Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Gameplay Journal - Part 15
I have finally reached a new landmass in Divinity - Original Sin 2. I left Fort Joy, ventured through the Hollow Marshes, finished my harrowing boat journey aboard the Lady Vengeance, and am just now disembarking to explore Driftwood. As highly anticipated as this new region was, I have to say I'm a little disappointed by it.
If I didn't know any better, I'd assume I was back at Fort Joy and the Hollow Marshes. There isn't anything particularly visually distinct about Driftwood, though I guess I'm ok with new NPCs to interact with and quests to take on. There is also the main quest to follow, though that just seems to be "go find so-and-so so they can tell me where to go next." Fascinating stuff.
This also seems to be where Divinity - Original Sin 2 takes its training wheels off. In these play sessions I had to spend a significant amount of time (not while recording), re-arranging my gear and setting up quick save points because I found myself running up against some really challenging fights. In the process of doing this, I finally discovered how to identify items, which--in typical arcane PC game fashion--requires you to give unidentified items and an identifying glass to a specific kind of character in your party before you can do it.
It's these kinds of design choices that really make me question whether all of the complexity Divinity - Original Sin 2 touts is really that worth it. Is there really a compelling reason to separate inventory management like this? Can this game's interlocking systems really come together to make passing items between party members an important tactical or strategic consideration as you play? So far, all signs are pointing to no. All I'm getting from it is tedium, particularly when managing everything on a relatively small 11 inch screen.
That said, a number of things upon visiting Driftwood have caught my attention as super-detailed interactions the likes of which few games on mobile can replicate. For starters, one of my party members turns out to be a wanted man in town, and I've had to disguise him using a magical helmet. I also successfully outed a man who cons people by abusing his dog and pretending it's sick instead.
These are the kinds of things that are keeping me going through Divinity - Original Sin 2 and will fuel my continued pursuit of covering it in painstaking detail. The only thing that will stop me at this point is the game perhaps getting too difficult. The end of my second video is me hitting yet another Game Over screen in an encounter with magisters, which I hope to overcome the next time I pick the game up. Until the next entry!