding.

 

[DraQ]

tl;dr wall of text

This should be reserved for Andharias inane rambling and such, not thoughtful musings on an RPGCodex-relevant subject, you moran.

Let me rephrase that: I don't give a fuck what good anybody can find in Beyond Divinity. If someone finds it it means he's either braindead or his preferences are so far removed from mine that it's not worth discussing/arguing over. Walls of text of whatever quality not withstanding.

The only proper response to monocause showing you his honor wall of text is showing him honor a wall of text on your own.

In other words:
Text or GTFO

 

[Jaesun]

I have never read anything that will ever get me to try playing Beyond Divinity. Nice try though Monocause.

 

[DraQ]

I haven't played DD and only heard that BD is shit, on the other hand Monocause seems to have very similar opinion regarding Div2 to the one I hold, so I'm thoroughly interested in the mudslinging that may take place in this thread.

 

[coldcrow]

It is actually not that bad, but the inclusion of "too-lazy-to-balance-let's-include-the-battlefields-grindfests" ruins everything.

 

[Jaesun]

I haven't played DD and only heard that BD is shit

Honestly DD is a fun little hack and slash romp, you might give it a try sometime. And for 9$ on GOG well worth it.

It has it's flaws but the game overall was enjoyable.

And it has a fucking portable bed! Best, feature EVAR.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Monocause says he also believed the game was shit before playing and even during the first minutes of playing. Then he says it gets better later.

Then you people come and say it was a nice try but you won't ever play it because you heard it was shit / played a little and thought it was shit.

 

[Black_Willow]

pic

What's the title of this hentai?

 

[Monocause]

Yes, the battlefields are an example of sloppy design. Fortunately, they are entirely optional and I suggest you skip them.

 

[xemous]

germans cant make rpgs im afraid

 

[Gragt]

Larian is a Belgian developper.

 

[aleph]

germans cant make rpgs im afraid

Gothic II, Realms of Arkania.

 

[Monocause]

Played it a bit more. Here's a minireview based on my experiences with the just-finished act I:

- The story and the setting are interesting, more so than those of Div1. For now, at least.

- Combat requires more management and care, so much that I don't really think this is an ARPG anymore (at least if you ignore the battlefields). Multiple FFFFFUUUUU moments, but I actually liked them.

- Skill system is fun but underdeveloped, lacking balance and user-unfriendly. For example - I thought about playing a wizard and was underwhelmed with how crappy the wizard skills seemed - I've decided to stick with it nevertheless. Damage done by the 'elemental air' skill at first two levels was crap (somewhere around 19-38) but when I got the skill to level 5 it got around 58-120. Trouble is, the game doesn't inform you how the points you put into a skill scale long-term; if I were less stubborn I'd have ignored spells altogether. Another thing - upgrading weapon damage yields an 8-16 increase with the first point, but only a 1-3 increase in the second one. You have no idea if 3 points in lockpick is a lot or not - I could go on and on. Proper descriptions would go a long way to allow the player to plan out his skills properly. Fortunately, you can pay gold to respec your character at any given moment, this alleviates the problem by a small margin.

- This game lacks polish all throughout and feels like something that could've been great. Troika or Obsidian come to mind. Seems like Larian tried very hard to finish it ASAP. Area design in certain places and the terrible, terrible implementation of the battlefields idea can serve as an example.

- Battlefields are an another subject. They're randomly created dungeons with a 'hub' consisting of a couple of vendors. It feels completely tacked on last-minute. There's no in-game explanation of the battlefield phenomenon, the whole thing just doesn't make any fucking sense and is boring to tears; if you're going to give BD a try, steer clear of them.

- The party system. Actually, there's only one party member other than you - the other members are summoned via 'summoning dolls'. These have persistent stats, levels, skills and inventories of their own.
That's a neat idea that suffers from poor design. Worst thing - summoned party members die if they go too far away from the place they were respawned and you have to wait a short amount of time to summon them again.
I'd really like to hear the rationale behind such a decision. Why not ditch the radius and design the combat encounters appropriately? It would work a whole lot better and be more fun.

Despite all that I'd say that the game is decent. It just feels rushed, as if Larian either was in danger of going down the drain or as if they had multiple awesome ideas, tried to implement them all and failed (Div2 is a less severe case of the same problem).
If you're not an angry cunt who prefers to vomit on games instead of playing them, would like to try out something new and are patient enough to learn the ropes the hard way, give BD a go for an experience that turns out to be surprisingly decent, with an oldskool vibe here and there. Just don't expect anything really similar to Div1 or you're bound to be disappointed.

 

[Relayer71]

I haven't played DD and only heard that BD is shit

Honestly DD is a fun little hack and slash romp, you might give it a try sometime.

Calling it a little "hack and slash romp" sells it a bit short, IMO.

That would better describe Diablo or Dungeon Siege.

DD has a huge, cohesive world in conflict and you can see the effects of the conflict everywhere. Many of the quests aren't cookie-cutter quests just for the sake of questing but tied in very nicely to the overall setting.

There is a lot of humor in the game, the characters often surprise you with their dialogue and there is a lot going on in the gameworld.

"Hack and slash" does apply as the combat system IS similar to Diablo's and there is a TON of combat - to me this is the real negative of the game and it can get a bit tedious at times but OVERALL the game isn't shallow or "lite".

There is a bit more "RPG", or let us say "meat" to DD lacking in those other hacky slashy games.

 

[Felix]

pic

What's the title of this hentai?

Kiss x Sis, not hentai, close enough though....but do you enjoy incest (kind of) or student on teacher action

 

[Sceptic]

That does it, I'm playing the Divinity series next. If I don't get distracted by U6P...

 

[Darth Roxor]

I need to get around to playing DD one day.

 

[Martin]

Its a good game, I dont remember many details because I played it such a long time ago, but overall I had more fun with BD than with DD. DD has its particular charm, more free roaming, good art and more intuitive gameplay but the combat becomes repetitive fast and is a bit too simplistic, especially considering the many underpowered or useless skills.

Beyond Divinity has a better combat engine altogether, at first you may find the control scheme for the two characters annoying but once you get used to it, it actually works rather well. The skill system isnt as clear as it should be and the manual explains very little, but it is very flexible and for the most part functional and rewarding.

Combat is fun and you get many challenging moments, Rtwp with only two characters with the BD combat engine allows fluid combat gameplay and it never gets as dull as in DD, at least in my opinion. Also the control scheme with the 2 characters is explored well when interacting with the environment, interaction with the environment and the characters is surprisingly good.

If you dont mind the game's wacky humorous style BD is one of those games that manages to hook you and keep you interested until you finish it, it starts a bit slow but it picks up pace soon after the first area.

Unfortunately you wont find examples of brilliant storytelling or great writing, a solid mature atmosphere or any of that, the game doesnt take itself anywhere near seriously enough for that.

But its definitely worth a playthrough, regardless of you liking divine divinity or not, its a completely different game.

There is a great focus on combat of course, but the combat system is better than divine divinity, and like some posters above stated I wouldn't
dismiss it as just another mindless hack and slash ARPG.

 

[Monocause]

So, Codexia, you've got four reasonably positive posts on the game. I'd say that's a good enough reason to spend 6$ on GOG or spend a part of your moral spine on a torrent.