Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Divinity: Original Sin 2

[you know what time it is]

TL;DR

But it's probably negative and I mostly agree. Liked the first more, expected more from the second. It was enjoyable in that initial 20 hours burst, but got stale and annoying really quick. Still better than whatever else was released at the time, not great on its own merit though.

 

[Achiman]

I recall going from fun to bored to utterly loathing the game by the final act. Just a miserable slog I finished out of stubbornness.

Jeez, when was the last RPG anyone played where they didn't have to force themselves to finish it? Seems like every game nowadays is just bloat.

Just beat Elex, and I went directly from Div OS 2 to Elex funnily enough. No problems trying to 'force' myself to finish that game. Similarly the combat in Elex was probably the weakest part of the game too.

 

[Blaine]

Jeez, when was the last RPG anyone played where they didn't have to force themselves to finish it? Seems like every game nowadays is just bloat.

First time playing it, and completely from scratch? Morrowind, Underrail, Arx Fatalis, New Vegas, and some Spiderweb Software titles are the only ones that spring to mind this side of the 21st century. I'd have to consult a list, because that's only right off the top of my head. Edit: Checked some Codex lists. KotOR II and Wizardry 8 are the only two I'd add to that list at this time.

Age of Decadence can be "finished" during a lunch break, so it's hard to say how it fits into the grand scheme of things.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Jeez, when was the last RPG anyone played where they didn't have to force themselves to finish it? Seems like every game nowadays is just bloat.

First time playing it, and completely from scratch? Morrowind, Underrail, Arx Fatalis, New Vegas, and some Spiderweb Software titles are the only ones that spring to mind this side of the 21st century. I'd have to consult a list, because that's only right off the top of my head. Edit: Checked some Codex lists. KotOR II and Wizardry 8 are the only two I'd add to that list at this time.

Age of Decadence can be "finished" during a lunch break, so it's hard to say how it fits into the grand scheme of things.

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

 

[J_C]

Jeez, when was the last RPG anyone played where they didn't have to force themselves to finish it? Seems like every game nowadays is just bloat.

First time playing it, and completely from scratch? Morrowind, Underrail, Arx Fatalis, New Vegas, and some Spiderweb Software titles are the only ones that spring to mind this side of the 21st century. I'd have to consult a list, because that's only right off the top of my head. Edit: Checked some Codex lists. KotOR II and Wizardry 8 are the only two I'd add to that list at this time.

Age of Decadence can be "finished" during a lunch break, so it's hard to say how it fits into the grand scheme of things.

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

Grimoire is not a game where one has to force himself to finish it. It is one where one has to force himself to even touch it.

 

[J_C]

Swen's fall from grace is quite comical on the Codex. I imagine this picture in my head that a year ago Swen could walk into the room full of Codexian as a rock star, fireworks going off in the background, while heavy metal is playing. He was basking in the love of the people. One bad step later: he is a homeless hobo, asking change on the street, while Codexian are walking through him, looking down with disgust.

You are absolutely disgusting Codex.

 

[Darth Roxor]

it's such a quiet thing, to fall

far more terrible is to admit it

 

[Sacred82]

Swen's fall from grace is quite comical on the Codex. I imagine this picture in my head that a year ago Swen could walk into the room full of Codexian as a rock star, fireworks going off in the background, while heavy metal is playing. He was basking in the love of the people. One bad step later: he is a homeless homo, asking change on the street, while Codexian are walking through him, looking down with disgust.

You are absolutely disgusting Codex.

The really funny thing is how everyone now pretends to not have sucked D:OS' digital dick all over the forums. Maybe not Roxor, because he could love the living shit out of something and still act blasé about it, but others. It was absolutely predictable it would be the Kodex GOTY from how it got people singing the Te Deum.

Sort of ironic I found D:OS to be a boring game that failed on several fronts and still I had to point out a few things about the review that shat on its successor.

 

[Blaine]

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?

 

[Blaine]

Swen's fall from grace is quite comical on the Codex. I imagine this picture in my head that a year ago Swen could walk into the room full of Codexian as a rock star, fireworks going off in the background, while heavy metal is playing. He was basking in the love of the people. One bad step later: he is a homeless homo, asking change on the street, while Codexian are walking through him, looking down with disgust.

You are absolutely disgusting Codex.

"One bad step," he says.

All right. Speaking purely hypothetically, let's say that I trip over a divot in the sidewalk, my pants and underwear snag on a lamp post and are ripped away, and my cock (which just happened to be erect at the time) pops into your mom's mouth. I dunno, maybe she's into sidewalk yoga.

Crazy accident, right?

Is it still an accident when I neglect to remove my cock from your mom's mouth? What if, in addition to leaving it in there, I start pumping my hips enthusiastically? What if I finish in her mouth and then light a cigarette?

A "bad step" that someone refuses to acknowledge or learn from, and that they indeed embrace and defend, isn't a "bad step." It's a deliberate choice that they fully endorse, not unlike that purely hypothetical scenario where I accidentally fuck your mom's mouth for about ten minutes.

 

[J_C]

A "bad step" that someone refuses to acknowledge or learn from, and that they indeed embrace and defend, isn't a "bad step."

What the fuck you expect from Swen? To start sucking the Codex's dick on twitter and say: "yeah, we fucked up, we are sorry, our designers are idiots?" All this because he posted one fucking tweet where he said he disagrees with the review?

He read the review, probably acknowleded the problems listed there and we can hope that they will use this knowledge in their next game (or the fixes). And the "bad step" obviously meant DOS2, their game.

 

[AwesomeButton]

What does Sven disagree with, exactly? That D:OS2's combat system is much simplified compared to D:OS', that the initiative system is broken, made for the designers' convenience, or what? No need for reviews to tell him these things, enough to read his own forums.

The really funny thing is how everyone now pretends to not have sucked D:OS' digital dick all over the forums. Maybe not Roxor, because he could love the living shit out of something and still act blasé about it, but others.

#MeNeither I never played D:OS past Cyseal, and I heard it only gets worse from then on, so I don't think I ever will replay it.

 

[Perkel]

Swen's fall from grace is quite comical on the Codex. I imagine this picture in my head that a year ago Swen could walk into the room full of Codexian as a rock star, fireworks going off in the background, while heavy metal is playing. He was basking in the love of the people. One bad step later: he is a homeless hobo, asking change on the street, while Codexian are walking through him, looking down with disgust.

You are absolutely disgusting Codex.

This is why i love codex actually. Because codex usually gives people their due regardless of their status.

Only way to create shield on codex to shield you from criticism for maybe 1 or 2 games is to create first multiple games that prove you are good. Like Tim Cain or MCA. Then we can talk about mistakes without completely shitting on someone.

On other hand if you don't have game under your belt codex is highly critical but not unreasonable, meaning as long as you concept/design is good people won't shit on it and will be in fact rooting for project/game. I saw it multiple times with smaller games here.

Codex start to shit on you when you either:
- make stupid decisions (like DOS2 combat system)
- or you just want to make to casuls and dumb down everything (fall of bioware).

He read the review, probably acknowleded the problems listed there and we can hope that they will use this knowledge in their next game (or the fixes). And the "bad step" obviously meant DOS2, their game.

lol "probably". On other hand he didn't have problem with saying that people who complain are minority and they don't care about them because they have 95% of other people who love their game.

 

[Sacred82]

This is why i love codex actually. Because codex usually gives people their due regardless of their status.

lol the status that they gave people in the first place

Only way to create shield on codex to shield you from criticism for maybe 1 or 2 games is to create first multiple games that prove you are good. Like Tim Cain or MCA. Then we can talk about mistakes without completely shitting on someone.

fail, if Kodexers were rational sceptics, they wouldn't go apeshit over what they might consider your first good game (D:OS) or games that don't exist (hello Chaos Chronicles/ Realms Beyond).

Kodexers are Japanese schoolgirls as far as hype goes, and vengeful furies once disappointed.


Not saying that there's nothing to love about that.

 

[AwesomeButton]

"Codexers" are apparently also the people who voted D:OS2 GOTY...

 

[Darth Roxor]

if Kodexers were rational sceptics, they wouldn't go apeshit over what they might consider your first good game (D:OS)

dos wasnt the first gud larian game

 

[Sacred82]

if Kodexers were rational sceptics, they wouldn't go apeshit over what they might consider your first good game (D:OS)

dos wasnt the first gud larian game

a prestigious answer, but what does the hivemind think?

 

[Tacgnol]

I was initially positive about DOS:2, but my opinion of the game declined a lot after a few hours in.

The broken initiative system, force-field armour system and health/stat bloat all really annoyed me. It's a shame that Swen is apparently blind to all of this.

 

[Jimmious]

I was initially positive about DOS:2, but my opinion of the game declined a lot after a few hours in. I read the whining in the Codex thread

FTFY

 

[Jimmious]

It's not butthurt, it's the realization that Codex ruins games for its members. I've lost the will to play a couple just because people in here focus on every possible negative aspect

 

[Fenix]

Didn't read revio yet, only comments...
Well, I think DOS2 will be the last thing in line I'll play, also I disagree that armor system and initiative changes are bad.
Anyway, I'll play one lone wolf only, so initiative changes and HORRIBLE itemisation affct my playstyle the least.

 

[Blaine]

I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when I click "List" I'm going to see that this Brofist was bestowed by our resident Jewish hypebeast and shillmaster extraordinaire, Infinitron.

Yep. If it were still the 1990s, I'd strongly consider starting my own psychic hotline at this juncture.

 

[Perkel]

It's not butthurt, it's the realization that Codex ruins games for its members. I've lost the will to play a couple just because people in here focus on every possible negative aspect

Then maybe you should change forum ? RPGwatch ? ResetEra ? etc. There you will be among your friends who love their games and any criticism is meet with scorn of public. Especially those games from acclaimed studios.

I went completely blind and hyped into T:ToN and found it boring (despite at first look amazing world)
I went completely blind and hyped into DOS2 and quickly found out that i can't play it past Act 2 because how mechanics suck.
I went completely blind and hyped into Pillars of Eternity and i found it mediacore but with a lot of promise for amazing sequel (provided if devs will fix PoE1 issues)

By going completely blind and hyped i already established a lot of fucking goodwill and yet it didn't work.

I went into DOS1 also blind but without any hype and DOS1 is one of my favorite games.
I went into NeoScavenger not knowing anything about it other than some codexer said "shat in woods and wolfman ate me" and i found game amazing
I went into Elex thinking it will be just another fucking of Gothic corpse and somehow i found it fun.


Maybe just maybe, it isn't problem with codex but game.

 

[Jimmious]

It's not butthurt, it's the realization that Codex ruins games for its members. I've lost the will to play a couple just because people in here focus on every possible negative aspect

Then maybe you should change forum ? RPGwatch ? ResetEra ? etc. There you will be among your friends who love their games and any criticism is meet with scorn of public. Especially those games from acclaimed studios.

I tried rpgwatch a bit but it seems kinda "dead" to me. This is by far the most active forum on the genre.
Also criticism is one thing and presenting each game apart from the 1-2 "codex favorites" as complete shit is something different.

 

[Blaine]