Hello all!
Just a few days ago I finished Developer's Cut for the first time and I have to write something about it. I know it's been many years since the game was released, but there's always a chance someone might still want to play it for the first time. So be warned, there will be dragons spoilers below.
As for lore, I did play this game only. I know some lore from the fandom wiki, but haven't played Divine Divinity or Beyond Divinity yet, neither Original Sin. I have the first two in my library, but I crave most for 3rd person RPGs, so that is why DKS was my first choice.
And boy, oh boy. I did not expect that this game would be such a hidden gem in my library. I bought it many years ago and it lay dormant since. Let me tell you, the last time I spent over 12 hours in front of my PC was a decade ago when I was still a student, not a working adult, right when The Witcher 3 was released. Divinity 2 DKS allowed me to feel young again and sink so deep into the story that I did not realize it was 4 in the night.
Yes, the game is already a bit old, yes - it is clunky in moments, but it gave me much more fun than for example Horizon: Forbidden West. This is the “old school” game, where you are not led by hand from point A to point B. The pleasure of exploration, talking with random characters to see if they had a hidden quest, and looking for random keys to open chests – I found so much fulfillment in these tasks. I do not like when the game is hard, plainly due to simple “low damage - high enemy hp” like in the soulslike genre. I played on low difficulty, but the quest construction itself provided enough challenge to not make it trivial or boring.
Music was perfectly themed. Music theme, location-specific music - all well matched and non boring, with some modern beats mixed-in from time to time.
The story touched me deeply. I believe the biggest reason was due to the fact that I really like dragons. This game makes you work for the possibility of transforming into this mighty creature really hard, but when I got there, it was some epic moment. The story also has a lot of twists. During my journey through the Ego Draconis part, it was heartwarming to have Talana comment on my progress. It gave me hope that despite being the last Dragon Knight, thrown straight into saving the world, I wasn't totally alone. At the end of Ego Draconis it is revealed it was all Ygerna deception - it really did hit hard. Now you are truly alone, with no one to guide you. I am now an adult, but this game forced me to go and explore my emotions like a teenager.
And the dragon transformation mechanic was lovely. Moments, like me being called an “apocalyptic event” after burning down the goblin village in Orobas Fjords
really flattered the dragon's ego. I missed it so much in Flames of Vengeance. Great that we could fly as the dragon last time in the final battle while escorting the zeppelins. Ending was heartwarming also, to see Lucian, Zandalor, Bellegar and us in dragon form. To see the end of dragon hunting and peace.
And yes, the ending… from what I can tell, there is no official lore on what happened to Damian, right? Is he dead, is he alive?
I really hope that Larian can someday bring us a continuation of the story, and not consider it a non-canonical dead-end…
Oh what would I give to be able once again fly as a dragon high above the ground in some new game. The draconic form in DKS is great, but from the perspective of 2025 - limited. Maybe due to development time, maybe due to technology limitations of 2009. Just think about how much better the dragon form could be represented in current technology. I think the game Horizon: Forbidden West showed great that we can have both: air travel with high speed and big altitudes while not making the game world feel claustrophobic due to lack of scale. Modern engine should let the dragon mode truly shine bright.
And with BG3, Larian showed they lack neither the know-how nor the ideas. Third person view in this game is really well implemented and pleasant during gameplay.
So if I could have one wish granted, I would wish for the continuation of the Dragon Knight story, as an open world, third person RPG and improved draconic form that would emphasize its power and greatness even more.
After finishing Divinity 2: DKS in 2025 I can say with full confidence this game has immediately earned its place on my top-games list, which is very, very short. For me, this is one of those games that's an instant answer when someone asks for your favorite titles, it is like a reflex.
Big thank you to Larian and all the people that worked on D2DKS for making me enjoy this game like I enjoyed games many years ago.
