Just a few days ago at the time of this article's writing, Larian Studios released the enhanced version of what is in my mind one of the best turn based rpgs of it's kind: Divinity Original Sin. This new and enhanced version comes with something like 1300 changes including controller support, better graphics, better optimization, 360 degree camera control, full voice over for all characters, even split screen co-op. Of course there are many more than I want to list so I'll link the full changelog here in case you're interested in seeing everything. Even better, Larian gave us lucky folks this enhanced version for free as long we already owned the previous Original Sin title. Mac and Linux users will unfortunately have to wait a bit longer but it's coming so don't fret.
Full disclosure, there may be a few minor spoilers as you read on and I'll try to announce that ahead of time. But hopefully nothing too major as I'm only covering early game stuff here anyway. Images are left a bit smaller in size to avoid any unwanted visualization. To see them full size just click them.
So the first thing I noticed when I started my game was that the load screens are much shorter. Such a change to optimization is always welcome. Once the characters were created I was happy to see that familiar, beautiful world that is Rivellon. I was always impressed with the looks Divinity Original Sin and even now more than a year later it's still a richly detailed, well lit wonder. No slow downs here guys, 60 fps easy, and well over 100 with Vsync turned off. Even those of us who never really had an issue running the game before will notice it's quite a lot smoother. Your Original Sin save games will not work with the Enhanced Edition however, so you'll have to start over. But what a pleasure it is to play this game, I can't imagine too many people finding that a real problem.
As always talking to everyone you find can pay off but with the added voice overs it's a bit more interesting to strike a conversation. **This is one of those minor spoilers here in the next few words so skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to read it. One of the first conversations of note is when you arrive in the Town of Cyseal. You'll find two guards along side a female orc who has been enchanted by a love potion. One guard of course loves the orc while other wants her dead before she causes harm. I convinced the guards to leave her alive as the love potion was doing it's job and she might provide valuable information about the recent orc attacks on the town's harbor. Satisfied with that decision I left and went about some business only to return to find the lady orc gone and the two guards dead. Had I chosen to destroy the orc, the guards would have lived. There isn't really an effect on the story here as far as I can tell, but it does teach you early on that your decisions during conversations have consequences.
Exploration and combat haven't changed a bit thankfully and soon you'll begin finding party members who are willing to join your cause. Quests will quickly fill your log and you'll be wanting to get started. There's still tons of freedom but I advise moving cautiously, your log doesn't give you any indication of what a quests suggested level would be. You'll find yourself wandering in the forest only to be ambushed and in a fight you may not be prepared for, the challenge is definitely still there. Manual saving is a good idea.
The game does still have it's share of faults, though none of them are game breaking. Some movement controls are still slightly obnoxious at times. For instance re-grouping a party member after separation from the group can still be a bit buggy. The game doesn't always seem to report the distance required to perform the action as close enough, even though said party member might be standing right next to the group. Also mouse pointer accuracy during combat still isn't the greatest. Often times blinking from target to target if they're close together, which can end up in wasting AP (Ability Points) to move instead of attack. Thankfully you can still click the portraits of your targets to get the job done, and presumably with a controller the problem is a non-issue. However Larian has already issued a hot fix or two based on reports of issues since the release, so perhaps it's something they'll fix in time. And with the 360 degree camera control you now have it's not as hard to see everything you might need to.
At the time of this writing I'm a little under ten hours in to the game, and I can't wait to see the rest. My quest log is already building and I'm anxious to get to work on it. I was about 75 hours in to the last Original Sin title, sadly I never finished it. A problem I fully intend to resolve in Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. I'm certainly still in love with this game.
If you haven't played Divinity: Original Sin before and you're questioning whether you should, let me help you along. If you like great rpg titles with excellent, deep stories and a real challenge... If you like beautifully crafted worlds and dynamic choices... If you like interaction on a large scale... If you don't want to spend a lot of money for a whole lot of content... Check out this game it's a great, great choice. And if you have already played it, well check that game library because you've probably got a new version that you're going to love.
Steam lists the system requirements for Divinity: Original Sin, Enhanced Edition as follows.
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit or Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or equivalent
Memory: 2048 MB RAM
Graphics: DirectX 11 Compatible GPU
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 10000 MB available space
RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit or Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel i5 2400 or higher
Memory: 4096 MB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 550 or ATI™ Radeon™ HD 6XXX or higher
DirectX: Version 11
Hard Drive: 10000 MB available space