Old-school, pen-and-paper roleplaying from the comfort of your couch.
When IGN reviewed Divinity: Original Sin on PC last year, we gave it a 9 for “Amazing.” Here’s what we had to say:
“Divinity: Original Sin is one of the most rewarding RPGs to come along in years. Its quests and combat compelled me to think hard about my actions and choices, which is more than I usually get to say about contemporary RPGs. Its depth, personality, and combat challenges easily allow it to hold its own against the likes of heavyweights like Dragon Age: Origins.”
We want to hear it.
It was difficult to imagine Original Sin’s old-school complexity working on consoles (read our full review for Divinity: Original Sin for complete details), but Enhanced Edition successfully makes it happen without any sacrifices. Though the same inventory criticisms apply, the highly interactive world of Rivellon and the finely detailed RPG systems therein are completely intact.
Because of all of its complexity, there’s an enormous amount of information to process in Original Sin, and Enhanced Edition does an excellent job of displaying it on a TV screen in a way that’s easily readable from the couch, and mapping controls to the gamepad accordingly. Independently managing the inventories of every member of my party is still the pretty fiddly and cumbersome , but thanks to smart use of selection radials and intelligent button mapping, it’s not too much of an issue. Triangle or Y always gives detailed info about what you’re looking at, and square or B always brings up a list of actions you can take on whatever you’re targeting. This consistency kept all the options and information readily and intuitively available, so I could make informed roleplaying decisions.
We want to hear it.
Enhanced Edition looks in line with the PC version at ultra settings.
Visually, Divinity isn’t the flashiest dancer at the ball, but Enhanced Edition looks in line with the PC version at ultra settings, plus some reworked special effects. Its humble, Euro-Fantasy aesthetic serves dutifully, creating the right vibe for the D&D-esque trappings and mechanics. And though it runs at only 30 frames per second on both consoles, performance is reliably steady, even during split screen co-op.
In terms of new content, the biggest addition is the full voicing of pretty much every NPC, which adds a layer of immersion to a world that was already very well-realized. New areas and skills have been added too, and while they’re appreciated, Divinity is already so large and exhaustive these feel more like cherries on top as opposed to a whole new scoop. For instance, the addition of dual wielding as a combat style helps make off-hand weapons more viable, but it isn’t exactly a reason to replay if you’ve already sunk 100 hours into the original.
We want to hear it.
What might convince veterans to play again though, is the inclusion of split-screen local play, making the unique co-op potential of Original Sin easier to discover than with the online mode. Splitting your party up to explore separately and settling disputed quest choices with a virtual game of rock, paper, scissors adds a wonderful slice of actual pen-and-paper roleplaying to an experience that already feels like the genuine article. All of these features, including controller support and split screen co-op, are available on the free upgrade for the PC version.
If you want the RPG with the most skills, the most stats to consider, and a world that constantly makes meaningful use of every line on your character sheet, there’s nothing else quite like Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. You can find RPGs that are prettier, more accessible, or less busy, but very few are as dedicated to the true spirit of role-playing as this one is.
