Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is one of the most ambitious classic RPGs of the last decade, and its port to Switch was among the platform's biggest technical surprises. The player creates a character, or picks one of the pre-made heroes with their own story and their own secrets, and sets out into the world of Rivellon, where a magic called Source has been outlawed and where one of the heroes is on the verge of becoming a new god. The storytelling is unusually open: almost every problem has multiple solutions, many characters can be killed, persuaded, robbed or bypassed, and the game reacts to this without ever complaining.

Combat is turn-based and rests on the interaction of elements and surfaces. Rain wets enemies and a subsequent bolt of lightning stuns them, oil slows them down and fire turns it into a blaze, frost turns a puddle to ice that's slippery underfoot. On top of this comes a two-layer defense system — physical and magic shields that must be knocked down first before stun or binding effects can land — so battles resemble a logical puzzle with many variables. The whole campaign can be played in co-op with up to four players, and fellow players can have conflicting goals and betray each other along the way.

The Switch version brings the whole Definitive Edition, including the rewritten ending and an interface adapted for controller play. It runs at a lower resolution and loading times are longer, but the gameplay remains untouched, and being able to carry hundreds of hours of content around is a major advantage. The music combines violins, choral singing and folk motifs, and each race has its own variant of the main theme. Reception was outstanding, and the game is often cited as one of the main reasons for the renewed interest in turn-based RPGs. Today it still feels fresh — it demands patience but rewards it with a freedom few other games offer. The first act on Fort Joy island is, moreover, a textbook example of how to teach a player complex rules without a single boring lecture.