Thank you Focus Home Interactive for sending us this game to review!

Divinity Original Sin was successfully Kickstarted in 2013 and was released for PC and Mac platforms in 2014.  The Enhanced Edition which came out in 2015 added many new features and became available on Linux, PS4, and the Xbox One.  Owners of the original edition were given a free upgrade.  The Enhanced Edition adds many new quests and voice acting to all of the characters in the game.  Online and local multiplayer are available for all of the platforms as well.  Up to two players can play locally or online and a total of four players can be in your adventuring party.

The story in the Enhanced Edition is mostly the same, but has an improved ending.  Magic in the world of Rivellon has become tainted and the sorcerers that used it went crazy.  Hunters like you are called to get to the bottom of it.  The town of Cyseal has an unusual murder that you’ve been called to investigate.  Magic has definitely played a part in it, but who used it and why?  As you complete both story and side quests you’ll discover that the fate of the world is resting on your shoulders.  

Divinity Original Sin is a 3D open world turn based RPG.  You can complete quests and explore as you see fit.  However, some areas are harder than others and you’ll be issued a warning that you’re treading into dangerous territory if the game feels that you’re under leveled.

There are four difficulty levels to choose from and the hardest difficulty, Honour, deletes your only save file if your party dies.  If you still want a challenge and your save file, the new difficulty mode, Tactician, will be perfect.   

Although the characters have a base class, they are completely customizable.  There are battle mages, enchanters, witches, clerics, inquisitors, knights, and rangers available.  If you’re playing solo, you can customize your companion character and assign them a loyal, free, or random personality.    As you fight and talk to them, they will unlock new traits.  Talking to townspeople and exploring dungeons will reveal potential party members who will offer to join your group.  Since you can only have a maximum of four people in your party, some will be waiting for you to be re-recruited in a special area later on in the game.

The battles in this game are turn based and each character has a limited number of action points for moving and attacking.  Sometimes you’ll have enough points to get close to the enemy, but not enough to land an attack.  Unused points can be carried over to the next turn though.  Healing spells, potions, and abilities are mandatory.  Resurrection scrolls for reviving fallen party members are crucial to have on hand as well.  Unfortunately, each character has a separate inventory, but sending items back and forth is easily done.  

There are lots of traps ranging from lava to clouds of poison and static gas.  Many times there is a vent or a pressure plate that needs to be covered with an object to disarm them.  Pay attention to land mines and other explosive devices that can gravely injure your party members.  Be sure to thoroughly search chests, barrels, and crates for valuable loot and keys.  While doors can be attacked and broken down, keys or lock picks are much more efficient. The teleporting pyramids which are given to your party later in the game are a great way to bypass hazardous areas.  They also provide some comic relief with a peeping tom bath house scene.

Like many dungeon crawlers, the more dangerous the area, the better the loot.  Improved weapons and armor are always just around the corner.  Be sure to have a party member that can identify unknown items and/or repair damaged weapons and armor.  Retailers can do it, but it gets pricey after a while.  

The side quests range from escorting NPCs to solving a sheep theft.  When talking to NPCs you can try to charm, intimidate, or reason with them.  Your success is determined by several rock/paper/scissors matches. After losing many of these matches, I much prefer the skill based methods in other popular RPG games.

Despite not being fond of the Rock/Paper/Scissor matches, the rest of the game was very well polished.  The voice acting is great and the background music is very pretty and pleasant to listen to.  The graphics are nicely detailed and the water and elemental effects look nice.  The enemies are diverse and are especially challenging in groups.  

As fun as this title is, it’s not without appropriateness issues.  The murder mystery you’re investigating involves possible infidelity and magic use.  The scene of the crimes shows a lot of blood as do the turn based battles throughout the game.  Magic use including necromancy is prevalent throughout the storyline.  Pentacles are shown on many of the spell books.    Last but not least, there is some minor language including the words h*ll and d*mn.

If the moral issues do not bother you, Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition will provide plenty hours of entertainment.  You can expect over seventy hours of great story telling and plenty of intense battles.  If you’re new to Divinity Original Sin, the Enhanced edition is the one to get.  The multiplayer portion is still very active and people have joined my games. I have seen several other player’s games to join as well.  Even if you’re playing solo, the AI personalities are entertaining.  You’re still calling all of the shots in the battles, so if you lose, you only have yourself to blame.