Growing up I played a lot of games, shooters, platformers, adventure games, RPGs like Pokemon. But somehow never played any old school classic ones like Fallout, KotOR, Baldurs Gate or any of like that. So it seems all the more strange to say that I feel a weird sense of nostalgia from playing DOS2. Maybe it's the lovingly crafted world, maybe its the variety of approaches to the gameplay, harkening back to a time when games were more immersive and less linear. Or maybe it's something special about the way Larian makes their games. Either way DOS2 has become one of my most enjoyable gaming experiences of my whole life and a game I would say may rank among the finest ever made.

Truth be told I bounced off of DOS2 maybe twice before I actually got it to finally click for me. I tried it for maybe 10 hours 2 and a half years ago, got a bit into Fort Joy. Gave up, quit for a year and decided Id try again. Began a new save and got back into it pretty hard, fell in love with the first act, put 40 hours in exploring and loving the game. Got to Act 2, felt overwhelmed and out of place and just desired to go back to Fort Joy and dropped the game again for an entire year. Picked it back up on a whim and began right back where I left off. Had a buddy help me respec my characters a bit and I was in love.

Divinity Original Sin 2 is a classic RPG. The main game play functions similarly to Dungeons and Dragons, where it is split up into segments where you explore with your characters, talk to NPCs, gain quests, and do whatever RPG stuff you want, steal, buy things, explore the games world and then obviously get into combat, the other chunk of the game. DOS2 is played like a tactical turn based RPG somewhat similar to XCOM but not entirely. The game has no rigid class system like Baldurs Gate or Diablo. Characters can freely spec their attributes however and if they meet the requisite skill for a move, they can use it. While my initial reaction towards the way the games armor system works was negative, it grew up me very well and I now see it as a way Divinity puts itself apart from other games in its style.

The story itself is charming if not unremarkable. It is full of wonderful characters however, hilarious moments and excellent side quests, whereas the overarching plot follows more in line with a typical chosen one RPG affair. It serves its purpose very well without being so present it becomes boring.

This is not a game Id expect to fall in love with, and yet I did. It is almost without flaw and IMO a must try for any gamer. An underappreciated and beautiful game.