Divinity: Original Sin II

Divinity: Original Sin II expanded the turn-based tactics and elemental interaction system from the first game into a sprawling RPG, in which the player, or a party of up to four characters, chooses among several pre-made heroes or creates their own, each with a different standing in a world that is prejudiced against other races and factions. The story takes place in the Rivellon archipelago, where the player, as one of the so-called Sourcerers, tries to escape a church that considers their magic heresy, while resolving a conflict between divine powers. Among the pre-made heroes, known as origin characters, are the former mercenary Ifan ben-Mezd and the former slave Sebille, each with their own personal goal intertwined with the main story.

The combat system builds on combining elements, fire, water, electricity, or poison interact with one another, and players can use terrain to their tactical advantage, while the RPG system allows for extremely wide character customization. The game stands out for its sheer amount of reactivity, dialogues, quests, and battles can be resolved in dozens of different ways, and cooperative play among multiple players brings its own dynamic, as the group can even come into disagreement over how to proceed, with the game supporting cooperative play for up to four players at once. Visually and musically it was a significant step up from its predecessor, with fully voiced dialogue and more cinematic presentation.

Original Sin II received very positive reception after release and is considered one of the best-designed turn-based RPGs of its generation, which also influenced Larian Studios' later work, including their subsequent Baldur's Gate 3. For fans of classic, systemically deep RPGs it remains one of the genre's essential titles to this day. The game also features a standalone Game Master mode, which lets one player run the others like in a classic tabletop RPG and create custom scenarios directly within the game's engine.

Why play it: Anyone looking for a systemically deep turn-based RPG will still find in Original Sin II one of the genre's essential titles, including the unique Game Master mode for custom scenarios.