Both on sale for the Lunar Sale. If you only could pick one of the two, which would it be?
Divinity, it’s divine!
DivOrSin 2. Haha, no contest!
They are both awesome, and have dozens and dozens of hours of content. I think I prefer PoE 2 here myself, plus it’s now got both RTwP as well as Turn-based mode, both of which are very fun, imo.
I think DOS2 is amazing, but I played it co-op and I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it quite as much managing 4 characters myself. Maybe I would have! But thinking about it in the abstract, I’m not so sure. I keep meaning to pick it up for the Switch to replay it again single player this time, since it’s got cross play with the PC (I think I read), so I’ll find out yet one day, in theory!
I think it’s telling that I made it through all of PoE2, but I only made it maybe halfway through DoS2. I do think the high points of DoS2 are better, but it also contains more tedium. I like the DoS2 action point system better than RTwP. Like Scott mentions Pillars added a turn based mode which I do want to try out.
Did you play either of the original games?
I preferred Divinity 2. The environmental interaction in combat adds a lot.
I did play a bit of Pillars 2 in turn based but found it pretty tedious.
No, I haven’t played either.
If it helps, I’m not big on RPGs where there is a ton of exposition. You know, the sort where you get some tacked on combat, followed by eight minutes of dialogue trees and cut scenes.
I do want there to be some “game” there, not just a story, if you know what I mean.
I much prefer Pillars 2, but there’s probably more ‘game’ in Divinity 2. For example, I got to the point with Pillars 2 of considering turning the difficulty on minimum except for important boss/story encounters. I really enjoyed the story and worldbuilding of Pillars 2 and its setting is one of the best in any RPG I’ve ever played (far better than Pillars 1 in that regard). It’s true that Divinity 2 has a fair bit of tedious encounters and a few annoying difficulty spikes (I never finished it either to be honest). Still, it might be more of what you’re looking for.
I should say that Pillars 2 is short on cutscenes, but you are going to be reading a lot of dialogue boxes.
Well Divinity is your game then! The combat system is the primary feature, and the dialogues feel more tacked on. ;)
Though really there’s plenty of ‘game’ in both. Pillars has a lot more text. The tone of the games are also quite different. Divinity has kind of a humourous style, Pillars is pretty straight-faced.
Yep, as others have stated, that qualifies you for Divinity Original Sin 2. The only downside there is the somewhat tedious inventory management and the abundance of loot. But it’s really one of its kind, a game that’s to be thrilled for. Actually there’s no room for concerns (speaking of the Definite Edition).
Yep, gotta agree with the others, I’ve finished both games and DOS2 was a lot more fun and about the mechanics, whereas PoE2 was lots of reading and the storyline gets lost in the mud between various factions and fetch quests.
DOS2 just feels fresher and has a prettier engine that you can rotate, as opposed to the 2D old-school approach that PoE2 takes.
If you have time, I really loved this video presentation from the PoE2 developer, which is an extremely honest analysis of the game one year after its release and illustrates its strengths and weaknesses.
I appreciated knowing the games parameters going in, so I could adjust my expectations appropriately.
It honestly sounds like you’d be better off with Divinity Original Sin 1, rather than 2. The combat was markedly better in 1 (2 introduced an armor system that makes every fight twice as long and drastically reduces the importance of the otherwise excellent magic system), and the writing’s kinda crap in both.
What’s wrong with the writing? It was quite to the point, not spamming too much elderly adjectives and characters are memorable. First time I see such harsh criticism.
I largely found it incoherent (I think part of it’s a translation issue), and the attempts at humor are particularly awkward. Obviously it’s a matter of taste, but I also didn’t find any of the characters memorable (in fact, sitting here right now, I can’t think of anyone in that game that made an impression, and I played all 100 hours of the first one).
The biggest issue is that it’s frequently unclear what you’re supposed to be doing - I had to look up the next step in a quest far too often in both DOS games.
Edit: On reread this seems excessively harsh. To clarify, the writing didn’t work (at all, clearly!) for me. Others very clearly enjoy it, so that’s down to taste. I really enjoyed the combat in 1, though, or I wouldn’t have played through the whole thing. In 2, I stalled out because I didn’t enjoy the writing and thought the combat was a slog, so there ya go.
Conversely, I really enjoyed the writing in PoE1 but the RtwP combat just wore me out. I haven’t played 2 yet, but suspect I’ll enjoy it much more in light of the turn based combat.
Edit2: It should also be noted, per subsequent discussion, that I’m talking about the pre-definitive-edition version of DOS2. I can’t speak to how the game plays after the update.
I have only played the Definite Edition of DOS2. My understanding is the player’s guidance has been largely improved by the update
I’d agree that DOS1 is neither fish nor flesh when it comes to its writing and I can’t remember anybody as well. But DOS2’s tone and its characters stuck with me. It has a much better script.
Ah, then we’re operating from completely different experiences. I made it about ~20 hours into DOS2, got annoyed with it for previously stated reasons, and put it aside. I have not played the definitive edition update at all, as a result. If that helped with the player guidance then that’s excellent news, it would be even better if it had also helped with the combat. Hell, my understanding is that they redid a lot of the character dialog too. Honestly I’d forgotten about the definitive edition update so yeah, anyone reading my previous post should be aware that I’m probably out of date on DOS2 - I’ll add a note to that effect.
Did they change the armor system? I might need to revisit the game if that improved.
The writing in POE was extremely dry; basic RPG fare. The writing in D:OS could be pretty funny at times and I thought the voice acting was pretty good…sometimes in an over the top way, but that made it work for me. It wasn’t so much great writing as it was charming and filled with personality.
Gameplay wise, I enjoyed D:OS more as well.
I found it extremely enjoyable and profoundly creative. I don’t see how anyone could characterize it as “basic RPG fare” but to each their own. I can’t defend the RtWP combat, that’s the reason I didn’t make it through PoE1 despite finding the story really intriguing.
I couldn’t be bothered to finish DOS2 and I’ve played through Deadfire probably a dozen times. My fav game of the last few years, probably for all of last decade.
Maybe I was too harsh. To be fair, I didn’t even get halfway through it. And I did like the setting and some story elements; my issue was mostly with dialogue. I just enjoyed the dialogue and character interactions more in D:OS, even if some of it was admittedly silly.
For the record, I was enjoying PoE, but it didn’t really hook me. If I remember correctly, navigating was a little tedious and the combat didn’t do much for me.