Divine Divinity is the best shit game I have ever played

[:Flash:]

It says so right in the GOG description:

This bundle includes both RPGs in the critically acclaimed Original Sin series, from the makers of Baldur's Gate 3.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Yeah, go figure I overlook that.

 

[Garden Rooster]

I started a playthrough as a caster and been really enjoying the game and having a decent time with combat until I reached the boss fight with the sorceress in that weird dungeon filled with dwarves, can't seem to make a dent in her health and she chews through mine like butter. Someone in the first page said how this game is "shit but fun to break" I honestly get what he means since I personally enjoy finding ways to break games but this sorceress seems to have broken me, I think killing her is required to

Spoiler

stop the threat of war between the dwarves and elves in order to recruit the elven council member

. Any tips? I still have other members to recruit so I can probably gather a few more levels and come back later in case there are any abilities I'd need to level up for her but honestly I'm not sure what would be useful.

 

[NJClaw]

I started Divine Divinity for the first time and the strangest thing happened, I think I have a very cursed copy of the game:

Spoiler

 

[sullynathan]

I beat it and the title describes it almost perfectly. There's a lot of design here that would be shit if another game did it but it was fun for the first 10 hours or so but becames incredibly easy 8 hours into the game because certain gear is too good in the RNG based loot driven game and most skills are garbage so I never switched gear or skills yet I was fine because the same strategy kills everyone until the very end of the game that has two nigh-impossible wizards and boring level design.

 

[Ranarama]

Energy Cage?

 

[sullynathan]

Energy Cage?

Played a straight warrior which is funny that I was killing even in the game in 2 - 3 hits except these final mages. The demon of lies was easier and shorter than specifically Josephina and Cornelius.

 

[DraQ]

Yeah, go figure I overlook that.

We have a tag for that.

 

[Eisen]

Do this game get better after the first dungeon?

 

[:Flash:]

The first dungeon is a demo version of the shitty endgame. What is in between is a completely different game, though.

 

[Joggerino]

Yes, this game is EPIC! A bit unbalanced but very charming.

 

[Murk]

Do this game get better after the first dungeon?

Yes, yes it does, a lot better.

I was in the camp of people thought this was a Diablo 1 clone in that the game is stuck to that one village and that one dungeon. I just assumed the map was busted cuz it's a small game from what was basically an indie developer at the time.

Imagine my shock.jpg when the gate opened and I realized "oh fug... that was just the start".

Rest of the game is way better with big emphasis on exploration and quests; all to an amazing soundtrack with 2d art that's managed to age very gracefully (though sprites still look a bit weird [like Dink Smallwood, which has its own charm to me]).

 

[Jinn]

Yeah, it's still really strange to me they decided to the start the game that way. Extremely misleading, drawn out dungeon crawl that really makes you think its a Diablo clone. Kind of baffling and unnecessary.

 

[:Flash:]

The worst thing of it all was that start dungeon was the demo version distributed on magazines back in the day.
How to make people not buy your game 101.

Then we discovered a method to not trigger the end of the demo, which allowed you to walk through a completely broken Overworld with missing assets everywhere, until it inevitably crashed. Fun times.
Many of the names in the game are the names of Forum members of the Larian forum back then, which is why the names in the game are completely inconsistent. Most of the jokes in the writing for these characters can only be understood if you were a member of that forum. I think Arhu the Cat is one of the few that made it into the newer Divinity games. Alrik Fassbauer still posts on RPG watch I think. Another one of the guys who is in the game gave me original boxed copies of the Realms of Arkania Trilogy for free.

 

[Eisen]

Alright, i think i am getting out of the Catacombs soon

 

[otteaux]

I've been sitting on this game in my GOG library for a couple years and finally booted it up over the weekend. This game is comfy af.

It's a really good combination of focused questing and mindless Diablo-esque map discovery - and the writing is actually decent enough that I don't hate reading the in-game lore.

It's perfect second screen gaming. I just ran through the Might and Magic series and I'm thinking of doing the same with the Divinity series. I heard Beyond sucks tho.

 

[:Flash:]

I've been sitting on this game in my GOG library for a couple years and finally booted it up over the weekend. This game is comfy af.

It's a really good combination of focused questing and mindless Diablo-esque map discovery - and the writing is actually decent enough that I don't hate reading the in-game lore.

It's perfect second screen gaming. I just ran through the Might and Magic series and I'm thinking of doing the same with the Divinity series. I heard Beyond sucks tho.

Yes, Beyond Divinity sucks.
Larian didn't receive royalties for Divinity, so Swen had to fire almost the entire team. They stayed afloat coding Kiddie games for Belgian TV and created Beyond Divinity as a side project on a shoestring budget. And it shows.

 

[otteaux]

Larian didn't receive royalties for Divinity, so Swen had to fire almost the entire team. They stayed afloat coding Kiddie games for Belgian TV and created Beyond Divinity as a side project on a shoestring budget. And it shows.

That sucks to hear. I was having a good ol' time last night drinking Miller High Lifes and mass genociding orcs.

 

[Murk]

I've been sitting on this game in my GOG library for a couple years and finally booted it up over the weekend. This game is comfy af.

It's a really good combination of focused questing and mindless Diablo-esque map discovery - and the writing is actually decent enough that I don't hate reading the in-game lore.

It's perfect second screen gaming. I just ran through the Might and Magic series and I'm thinking of doing the same with the Divinity series. I heard Beyond sucks tho.

Yes, Beyond Divinity sucks.
Larian didn't receive royalties for Divinity, so Swen had to fire almost the entire team. They stayed afloat coding Kiddie games for Belgian TV and created Beyond Divinity as a side project on a shoestring budget. And it shows.

I remember reading it was supposed to be an experiment on the engine too, and it had some novel but broken ideas (the magic system). The 3d on 2d wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't awful the way Ultima Online looked, and did cut down on the weirdness of the sprite animations in DivDiv1.

Also introduced the buddy system that OS 1 was built around (and later refined in OS 2).

Can't say it was a "good game", more of an oddity of interest if you happen to be a fan of the developer. Same thing with the demo for The Lady, the Mage, and the Knight.



Also, RIP Kirill.



Man, Div 1 still has the best music out of all the Larian games.

 

[Raghar]

Do this game get better after the first dungeon?

What first dungeon? The dungeon I missed and went underleveled into wilderness?

 

[luj1]

So I have FINALLY managed to beat it after more than a month. Fuck, this game is so shitty.

The character system is shit. Skills are divied into two sperate and distinct categories: the ones that are so good you'd be retarded not to put points in, and the ones that are so bad you'd be retarded to even spend a single point in. Oh, yeah, there's the oddball skills just like Diablo 2 where putting one point in them is a must, but putting any more is a a complete waste. I finished the at about level 48 with an excess of 10+ skill points. Terrible.

The combat is shit. Just hold down the attack button and win. Oh sure, sometimes you might meet a boss and might need to pause the game and drink a healing potion, but most of the time it's "hold down ctrl to autolock on the nearest traget and keep the left mouse button pressed to win". Almost as bad as Diablo.

The encounter design is shit. Basically there is none. The areas are populated with a set number of critters. That's it. You either mow through them like a hot knife through butter, or they rape your ass and it means you have to move to another area. And those fucking last to areas man. What a pointless time sink those were. You are given two HUGE maps and what to the developers do with them? Add some nice quests, NPC's, or towns? Nope. Just copy paste groups of creatures everywhere and you're done. Yay! Game design must be so easy! Anyone can do it!

This is why back in the day Larian's games were third-rate RPGs you picked up only during a particularly dry month at the local CD store. Today there is way less competition so when the cat's away the mice will play.

 

[Murk]

Do this game get better after the first dungeon?

What first dungeon? The dungeon I missed and went underleveled into wilderness?

I didn't know you can even leave the starting village without dealing with Thelyron.

 

[IThinkTheWorldShouldBurn.]

I have fond memories of this game. I've played it a couple of times it's a strange amalgam of shallow combat and deep (certainly for the time) story and conversation choices. Plus it has one of my favourite pieces of video game music.

 

[adddeed]

Yes, Beyond Divinity sucks.

It doesn;t. Im playing it right now. Not as good as Divinity, but its still a lot of fun.

 

[Contagium]

After reading your comment I went on YouTube and started listening to the soundtrack. Maybe the best ever.

I have fond memories of this game. I've played it a couple of times it's a strange amalgam of shallow combat and deep (certainly for the time) story and conversation choices. Plus it has one of my favourite pieces of video game music.