

And, naturally, sometimes they'll refuse to help with a fight, leaving victory more fleeting than it is on the already challenging normal mode. Different people might pick up different pieces of a cursed set of armor that only plays nice if wear all the items, but its bonuses are for naught if no one can agree on who gets to wear it. Essential companion quest NPCs might end up dead while you're off selling junk in town. In fact, this degree of freedom can cause friction if you’re playing in the co-op mode for up to four players, especially since – just like in real life – your buddies can run off and do their own thing and profoundly change the way you intended on going about your business. It goes a long way toward making the world we see feel real. Most impressively of all, creative solutions and disastrous interactions like these never manage to break your ability to complete the main quest, which hints that Larian somehow figured out all the possible consequences of the many ways you could finish a quest. “Few modern games are brave enough to lock out major content like this based on your decisions or those of your party members, and that approach gives these choices a rare weight. Turning over every rock and slip of paper just to find these small wonders is one of the best parts of Original Sin 2. Animals, as mentioned, often give a different perspective on what's going on if you have the "Pet Pal" perk that lets you talk to them. Talking to a random character might lead to tales of sad memories that have no bearing on the plot but are no less stirring and rewarding for that fact. It's beautiful in other ways, too, though, such as how little stories spring from items and NPCs that other games might be content to leave as part of the scenery. Everything on the screen speaks of attention to loving detail and thoughtful placement, whether it's the arrangement of flora on a sandy beach or the animations of a winter dragon thankful for being released from its chains.

It doesn't hurt that Original Sin 2 is as graphically beautiful as any game of this perspective has ever been.

Sometimes you'll find a ghostly knight who's been magically impaled for centuries by playing hide-and-seek with some kid you clicked on out of curiosity. As with so many things in this world, Original Sin 2 encourages you to experiment and hunt for them in the strangest places as they're unmarked by the garish bluntness of a yellow exclamation point hovering over an NPC's head.

This quality extends even to the side quests, which stand out not only for their writing but also for how they're found. It's richly written, too, with everything from the descriptions of the narrator to the most custom responses for specific races or characters being fully voiced. “The tale itself achieves a commendable balance of gravitas and lightheartedness that was sometimes missing in the first Divinity: Original Sin.
