Divinity: Original Sin was met with universal acclaim when it was introduced over two years ago. This should not be surprising, as the title featured a massive world to explore had almost no restrictions on how the player went about completing it. This story driven adventure featured a multitude of side quests that could be handled in a variety of different manners, resulting in a game experience that becomes uniquely tailored to the player's choices and play style. Creating a worthy follow up to to such a quality game is no small task, but Larian Studios seems to be up to the ambitious task of creating a sequel that doesn't simply match the quality of its predecessor but also surpass it.

There are some RPGs that hold the player's plan, at least through the beginning parts of the game. Divinity: Original Sin II **** is not one of these games. The player is given objectives and some hints at where they might need to head to accomplish them, but nearly unlimited freedom is given to the player in how they wish to go about it. This freedom on top of proverbially being thrown to the wolves level of hand holding can be overwhelming for players not used to it, but this means how the game unfolds is entirely up to how the player wishes to accomplish the myriad tasks. For example, if you have ever played an RPG and wished you could just hack everyone to death and not have to attend to the errands of an annoying NPC, that freedom exists. I am not suggesting that killing every NPC in the Slg Game Dlc will lead to the optimal experience with this title, but the freedom is there for anyone who wishes to try it. The barbaric blood path is a choice, the numerous dialog options as well as other behavior choices could make completing the story a very cerebral experience.

**Divinity Original Sin 2 ** has an in-depth crafting system with the ability to create hundreds of potential crafted items. Players can spend hours upon hours combining items to try and make new ones through trial and error, or they can cut to the chase. Here are the top crafting recipes players need to k

The amount of freedom and impact the choices have during character interaction with NPCs shows that this Original Sin II was not just influenced by great video game RPGs, but also by great table top RPGs. An homage to this is game master mode, where a player can create an adventure for a group of their friends to play. This mode is made to be as accessible as something of this nature can be, but does take a bit of time to figure out the finer points. There is a ready made campaign players can use to sample, but this is where someone can design a dungeon layout including a narrative story, various effects, vignettes and enemy placement and have their friends play through it. This mode is analogous to running a successful tabletop gaming campaign, where the game master takes the time to put together a well thought out campaign and has some interested players this can end up being a very rewarding mode. The inclusion of a mode like this is very ambitious, and could almost be its own role playing game but oddly enough this came about as a Kickstarter stretch goal.

Set roughly a thousand years after the events of Divinity: Original Sin, the story begins with all the Origin characters along with the player and other NPCs on board a ship taking them to the prison island of Fort Joy, guilty of all being able to use the power of source like Rivellon's equivalent of a witch hunt. Source was declared an evil force, and all sourcerers have been rounded up and fitted with source muting collars to prevent them from unleashing their powers, which is quite a reversal of circumstances from its predecessor where the player took on the role of a source hunter. The time on the ship serves as an introduction, a way for the player to get comfortable with the mechanics of the game and get a sense of the story. They are free to explore the ship and get a feel for interacting with NPCs and combat. This sequence will end the same way regardless of the player's choices, and that end is unfortunately on Fort Joy, possibly the most ironically named place in Rivellon. Escaping from Fort Joy is the primary objective, but the speed at which this task is completing and how exactly the player goes about this is entirely up to the individual.

In a departure from the first game where the player assumed the role of a Source Hunter to rid the world of the forbidden magic known as Source, we are now taking on the role of a Sourcerer. Taking place 1000 years after the events of its predecessor, the story begins with the player being held prisoner in Fort Joy, a misnomer if there ever was one. The Divine is dead and the Void is expanding, which will eventually consume this godless world if it remains unchallenged. Sourcerers are taking the blame for this turn of events, with the player being the main target for the Magisters of the Divine Order's witch hunt. Fort Joy is where you were sent to be "cured" of your powers. While the specific method of "curing" is not spelled out in detail, the self preservation instinct kicks in to send the message the only objective for now is to get the hell out of Fort Joy.