I think it's time that I finally write this game the proper review that it deserves, and I hope my future self can look back on my initial playthroughs fondly before diving back in.

This game has hit home for me in a lot of ways. First and foremost, I couldn't get the soundtrack out of my head from early access. The introduction and entire First Act of the game felt like home to me- rigged with nostalgia and a hint of new surprises from the full release.

This alone had me in a choke hold (As do most RPGs) but there was something really special about this one. I felt like I was finally seeing my character for the first time, like I was finally putting a face to a name I've always gone by at the table.

The translation from live D&D to the game was absolutely seamless- and I would even go as far as saying that this game taught me a lot about my own character that I didn't even know- and in turn a lot about myself. For better or for worse, I felt absolute agency and absolute responsibility for every single action I made in this game.

With that in mind, I believe this game captures a very important aspect of live play.

F*** around... and find out.

This not only made for extremely organic and character decision driven gameplay, but it in turn also allowed me to test the limits of the game's systems. Some may call it glitches, others may call it exploits, I just know that many of these minute details made for what I can only describe as a rewarding experience. I may not be articulating any of this properly- but a good example I can refer to with these kind of fun game breaks would be Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Combat is a beautiful display of the games mechanics and of course the perfect stage to showcase the studio's astounding animations. Though I will say that I do favor the 100% chances to hit in Divinity Original Sin 2. I've seen a lot of people that would disagree- but keep in mind that my opinion also comes from being a D&D5e player as well. DOS2's combat is more engaging and allows for more tactical play when you have 100% chances and only need to take into consideration the flat numbers to surpass their physical/magical armor.

It is worth mentioning though that I do hold a strong bias against D&D5e combat since I prefer Social play and I dread the turn based nature of live play.

I should mention I find joy in min/maxing and I'm used to mass murdering from Divinity Original Sin 2. Some would call me a maniac or a loot goblin but I say to them- eat a giant's toe. It felt like I hit level 12 pretty fast (yay) but all the incentives to maximize XP in an encounter were washed away (nay).

I know higher level play is hard to implement into a videogame (its even hard irl) but I feel we should at least have levels 13-15 even if it's just limited to ability score increases and no high level spells. Or honestly- it would've been amazing and well worth my money if things were left at the end of Act Two.

I personally found the pacing of the game to be completely off- and I don't mean the difficulty spikes. I was overjoyed after the First Act to find myself in a new environment with a new mechanic to abide by AND the increase in difficulty. Though that momentum of progression is halted, and I would argue reversed, in the Final Act.

The biggest point for me as both a gamer and a Dungeon Master is keeping player incentive alive whilst maintaining the story's tension for twists. Both of these things were unfortunately deflated in the Final Act and I was found soullessly wandering for the last third of the game. Though the Third Act cannot be mentioned without the Second...

The overwhelming sensation of mixed emotions when you find the characters you've grown to love at the calm right before the storm of the finale. There's a swirling sense of hope for the future and a heavy air of mystery for whats to come. All the pieces were in place at the end of Act Two and I felt genuinely invested.

All in all, I found this game to be an absolute joy of a ride. One that I would happily dump another 500 hrs into. Who needs friends to play with when you have Shadowheart at home? She most certainly wont subject me to being a Forever DM :,)

Small tangent but I adore the campsite and the wholesome conversations you can have with your party- though I hate how the campsite of the Final Act looks. The layout is terrible and I personally find it lacking cozy campsite-ness.