Nintendo Switch 2 Just Quietly Added Baldur's Gate 3's Overlooked Predecessor
A divine performance.
Larian Studios arrived in the mainstream consciousness in 2023, when Baldur’s Gate 3 blew everyone away. But years before they collaborated with Wizards of the Coast, the developer was already making some of the generation’s most dynamic role-playing games.
Larian’s Divinity series harkens back to the genre’s heyday in the ‘90s, when studios like BioWare led the industry. With a new Divinity game announced at The Game Awards, the award-winning studio shadowdropped the series’ most recent game, 2017’s Divinity: Original Sin 2, onto Switch 2 and current-gen consoles. If you’re a Baldur’s Gate 3 fan, this timely re-release is one you should pick up.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is actually the fifth game set in Larian’s own epic fantasy universe, although it’s easy enough to jump right in without prior experience. You play as a Godwoken, a sorcerer whose God-given magical abilities are critical in defeating world-threatening monsters known as Voidwoken. You and a ragtag group of well-written fantasy archetypes set out to find and stop the source of this grave threat, facing the world of Rivellon’s many political machinations along the way.
You can see the bones of Baldur’s Gate 3 in Original Sin 2, which featured many of the ideas that people would come to love about the 2023 video game. From the moment it begins, Original Sin 2 provides players with choices and consequences. Like in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can choose to play as a pre-made character or create a new one. Your race, gender, and background impact how the world perceives you at every step, and once you’re let loose in Rivellon, you’re free to be as altruistic or mischievous as you want. The game never tries to limit you; you can help or harm almost anyone you come across, and the game will react accordingly. It all sets the tone and eventually the outcome of your lengthy playthrough.
Like Baldur’s Gate 3, you can play the entire game in four-player co-op, multiplying the impact of your choices. But where Original Sin 2 differs is in combat. Whereas Baldur’s Gate 3 faithfully follows Dungeons and Dragons’ Fifth Edition rules, Original Sin 2 has its own tactical combat system. It's a turn-based affair that requires players to use allotted Action Points wisely, with an emphasis on exploiting environmental hazards. You’ll be using fire on oil slicks and electricity on wet surfaces to efficiently dispatch enemies, in a challenging but rewarding system that holds its own against what would come after it.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 will look very familiar to those who’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3.
Original Sin 2 does lack full voice acting, a byproduct of its roots as a crowdfunded game. Those who’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 may miss the more cinematic presentation, but it doesn’t hurt the quality of the game’s storytelling. And on Switch 2, the game gets a significant boost over its original Switch version. The blurry visuals are now notably smoother, and the game is also less chuggy, with a stable 60 frames per second when docked and 30 frames per second in handheld.
This version of the game is the Definitive Edition, which includes all post-launch DLC, and is free for those who already own the original Switch game. If you don’t have it in your library yet, the game is on sale for just $25 until January 8. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an easy recommendation for those who fell in love with Baldur’s Gate 3, or who just need a meaty role-playing experience that’s playable on the go. It’s an excellent port made even better thanks to the Switch 2’s horsepower, and with a new Divinity game in the works, now’s the perfect time to familiarize yourself with its memorable universe.
