Well I havent played Divinity, only watched a couple general videos about it, so I wouldnt know how important race is in these games.
But apparently we play different games. I see the D&D5 races as deeply impactful on my gameplay.
Invisibilty as a cantrip for example, one of the strongest spells in the game, is huge.
Mage Hand is also uber helpful in the really tough battles.
Or shield proficiency in a version of D&D where you dont ever want to melee if you can avoid it and armor class is king.
And dont even get me started on the Halfling racial. In a game where skills are so important on the protagonist, and there is always that pesky chance to lose a roll, Halflings are just uber. Also makes certain builds which hit all the time, like Tavern Brawler builds, even better.
Wild Half-Elf and Drow are also very interesting packages.
How much impact Race should have on your gameplay is a good question. Basically as much as the developer can afford. I've played Lineage 2 where each race has its own unique set of classes. Has its limits, obviously, because why can only Orks play Monk again ? Still, interesting.
