Divinity: Original Sin looks very promising. It’s a prequel to the Divinity series of games - I’ve only played two of the three, but they were very different games that were each enjoyable in their own right.
Original Sin is being built with 2 player co-op as an integral part of the gameplay, but you can also play single player and either control both characters or have an AI control it. Apparently there’s going to be co-op dialogue, which means you can disagree with your partner and the game will take that into account. They’re billing it as an open-world, non-linear game with tactical combat and a lot of reactivity, with the philosophy of not being spoonfed quest resolutions.
I’m pretty excited about the game! Divine Divinity was quite fun, taking Diablo II’s combat system and putting it in an open-world RPG with lots of exploration, sidequests, and characters. Divinity II was a really cool 3D action RPG in the vein of Gothic, with fun writing and the ability to become a flying dragon.
Note that the game is already a sure thing and is going to be released later this year - the Kickstarter is just to get additional and deeper content in the game, including stuff like greater reactivity to your actions.
The one downfall with the project is that Larian are pretty clueless with regards to marketing. They’re not getting nearly as much social media presence as the other big video game Kickstarters, and they ended up having to start the Kickstarter a week early due to a mistake, which put them right at the end of the Torment Kickstarter. They also had a $65 tier for 2 copies of the game + another game, which they came out and said was a mistake (it was only meant to be 1 copy + 1). But they’re honoring those pledges anyway, of course.
They are on Steam, for example - you just missed a sale though. Divinity II was pretty good with some very unique ideas but Divine Divinity which I’m playing now has gotten a bit old for me to fully enjoy. Then again, it is over 10 years old.
Yeah, I really liked Divine Divinity, but I played it over 5 years ago, and even then it was already starting to show its age. But the combination of Diablo-style combat with the fully fleshed out RPG world to explore was irresistible. The teleporter stones are a particularly good tool in terms of exploring, as they allow you to jump in to crazy situations with reckless abandon, knowing you’ll be able to zip out if you want.
Where I felt both Divine Divinity and Divinity II disappointed was the endgame, which just seemed to throw tons of enemies at you in an endless wave of dungeon crawling. The strength of the games lies in the balance of the non-combat with combat, and it looks like Original Sin may very well share that philosophy, which is why I’m really looking forward to it.