Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Divinity: Original Sin 2

[Infinitron]

That's enough reason to put down the game forever. I already had enough rummaging through junk in Neverwinter N. 2 and this sounds even worse.

It should be said that it's the issue most easily fixed by mods: https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/58

 

[Lahey]

https://www.reddit.com/r/DivinityOriginalSin/comments/82x59f/original_sin_2_review_by_rpg_codex/

I mean, to each their own but when they start reviewing the player base...that's where they lose me. The reviewer is right, everyone else is wrong, and here's why.

Which brings me to my final point. I hope that Original Sin 2 was successful not because but despite all those changes. That people played it more or less on autopilot, ignoring the fact that it’s mechanically about as shallow as a puddle, because the pretty graphixxx, undead lizardmen player characters and battle teleportation managed to effectively distract them.

Oh yes, I'm sure because they thought the game was a downgrade from DOS1, all 22,000+ positive reviewers on steam and 92/100 meta critic review from 72 critics were all just dazzled by graphics....and apparently undead lizards and teleportation?

Personally, I enjoyed DOS1 but the story didn't grab me like it did in DOS2, mostly because I felt that the story was really unfolding to the tune of my own choices, like "I'm in this mess with the chickens because I chose to be able to talk to them and talk with every animal I can find". I also don't get the allure of custom characters, sure you get to customize the your character and "make it your own", but it was still a blank canvas with little to no personality that didn't really react to the world and rather just moved through it. Whereas in DOS2, the first thing that really hit home was the fact that my choices on what I did with my character, who they were, who I chose to be in my party, and what their stats were all really mattered and required me to go about things differently every single time.

Yeah he has some valid gameplay points but when he got to that part I was like "ok so you're just an ass?"

That paragraph made it feel like he was just AGGRESSIVELY gatekeeping rpgs. He's doing the same thing as the folks that go "lol ur not a gamer u play cod" or "I bet you only listen to <band name's> popular album and not <deep cut>" and that shit just needs to stop. Let people like what they like man.

"rpgcodex"

duh?

This is the first time i've ever been on the site haha. Should i take their other reviews with a massive grain of salt? Do they hate most things that are good? I've been looking for another couch coop RPG for myself and my fiance and was going to read some of their other reviews.

"Do they hate most things that are good?"

Not really, they just usually have massive nostalgia boners and a lot of love for complex systems. Probably not the best people to recommend a couch RPG.

edit: then again I just read a random recent review and they complained about Into The Breach being too easy... on Normal so they might just have gone really stupid.

It’s also very apparent just how little thought went into this system. Tell me, why would you raise One-handed, when the ability Warfare gives +5% damage with all physical attacks, and also governs warrior-type skills? Why would you raise Huntsman above the level required to unlock ranger-type skills, when it only increases damage made from high ground by 5%/point, while Ranged increases all ranged damage by 5% and also gives additional crit chance on top?

Do these people not know how multiplication works?

What I find odd about this review is that it bashes the armor system and asks for the "good old" Saving Throws, while completely ignoring that D:OS2 actually solved the "This dude is a boss, that means he is immune to status effects because fuck you" - problem, but hey, that's just me.

Fair opinions, and I share some of them, but the tone of the writing makes it obvious just how opinionated the author is. Abilities are terrible. Armor is downright disastrous. The combat system is plagued by bad things. The AI is stupid and can't perform complex maneuvers. Encounter design: also a disaster. Combat mechanics are distilled stupidity. There isn't enough RNG. Everything is very awful, rotten!

(What, is the author high? Do not wish for more RNG in combat! My favorite part of X-COM was not the 96% miss streaks)

In aggregate, the author sounds like he's trying very hard to find downsides in every detail with the primary motivation of upholding his own image on that site for giving scathing criticisms of RPG games. Bearing that in mind, I have a hard time giving credence to his writing.

yea like wtf why would you want more RNG.... that means you can have the perfect setup of min/maxed heroes and still lose to bullshit 5 times in a row...

I got as far as the thing about multiclassing before I gave up reading.

The point about defensive abilities is pretty legit. The point about warfare as well, I guess. But the rest of this kinda baffles me. What else did they expect that's not damage bonuses?

If anything, I'm happy there's no big increases in dodge chance and no saving throws.

Then there's multiclassing... that point is only half true. As in, it makes little sense to go for both magic and physical damage. But that still leaves plenty of other other options for multiclassing...

I always have a hard time stomaching RPGCodex when it comes to reviews, much like I often have a hard time stomaching Reddit for reviews.

RPGC is never happy, they always shit on everything that isn't either Fallout 1/2/NV or Planescape Torment. That whole community is just so arrogant

Holy shit lol, you'd think Original Sin 2 touched him as a child or something.

I don't understand why RPGC is taken so seriously still, they're as bad as Neogaf as far as I'm concerned.

Not everyone is going to like the game. Honestly some of his criticisms are valid. Having said that I love the game and am having fun.

half his criticisms come from ridiculous bias.... the other half is retarded....more RNG... yea ok....

Simmer down, everybody. It's RPG Codex. This is their shtick.

You know that super-indie friend you have who only listens to alt-core speed-gospel music? And tells you all your music sucks because more than 15 people are aware of the band's existence?

Yeah, that's RPG Codex, except for games. They have a loooooong history of hating every game less than 10 years old, crapping on sequels, and generally proclaiming how it was better when you had to walk thru the snow, uphill -- both ways.

more like that old guy on the block who is angry because he doesn't understand how technology works so is overly critical of it and is content to live in the past.... yet always asks people to work the computer for him.

Honest Question: Is this serious, or is this supposed to be funny/ironic/sarcasm/etc?

I've never heard of this RPG Codex. But this "review" is kinda ridiculous if meant seriously.

Ok. Go make your own game bruh. You obviously have enough time on your hands. And apparently nothing anybody makes will ever be good enough for you.

I just want to say that independent of this review I've always though Infinitron was a bit of a cock.

 

[Sacred82]

I want HiddenX to be my 24/7 lifestyle coach, elevating my nutrition, sleeping habits, mindfulness and general outlook on life to whole new levels, so I may finally be happy with myself.

RPGWatch is saviour.

 

[unfairlight]

Ledditors are retadred, moar news at 11.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

The last RPG where I didn't need to force myself to finish? Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

Who the Hell has finished it yet? Is that even possible?

Viata was the first person (in the world?) to complete Grimoire, on August 13 2017, followed by felipepepe, myself, and several others.

Great game; true incline.

 

[Grauken]

pretty much

 

[Darth Roxor]

yea like wtf why would you want more RNG.... that means you can have the perfect setup of min/maxed heroes and still lose to bullshit 5 times in a row...

 

[vivec]

People who hate themselves don't have high standards for anything. In fact, people who see themselves as elites, do. The eliteness might translate into arrogance but never lowered expectations.

 

[Infinitron]

I just want to say that independent of this review I've always though Infinitron was a bit of a cock.

Mygaffer wtf?

 

[FreeKaner]

Every fucking time.

 

[Bohr]

Wise words from J_C

 

[Grauken]

Can't allow negative viewpoints, that's wrongthink

 

[Eyestabber]

Saving throws is a fuckload of RNG... this is the kinda guy that likes fights like Llengrath from pillars of eternity, unless you metagame like absolute fuck and have godly rolls you WILL be wiped in 1 move due to rng and there's nothing you can do but restart... that's not fun lol thats a load of shit

Ratface's secret love for PoE got EXPOSED.

 

[Fairfax]

HiddenX is pathetic

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

Vocal minorities buy your games continuously even if the mechanics are streamlined, because they are socially motivated by personality cult instead of facts. You can treat them as you see fit. Money in the bank, baby. Casuals abandon games if something more shiny comes up, and that’s precisely why you should all invest all your energies trying to please them. Give Me Dem Dollar Bills!

Fixed for accuracy.

They could have at the very least, made the mechanics IDENTICAL to the first game and the success would have been the same because people got on board here based on the positive reception of the first and the promise that the second would be bigger and better, not that it had some other kind of TB mechanic which would never be a selling point for a TB virgin in the first place.

On the contrary. By making the mechanics more simplistic they improved their sales considerably. You just need to read the reddit comments posted above to understand how depressing the reality is. 1.2 million units in less than 3 weeks. They will surpass the sales of the previous game in a few months.

 

[Ravn7]

Only criticism is worth reading for developers. Great constructive review.

 

[Tigranes]

Dumbfucks who comb twitter for dumbasses or the dumbasses who tweet, which is worse and why

 

[Lambinou]

I keep saying this, but they really should just license a better setting, make a game with established lore, characters, world.

A lot of their shit writing seems tied to the retarded world they cobbled together and the fucking horrible humor and cleverness that they think they are good at.

It's also bad business sense. The Rivellon setting is such a shallow backdrop that Larian has completely squandered the opportunity to establish a distinct setting with continuity they can use as a selling point for all their games in the way that other RPG series do.

I, for one, don't mind this at all. Rivellon is just a name meant to clamp the games from the Divinity series together, and nothing else, letting the games all be completely separate but under a common umbrella.

In fact, the funny thing is that DOS2 is mayhap the first game that actually tries to go for "deeper lore" and tie two Divinity games in more ways than just namedropping The Divine (actually - isn't this also the first game where the divine is actually named? "Lucian") or Aleroth, and is only worse for it.

I could be wrong, but i think he may have been named at some point in Dragon knight saga.

Btw, just out of curiosity, how did you accidentally escape fort Joy ?
And what did you count as animal cruelty ? because some are obvious, others aren't really man made. Given the death rte in DOS2, the animals so far dont seem to have it worse imho.

And another oddity that i've noticed, is that persuasion checks might not at all be what you expect them to be mechanic wise. Typicly you expect a success to bring a good outcome and a failure a bad one, regardless of the method right ?
Well i met an NPC, which gave you different results depending on choice of persuasion. If you intimidate him successfully he still screws you over, while if you succeed with intelligence or other he actually rewards you.


Also, Tbh, i found plenty of people aggreing with roxxor's points on gameplay on reddit, and Larian forums seem to have had this complaint aswell.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/82m8kt/rpg_codex_review_divinity_original_sin_2/

Themanaguy 9 points il y a 1 jour

That's completly true tho.
Finishing minions before the boss is a way to fuck yourself up, because then the boss will attack you sooner each new turn.

• perkel666 6 points il y a 1 jour
  
  that was my point. I was just loling at Larian design team making such fuckup.

Finally someone admitted that Div:OS 2 is a flawed game. Questionable armor system, completely broken initiative, huge power creep every level, cheesy writing and so on.

Shame, people so defensive about their favorite games. This review will probably downvoted to oblivion. Also, some comments here already started bashing codex for it.

I liked both Divinity games, but I agree they are pretty flawed. The writing got better for the sequel, but only marginally. Combat and character building definitely got worse.

Still good games, but a lot of untapped potential.

 

[Sentinel]

Saving throws is a fuckload of RNG... this is the kinda guy that likes fights like Llengrath from pillars of eternity, unless you metagame like absolute fuck and have godly rolls you WILL be wiped in 1 move due to rng and there's nothing you can do but restart... that's not fun lol thats a load of shit

Ratface's secret love for PoE got EXPOSED.

Damn that guy is a complete fucking retard. Llengrath fight in PoE is the only fun encounter in that entire slog of a game. Took me like 5 tries and I actually had to think before I could beat it. I fucking loved it. Fuck that mongoloid.

 

[Kem0sabe]

What the fuck do those reddit cucks know anyways... There is a 90% chance they didn't even enjoyed the game enough to bother finishing it.

 

[Grimnir]

Codex's game of the year!

I can't say I disagree with most of the points made in the review. Divinity 2 had better writing. The original game's combat was more fun. The bioware-tier romance, city of degenerates, or clusterfuck of an ending didn't get mentioned, but Roxor quit halfway through. There are some good things, like multiple solutions to quests, but Larian was hyper sensitive to criticism and went overboard trying to fix things that really didn't need fixing.

 

[Valky]

The first game had multiple solutions to quests. I found out after the robot fight that there was a book that could control it, I ended up burning it with those placed oil barrels.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Btw, just out of curiosity, how did you accidentally escape fort Joy ?

Speaking from shoddy memory plagued by alzheimer's (it was september after all), but I remember at least two instances: one being going up the ramparts near the gate to the keep, passing conveniently unbothered through Dallis's office, passing conveniently unbothered through the judge's court, and finally finding some convenient rope ladder (?) in a broom closet that led me outside.

Second was going down some trap door, walking through a few corridors, and suddenly ending up outside.

And what did you count as animal cruelty ? because some are obvious, others aren't really man made. Given the death rte in DOS2, the animals so far dont seem to have it worse imho.

Again, from memory, what particularly comes to mind are all the dogs in this game, like the buddy of the sad doge in the prison who becomes a mutated sauce hound begging to be mercy killed - I think the only non-tormented doge I remember in the game is the beggar's doge in Driftwood. Then there's the washed up shark in reaper's coast. Then there's the bear cub, which while relatively 'minor' is a particular example of how gratuitous the game is with the subject - so there's a little bear next to a big dead bear and the little bear is very sad, nothing else to it, nothing to do about it (except mercy kill it i guess), whoop de doo.

I don't remember more specific examples right now (because again, it's been a while), but one thing I do remember clearly is being pretty disgusted with nearly all the animal dialogues, and wondering why I even bothered taking pet pal when most that it gives me are the ramblings of some edgy loon.

 

[Lahey]

Dumbfucks who comb twitter for dumbasses or the dumbasses who tweet, which is worse and why

If posting butthurt caused by a Roxor review is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

Here's some from the watch: https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39186

Panning an almost universally praised RPG is what passes for "hip" these days.

Has anyone tried offering the codex reviewers a happy pill?

Just in case the junior-high-school-locker-room atmosphere wasn't enough to drive you away from the Codex, the geek snobbery ought to do the trick.

I'm not reading through that dissertation. I take it there was extra snark today?

Dont waste your time reading it, i will sum up the review for you : Playing Divinity original sin 2 will give you cancer. Elex review last time was incredibly positive oddly, and that was quite mediocre as a game.

Site is run by someone who never play videogames except POE, and most people on forum are here for the lack of moderation, dont play anything at all either, nor seems to enjoy anything. Yet i am still surprised at how negative this is, larian probably forgot to pay for advertisement. Will be surprised if POE 2 get same treatment.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Site is run by someone who never play videogames except POE (...) . Yet i am still surprised at how negative this is, larian probably forgot to pay for advertisement. Will be surprised if POE 2 get same treatment.