A fantastic game with forgivable weaknesses!

Caveat: I think much of the 'Larian Studios' and your' Divinity' series. With 'Divine Divinity' and 'Divinity 2' I had a lot of fun ('Beyond Divinity' I had left out) and had accordingly also high expectations for the latest part. But I wanted to wait until it was out of the alpha / beta status out and was officially released 'finished'. The media have praised the game so pretty and also here speak the ratings for the game. And rightly so! For in spite of some small but its flaws, is 'Divinity Original Sin' for me an absolute masterpiece and a terrific game that has entertained me over 70 hours. But let's start at the number after:
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The History:
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In the world of 'Divinity: Original Sin' assumes the role of one of two source hunters who are charged with the dark magic that the source is called to track and prevent your use. The story begins pretty good (... and wakes to memories of days / Games ;-)). It is tasked to investigate the murder in a village. Over which of course you visit the crime scene, looking for evidence and hear witnesses. And soon it turns out that any more behind the whole thing as it seems at first.

But even if the story starts well, then it weakens temporarily from pretty. This is partly due to some twists that you have already seen a few times in the fantasy genre, on the other hand because it is no less than in the countless side quests, the crafting system, customize the characters, the Buy and Sell lose of objects or simply times while exploring the expansive maps. After the drought, the story takes a beautiful way up speed again, surprised by one way or another turn and convinced by properly illuminated main characters and motifs. Some relationships between characters and events but also later, or in the first option by reading books, notes or similar seen, it depends on, depending on how and whether embarking on the world. Also applies to the main quests: Again, most dialogues are not set to music, which is why a lot, really very much need to read if you want to know what's going on! Who does not like and will frantically clicked through the text window of course eventually have a huge question mark in front of the head and one to miss two important events. All in all, for me, a more than solid story that weaves a beautiful background story.
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Graphics and atmosphere
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When I saw the first screen, to me, the overall impression has pleased directly. Great and varied areas, replete with details and content. From dark caves, it's all about friendly pastures to magical forests, alternating with lavaüberströmten demons levels, to snowy Snowy, whereby a change in the setting is neat present. Each area offers countless hidden items and secrets, different new enemy types. of course tons of quests and bursting so before details. The graphics look really nice for me, both environment details, as well as the characters and their animations can absolutely convince. Only when you close ranzoomt you recognize some not quite so nice textures, but the fall in normal playing hardly noticeable. Nevertheless, the overall impression and especially the atmosphere in my opinion, is simply great. The towns, villages and camps are inhabited, traders offer their goods, animals running around, people live there and it is not extinct. Even if the NPCs have often not to tell a lot of new. Oh and the loading times hold also still limited.

As a short note to the camera: Who is surprised that you can rotate the camera only halfway, should look at the options there you can activate a freely rotatable camera that works well despite warning in the main game once.
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Music
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The background music in "Divinity: OS" is once again top (as it did in its predecessors), the pieces are different and contribute to the good atmosphere. The sound effects can fully convince, harmonic sounds alternate with the clatter of bones or the noise of a small creek. The (English) voice acting is all very well, even if they are rarely used. Because 85% of the dialogues / texts are not set to music, most of it is presented in text windows. Schade, a continuous speech had improved the atmosphere once again clear to me!
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Character Creation / improvement.
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In creating the two characters the game offers a few ways to make his characters individually. While the editor is not as extensive as for example in "Dark Souls" or "Dragons dogma" and provides only diverse hairstyles, heads, hair color and skin color to combine, but some of it is there nevertheless already represented. Unfortunately, you can eg beards or accessories such as braids, earrings or similar not choose separately and some hairstyles simple really do not fit for the game. But in addition you can ignore / argue. Unfortunately, here too the number of portraits is definitely too low to 80% is to create a character that is not displayed there so and have to live with compromises. Very unfortunate.

So now to the skill system: This is very nice deep and offers considerable freedom. Each character can learn any skill, there is no fixed classes. Besides the classic attributes like strength, intelligence and dexterity, there are about 30 to skills such as one-handed weapons, Pyromancy, charisma or crawl and even talent from which to assemble his warriors. The talent grant various passive bonuses / perks such as a 10% or twice as fast -Ausweichchance crawl, but can often be learned only under conditions of specific capacity values. All in all a very nice complex system that is fun and also high degree of customization features. Oh and: Yes, during the game, the New distributing the values ​​is possible '.
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The combat system:
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In short, the combat system meets exactly my nerve. A classic, turn-based system is broken up here great and provided with further details. The different reactions of the individual elements to one another (eg fire + Gift = Boom!), The incredibly many spells and skills, the different opponents, coupled with the quite respectable Difficulty require tactics and strategy and that makes unbelievable fun. Of course, the fights take on more than a few seconds and it can be carried out, that at some point has to cursing Reload. But then victories and successes feel least like those!
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The World:
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There are several large maps with many places, villages and towns in which people live and frolic. Innumerable buildings are waiting for exploring, treasure chests and boxes in bold adventure and discovery. In many places there are also hidden caves and places or buried treasure, beautiful little details, together create a harmonious world. Many places mountains secrets that can not be seen at first surveyed and are full of puzzles that are sometimes quite clouts. 08/15 hose Level one is looking beautiful as vain! And many branches and hidden treasures pleased every explorer and collector. Add to this beautifully written dialogues, countless NPCs and quests, coupled with the typical humor of Larian Studios and finish is quite atmospheric, small fantasy world.

The 4 non-generic companion who can assist our Heldenduo, offer nice touches of personality and dialogues. From time to time they also give quite entertaining from their two cents to decisions, projects and events. There were at the beginning, unfortunately, only a warrior and a mage as an optional companion with personality, but that has changed with a free extension. Now to choose a warrior, a magician, a hunter / archer and a silent thief / rogue. They also have their own quests and do not look like any other NPCs from 08/15. Diversity and possibilities á la Dragon Age but you should not expect.
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Freedoms / decisions / replayability
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Generally, you have a large portion of freedoms and possible decisions in the game. Be it small answers in dialogues that determine the personality of your character (Kühn or Shy, Romantic or pragmatic) or big decisions in quest progressions, making the entire Quest suddenly runs differently. There are a variety of such decisions, which of course also motivated to launch multiple runs. Also you have the most time to go over not only one way, but on the Map several places and quests to choose from which one can explore. Every now and then to snatch the game on small but extraordinary dialogues and takes in the vast areas of disappearances, people in need, or even clever enemy who hides. And if you do not feel on quests and fights, you can play pickpocket or exploit the extensive crafting.
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Away from the main story
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..hat is also much to do. Very much. Indescribable much. Countless people wait in every city, every camp and every village in distress on rescuers, helpers or cutthroat. There are tons of different dealers, materials and ingredients to action and try it out. The quests themselves are nicely varied and not a generic stuff á la Kill 10 of them (I have not only found!) Or Hole object X and bring it to person Y in the village Z. This is for example also the extent that some quests only with brains and a little brain power to solve, because monsters are invincible and that too can not be changed. Rambo dies while faster than he can say "Vietnam", an insidious villain could but find a way how to proceed. The quests are beautifully written and the little stories are fun, intensify the atmosphere and shown interest. Quest arrows that indicate the next objectives á la Skyrim / Oblivion is one here but in vain looking for one must, as with the puzzles and many things when crafting, thinking itself and the head effort sometimes. It's great that such a thing still exists, a game where the player is not slain, hint!

The randomly generated loot forms here again a well-known addiction spiral and motivates us to develop and hunting. Many different possible values ​​on the objects and visually most things are also quite well. Praise for the "Larian Studios": Helmets can be disabled or can be displayed only in the fight, otherwise you may also like to admire the face of the hero! Only often interfere with the different colors of the equipment. Beautiful way can these full with bottles of paint and the craftsmen skill recolor but unfortunately the color of this is quite rare.

If I would say that crafting is extensive, that would be an understatement. So many liberties I have rarely seen. The recipes are sometimes abstruse find out for himself and the recipe books help sometimes limited, but it is rising times in the system, it is truly amazing. One can for example produce dough and knead and bake in can win potions from various plants and herbs, and amplify or reduce ore and smelting it to then to tinker a billet. Two bars combining a large ingot, which is also not melt, so a large iron bars to a large steel ingot. Because of this large ingots can now forge on an anvil, a two-handed ax that is on the whetstone improved. Now combining the ax still with beads to enhance the value Tenebrium or essences for the certain amount of extra elemental damage and even skin a "tormented soul" it for a few extra attributes. Finish is a weapon. For armor it is equally extensive, this can still be caused by oil, shed pieces, metal particles etc. improve. And scrolls and spellbooks may also be obtained even itself. And jewelry. And, and, and ... people who like to try, fiddle and combine will feel very comfortable here. And very, very long time so have fun.
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Miscellaneous Positive yet ...
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Short anything else to season: At the 1st crossing took me with much to explore and crafts and especially about 70 hours. That's just terrific, especially because I definitely still want to make a second pass with 2 Lone wolves on a cure difficulty. You can easily in the world, the quests and crafting the sink and spend huge amounts of time on it.

And as the game Mod Support offers, the game can still improve considerably longer. Mods are easy for me something wonderful. If fans can give free rein to your ideas and the season extended many times and improved the experience. Perfectly! Are both the Nexus and the Steam Workshop lot to choose from. General improvement of dialogs and Drops, minor adjustments, materials dealers, frequent colors for coloring etc. etc. Also great new quests and mini-adventures are available here.

In the more than 70 hours of play I hardly noticed a bug. 1 Quest languishes still in quest log around, and has not disappeared, but it is no longer to complete (client dead), 2x I had a crash, but thanks to an automatic save feature and 4 Quick Save Slots I have lost as much as 35 seconds. The load times are really human. Since I had seen worse in games.

Oh, and a multiplayer mode that has game also will play friends of the co-op here may very well let off steam, because you can simply host or join games. Too bad that's not always so easy in other games.
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Nevertheless, I would also like to dwell on the dark side that I noticed ...
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- The voice indeed is not in German, but very good though. Just very little is set to music, the majority of conversations and dialogs is just only in text form. I would have wished that more speech would be there, if only because of the atmosphere.

- The portraits and faces of their own characters do not always fit. While there are a decent number of portraits to choose from, but not nearly enough to cover a large part of the hair / face / color combos. Accordingly, the difference between the real face and the portrait just sometimes laughably large. What a pity.

- The inventory management is often fiddly job at its best. While there are several categories and arrangements, automatic sorting and yet I often need a long time for it to arrange objects, back and heart Uschi Eben and seek. Far too many items in far too many categories that are never where they are needed.

- With narration, the characters do not move your lips. But the character models are generally when you close zooms not quite sparkling. But that makes it in the normal play also not often.

- Partly the story bobs often something in the background around and you just forget what's going on?

!!! Caution name spoilers !!!:
Astarte? Who was it again? How, where, what emptiness? Huh, the mediator and the white Hexeach care, I crafte on. !!! / Spoiler end !!!

- No graying already selected for Call Setup. So talk ends frequently in front of huge text walls that hew to the players over and over again. Because there are a lot of dialogues, with many choices (in some cases up to 9 different options). But even if you have heard it 6x and the character is nothing new to say that updates do not appear, and at some point you just clicked through to come diary !. Argh!

- Some puzzles or switches are slightly frustrating. Example: A huge fully Asked space, full of boxes, bookshelves, cobwebs etc. looks absolutely not suspicious. But somewhere is a small switch. Oh, and your character will explode if he moves. Or there are 4 small switches that need to be pressed in a certain order. The reference in the order can be found in another, somewhat hidden book. Ohjeh. So often you look tiny switch until you drop, or lever or similar
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Conclusion: Very Good 4 of 5 stars. A fantastic game for me, that I was motivated despite its downsides countless hours! I love it and will also spend a few hours. And yet I can not just see all downsides of time, it bothers me, for example, the lack of speech or the difference between the face of my barbarian warrior and his portrait still too much. But all in all the Larian Studios have once again convinced me and created a great fantasy works that bonds of the old school skillfully linked with new ideas and possibilities. Let's hope they continue to make up the good work!