Hello and welcome! My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day.
Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel have become household names over the last several years. Divinity: Original Sin 2 has even become one of the best selling computer RPGs in the genre’s history. So it can be surprising that despite this fame, it can still be very difficult to find information on the games that came before. Today, let’s talk about the origins of the Divinity series. Today’s game is Divine Divinity, developed by Larian Studios and released in 2002 for PCs.
In the early 2000’s, it was nearly impossible for computer RPGs to escape the comparisons to Diablo, much in the same way early first-person shooters were all compared to Doom. Divine Divinity was no exception to this. As an isometric action RPG, the similarities were certainly there. Divine Divinity also took inspiration from other sources as well, though. Characters in Divine Divinity have a number of non-combat related skills that help them through their journey. Skills like Lockpicking and Bartering have clear uses. There are also skills that allow characters to move items around in the game world. Boxes can be clicked and dragged to other locations, allowing for puzzles where keys or equipment can be hidden underneath other things.
Divine Divinity puts players in control of an unnamed main character who wakes up in a small town, unaware of their destiny as a Marked One. After a chance encounter with a sourcerer named Zandalor, the main character must find the descendants of the council of seven and bring them together in order to find the new Divine and save the world.
Divine Divinity received positive reviews and while some critics stated that it had little that made it stand out, it was still regarded as a fun and interesting entry in the action RPG genre. The game would go on to receive two sequels and a spin-off before the Divinity Original Sin games were Kickstarted. Despite being soft reboots, the current Divinity games actually maintain the same lore as Divine Divinity and much of the plot of Divinity Original Sin 2 actually occurs as a direct response to this original game. So while that game is designed to not require knowledge of the rest of the series, if you are a fan of the lore in Original Sin 2, picking up Divine Divinity may not be a bad idea.
Thank you so much for listening! If you want to hear more about Divine Divinity or the other games we talk about on the show, follow me on Twitter @vg_oftheday. All past episodes and transcripts are available on videogameoftheday.com. Don’t forget to check back here tomorrow for another Video Game of the Day.
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