Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - General Am I missing something?

Why is everyone so hyped about this game and why o why does this game have a 9/10 score on gamespot, metacritic etc? Not to insult the game dev hours of work but there are to many sloppy things in the game.
For instance, the story is so fragmented and so contradictive that it makes the entire thing hard to follow or understand, the UI is mediocre and the features are nothing spectacular.

Now, I know how that sounded and I can back that not only with words but also proof but I first want someone to tell me if I am missing something and not getting the big picture because it's rather difficult to play through the entire game in order to get a proper opinion.

P.S. I just love turn based games so that's why I am asking.

All games have detriments, the real question is whether the game manages to rise above those detriments and become more than the sum of its parts. For example, I can list off a number of deficiencies in Deus Ex, but it's still an incredible game despite the flaws. In my opinion, this game definitely rises above its flaws. While I hope they'll continue to patch the game and improve it, I'm still happy with it as is.

Different tastes.
What bothers you about the story does not bother me. I also disagree that the features are 'nothing special'. True classless RPGs are not very common nowadays, and the elemental system is very well done, in my opinion.

To sum up, the game has lots of 9/10 scores because a lot of people like it. They enjoy its writing, or its hardcore rpg mechanics, or its turn-based tactical combat, or its freeform character progression, or its co-op potential, or all of the above.

You don't, and that's okay.

Because the game still feels great and is a breath of fresh air to the genre (speaking as, foremost, a lover of RPGs). Also, not as much money has gone into this game as you would expect from a game of this quality.

Sloppiness can be fixed, what can't be fixed is a boring game (this is of course a subjective thing, personally I find that nothing new has come out of the gaming industry in quite a while) .Sure, not everything is perfect, but, with a few exceptions, the system is great, there's a great feeling of exploration etc. that I just haven't felt in many recent games. The game has a lot of at least somewhat unique features which make it stand out (excellent co-op, aside from the difficulty following your co-op partners conversations, environmental effects system).

To put into context, the last game I've played that I'd say was 'great' before DOS was Dragon Age: Origins, and I prefer DOS.

If you bought this game as a turn-based game and don't like RPGs, maybe that's what you aren't getting, I don't know... A lot of the fun to be had in an RPG (for me, personally) is the sense of exploration, being able to roleplay your characters, feeling like you're in a world that is 'organic' where things make sense (internal consistency). It isn't just about the gameplay mechanics. This isn't at all a game like W40K:DOW2 which has lackluster story and is really about the mechanics (which are of course great).

What did you expect when you bought the game?

Not every game can appeal to everyone. If this game isn't for you, then stop playing. It is your own fault if yoou didn't inform yourself before buying/playing.

The game is amazing, I'm having a blast. It's not perfect, no game is perfect, but it's good enough to get a 9/10 from me too. If they actually fix and add a few more things, it could get a 10/10.

But surely, maybe you didn't understand what the game is trying to do, or maybe it's just not your taste.

@dlux
Don't try to get down and dirty with me, or at least if you do, be more creative about it.
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The rest thank you for the quick response.

@Jito463
Overall I would say that it is a good game, but I don't see why you would lie to yourself in thinking it's a great game when it could be one but it's not because of the sloppy work that could have been easily avoided or rectified. I mean, the engine is good, the tools to create great content are there so why settle for good when you can have great or extraordinary?

@dirigible
That might be true, that the story doesn't bother you, but when you have experience in writing or are a fan of looking into every nook and cranny for every last bit of lore about the game then that becomes a problem. Unfortunately people like me that look for this things also expect them to make some kind of sense with the overall feel or story of the game.
Ex: The majority of the NPC's that you encounter when you enter the city are of the opinion that it is a terrible place where most of the people are poor and trading everything that they have for the last piece of food that they can find but after you spend a few hours going from house to house you star to ask yourself (if you have an eye for detail) where exactly is this famine that this people are talking about when there is fish and pork everywhere. Afterwards you encounter a "Chief" that begs you to catch a chicken or else the soldiers won't have anything to eat and right next to him there is a big table with enough food for a big festivity and after you make the most logical decision to free the chicken (and cook it another day when you actually need the food) he gets angry and throws a tantrum like a small kid. And this is just the most simplest example.

"True" classless RPG games aren't anything new so I can't give the studio points for innovation just because other studios went to in a different direction. If it would have been a more interesting implementation of the idea then it would have made sense to give them credit.
Elemental system? are you referring to the "spell" interaction that the player can have with the environment? If so I can assure you I have seen much more complex system in some older indie games so again, the system is good but could have been much much better.

@Whysper
Yes, unfortunately money is part of the equation....

I have a love for every kind of game so that is not the issue, I can understand each and every type of gameplay but that is the problem, that the world doesn't feel "organic" and that you are forced into decision that don't even make logical sense if you are paying attention. I mean, it is impossible to finish some quest if I don't have any desire to steal items (or more like abuse the sloppy mechanics) from NPC. So why would the game limit me if I have no desire to play in that way if it's main focus is it's Role Playing aspect?

Let's say that I didn't get less then I have expected but I am sure I didn't get a 9/10 worth of expectation, I mean if that score actually means something.

Feel free to continue posting, I love to hear more of your opinions.

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O, and the best thing about the game actually is the editor and trust me when I say that because I have a lot of background in modding and a lot of experience with blizzards editors so I know what I solid editor can provide to the community.

Ever heard about C&C?


btw, what are you trying to argue about here really?

You want to make clear to everyone that the game is not 9/10?

Are you aware how pointless that is and what a fools errand it is? For several different reasons? Rhetorical question since if you were, you surely wouldnt be trying to do exactly that.

@Hiver

No, and you are jumping to the wrong conclusion exactly as dlux did. I made myself perfectly clear of what I desire in the first post so please read again. Thanks.

You wanted us to explain why people like the game. We did. Now you're trying to convince us that people are wrong for liking the game.

I don't really see how this is helpful or constructive. You're not even saying "hey guys here's some other games which do things better, I wish this game was more like those". You're literally just trying to get people to stop liking the game.

I'm all for constructive criticism, but this thread really just seems to be a case of "stop liking what I don't like".

@dirigible

That post was for Hiver. In my second post I said I appreciated your type of post and I would love for people to continue with that kind of attitude. Also I did not say that I do not like the game. Cheers and keep it cool, I never see things just one sided.

Excuse me, who are you to tell *ME* what *I* do and do not like. Don't make presumptions about someone else's opinion.

And you are going with the me argument. O well, my expectation was to high anyway.

Well, cheers and take care.

And you're going with the "I'm so superior, so I can't be bothered to continue" argument. What's your point? You're the one who made this personal, when you derided my opinion by stating I was lying to myself, rather than simply take it at face value. Now you simply run away because you can't take the heat.

What conclusion that might be, exactly?

I asked you three questions.
Thats not a conclusion or an assumption. Its a question. Different things, mate.


Your OP?

You mean this:


Why dont you go and ask gamespot or metacritic?

These forums are not either.


Not to insult, eh? Rather big declarative statement there. Supported by what exactly?

What are these "many sloppy things"? How are they sloppy?



Is that so?

How? Why? In which way exactly?

Dont you think that maybe the problem lies in you - because i sure find it simple enough to understand and perfectly fine to folow. As thousands of other players do too - seeing how you are the only one who proclaimed it contradictive and hard to follow.



Really? Care to provide a single actual reason why this is as you declare it is?


Is that so?
Your "proof" is simply stating that you have proof?



You want? You demand?

and how exactly do you have any proof or actual argument for your declarative statements if you didnt manage to play through the entire game and therefore didnt get a "proper opinion"?

How is it that the game that is contradictive and difficult to follow ... when you didnt play it?


Fascinating.

We are all dully impressed.

Could you please stand up so we can all applaud to you?

Its the least we can do.

Playing the devil's advocate here, I will agree that I think there are sloppy and poorly designed things in the game.

The Tenebrium skill, Leech, and Glass Cannon all feel very poorly designed to me.
The inventory ui is a pain to work with, especially when it comes to crafting.
Lockpicking feels completely worthless when you can simply smash all the chests you find.

HOWEVER, I still consider the game to be a solid 7/10 (probably 8 or 9/10 in a bit when some bugs get ironed out). The game isn't perfect, but it's still good. Asking for, or expecting perfection is an exercise in self-delusion.

The real reason why it gets 9/10 is because it's so much better than modern RPG's from other developers... AAA+ ones even (Bethesda, BioWare); even with all it's flaws.

It wouldn't get such high grades if we got more excellent RPG's, but sadly, those aren't really made this day and age anymore... hopefully Kickstarter will grant us a few though, and publishers will realise we really like RPG and not Epic Handholding Game, or EHG's...

I wonder why would anyone contemplate game mass media "scores" and think about them as a problem, when that same mass media dishes out such or even higher scores for random garbage games or complete failures of logic, sense and common reason, or various other cheap schlock products.

Their scores have no meaning or intrinsic value at all. Its all hype and marketing.

Sure it helps with sales and im glad Larian studios are doing well, etc but i couldnt care less what some gaming media says about any of it.

Its not like OS needed them to be first on sales charts on Steam for weeks before any of those reviews came out.


dirigible, mentioning a few small things in the game of this scope doesnt make the game sloppy.
Every great game in existence has similar less then stellar features. And i woudnt agree on UI or inventory and crafting anyway... - which means that these kinds of extreme statements cannot be built on just personal subjective dislike of something.

Keep in mind, I like the game a lot. But I view it as a game of extremes. I extremely like the elemental system and combat. I extremely dislike the way crafting recipes are(n't) listed in-game. My likes outweight my dislikes (easily), but there's still a lot of little things that I want modders to fix/change/add.

As for the UI issues, I respect your opinion but it clearly isn't just me. There are actually two threads about UI problems on page 1 of General discussion right now.

I completely disagree with the OP of this thread, I think DOS is a great game, but I'm not willing to say it doesn't have obvious flaws.

How about you name an RPG that is superior in every aspect to this one?

Saying "some indie game did X better" is a B.S Argument since (as somebody that has played a lot of indie rpg faire) I can safely say that it would be quite simple to poke massive fissures in the quality of pretty much every indie game out there, if you want to nitpick like you will need to in order to denigrate Divinity Original Sin.