Divinity Original Sin 2 Review: Cannibalism is good actually
There have been a ton of Divinity Original Sin 2 reviews out there. It’s been around for so long that if I had to pretend to say something that hadn’t already been said five times before, then not only would it be boring and repetitive, but you’d click off faster than Sonic the Hedgehog when he realizes his name is going to be smeared in yet another movie.
Of course, when Divinity came onto Switch, I immediately jumped on the bandwagon despite already owning the game on the PS4. I’d only played a few hours on the PS4, but felt that experiencing it on the Switch was how I actually wanted my first time to be. So, like a virginal prince, I removed myself from dipping my toes into the PS4 water and belly-flopped into the Divinity on Switch pool.
The experience has been nothing short of amazing. I finally get what people mean when they shout ‘DIVINITY ORIGINAL SIN 2 IS THE BEST RPG IN THE WORLD’ at me whenever I say I’m going to start it. It really is something special, with a world that really lets me do whatever I want – including breaking it.
But what I wanted to do, more than anything, is play a cannibal. Not the best choice for a hero that has to save the world from Voidwoken, but nobody’s perfect.
Only I realized after 15 hours of playing that I actually couldn’t be one, because I wasn’t playing as an elf. My stocky dwarf character sighed (or I sighed if you want to get technical) and decided that the only option was to play mostly as Sebille. For those who don’t know, Sebille loves to eat dead things, particularly human flesh. Not because she’s into it, but because I guess that’s just what elves do in Divinity Sin’s world. Whatever, I respect it.
You would be surprised how much cannibalism plays a part in Divinity Original Sin. No matter what quest I was on, there was always a body part or two lying around that I’d pick up, present to my wife Sebille like it was a prized chicken and after her gnawing on it, a clue to what to do next would often occur. That’s because when elves eat the flesh of something, they gain some of that person’s memories which is really neat and prisons should probably hire more elves. Pretty sure the crime rate would go down.
Outside of elven eating habits, the people in this dysfunctional world are the stars in Divinity. No matter where you go, you’ll find a memorable someone, whether it be a chick that may actually have Satan’s soul stuck in its feathery body, or a young woman who offers you a kiss but pulls away at the last second to transform into a giant spider. I kissed her anyway, by the way, because I’m no coward and I’m down for kissing spider lips from time to time.
You may only meet them once or twice, but their presence is felt with every move you make. And that’s just the NPC’s! Your companions, which you can romance regardless if you’re a man or a woman, are also pretty compelling. Unfortunately, you do have to choose between three of them if you play your own character, but it’s a sacrifice I was willing to make.
For my playthrough, I went with Sebille, Lohse and the Red Prince. Sebille because she could kill me in my sleep, eat me and I’d thank her, Lohse because I wanted another wife for my wife, and the Red Prince because he put his fingers in my mouth the first time I met him and I like that about a man. Even if that man is a red lizard.
What I liked about them was that they ticked all my boxes of being kind-of-broken, utterly lost but powerful weirdos. So they became my character’s found-family very quickly, and I love them utterly. Larian’s writing of each of them has been nothing short of phenomenal, and while I’v yet to play again, I’m convinced the other companions are both incredible and incredibly weird too.
It’s the inclusion of such weirdness that makes Divinity Original Sin 2 feel like such a breath of fresh air. For too long we’ve relied on Tolkein’s fantasy rules such as ‘elves are immortal and beautiful’ and ‘the undead are evil, always’ and ‘the only lizards around here are big, bloody dragons’. Divinity spits in the face of that. It’s wonderful, because I’ve no idea what’s going to happen next. Will the Red Prince tell me more about his wild sex escapades out of the blue? Is Lohse going to get possessed again and hit me? Is Sebille going to eat yet another human? Probably, but I’m surprised all the same.
Even combat can be a little kooky. I’ve yet to play a game that makes electrified blood kill me outside of Divinity, which makes it all the better. I truly have to think smart, and while I did play on Story Mode the combat was challenging enough that it didn’t feel as though I was breezing through. Every move was calculated, yes, even the move where I made Sebille eat all the dead things while the Red Prince mopped everyone up. That was especially calculated.
You may be reading this review ‘okay this game has cannibalism and the characters and world is really good, and apparently the combat’s okay too, but what about how it runs on Switch? Is it a good port?’ And that’s fair. The answer is yes, the port is very good, particularly in handheld mode as the font isn’t unbearable in that mode.
But mostly the cannibalism was my favourite part, which I feel is the most important thing to take away from this review.
About The Author
