These past few days, I was able to step away from Divinity Original Sin EE and complete shorter games mentioned recently on this blog. Now, I am back with this game, checking off my “monstrous” list of side quests. The activity can be satisfyingly rewarding as watching Dr. Pimple Popper videos or yanking weeds out from the garden. To be honest, I haven’t tried either of those activities. I just remember my co-workers telling me that’s what they do for their downtime to relax their minds. However, I am not sure if looking up how to solve quests is relaxing…these side quests aren’t so straightforward and can be quite long. I also recently learned that it might be wise to check the Tutorial Hints because certain items can be almost invisible to the naked eye. It can thwart the story progression as I learned the hard way (I always learn the hard way…).

I remember earlier in the game, searching for items felt like I was trying to find a needle in a haystack and the image below could not further confirm my suspicion. It made me smile because it was part of the game design. I suppose leveling up your Perception skill is worth it.

As much as I like the game, I am not a fan of non-linear games. Sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming when you have no idea where to start. Partially, that is why I am not so fond of open-world games because it takes a chunk of my time while other games are waiting in line to be played. Thus, my backlog (tiny compared to others) continues to grow. On top of the fact, the game is not meant for a single player (Strangely, I can hear my readers saying…”Duh…you’re not the targeted audience”). So, it made me wonder if would I have liked it more if I treated the game as a co-op; I certainly would have enjoyed the experience more than my time in Borderlands because first-person view games give me headaches. I wonder what changes were made in Divinity Original Sin 2. More importantly, I am anxious to get my hands on Balder Gate 3.

If there is one thing, I learned recently about games is that RPGs can sometimes feel like reading a fantasy/adventure book. It’s not a bad thing, but my mind can wander from time to time, drifting between lengthy dialogues when I know something important was just spoken by the characters, but the mind is too tired to absorb and appreciate its verbose theatrical lines. For example:

But my followers have done it! Ha! They have done it like I knew they would! Blood, the thick red gravy; the sauce of Source has been yielded unto star-sent stones has swept away the eternal shadows!

-Braccus Rex

Such colorful words to describe blood. I don’t know why it talks so much when it’s about to get its ass kicked! However, sometimes I do find a line that catches my attention:

A society that allows such evil to flourish is rotten at its very core, Source Hunter. I would be careful of your pouch of gold. Shiny pebbles cannot mean more than beating hearts.

-Bairdortr

Wouldn’t you say someone who is primitive tends to be more honest and noble than civilized people? The line is spoken by a barbaric woman, Bairdortr who has been raised in the wild but educated by a sorcerer. She is one out of 4 NPCs you can choose from to help assist you on your adventure earlier on in the game. She makes an excellent ranger. So far, I believe I got the source of the story down. It’s not as black and white as I thought–more like it’s about corruption. For what it’s worth, I am still enjoying the game. So, I suppose those little hiccups in games aren’t such glaring problems when you judge the whole package, but it does make me question whether I want to invest myself in another lengthy game after this. The answer is…I always do. I just wish the game was more seamless because having to constantly look up how to proceed with a quest can feel like hitting the stoplight at every intersection. Another thing I dislike about the game is how it likes to interact with the player indirectly. The image below shows a mysterious stranger asking the player a question: “Now I can’t help but wonder: Are you cut from the same batty cloth? Why’ve you come here, after all? What’s the point of it all?

Stay tuned for my final thoughts. I believe I am getting close to the end!