Swen Vincke warns Divinity newcomers that they probably shouldn’t play the early games in the series: ‘They’re a bit outdated by now,’ which is putting it very mildly

Larian dropped a big bomb at The Game Awards earlier this month with the surprise reveal of Divinity, its “biggest game ever,” which is quite a promise given that the studio’s previous game, Baldur’s Gate 3, was huge. For some (definitely not talking about myself here, just, you know, some people) the announcement was especially exciting because it also provided us (sorry, them) with an opportunity to remind the world that we liked Larian before Larian was cool.

Larian was cool way back when, but mostly among RPG nerds. You may recall that the studio was relying on crowdfunding campaigns as recently Divinity: Original 2, its pre-Baldur’s Gate 3 release. For those of you who are relatively new to the scene—that is, if you discovered Larian through BG3—well, Larian boss Swen Vincke thinks it might be best if you start with the Original Sins (or maybe just don’t brother at all).

“If you play [the Divinity: Original Sin games] you will see things in this Divinity that reference those two,” Vincke told GamesRadar. “If you played the first Divinity, you will see it referenced properly inside of this Divinity. Ego Draconis, same story, or The Dragon Knight Saga, all of it is being referenced, but it’s just part of the history of what happened in this world, and it helped shape the world to the point where it is now.”

As someone who liked Larian before Larian was cool (have I mentioned that?) I feel obligated to note that playing those earlier games may not provide as much clarity as you might expect. Divinity lore is pretty loosey-goosey, at least without putting serious study effort into it, and my own experience is that it doesn’t really matter because the connection between the games is pretty tenuous anyway.

Even the chronology of the Divinity timeline is tough to puzzle out. The first game in the timeline is Divinity: Dragon Commander, which came out after Divine, Beyond, and Ego Draconis, but before Original Sin and OS2. Also, it’s a political strategy game.

I defy you to explain what the hell is going on here.

So the bottom line here is that if you loved the combat or co-op multiplayer of Baldur’s Gate 3, then Divinity: Original Sin 2 might be worth a look, and maybe the original Original Sin if you just can’t get enough. But if you were pulled into BG3 because of its “cinematic narrative experience,” then there’s probably no point in looking at the prior Divinity games unless you’re really eager to dive into the lore. But that is a long, hard road to travel.

“If you really want to know everything, there’s games that came before [Original Sin],” Vincke said. “But they’re a bit outdated by now, they are quite old.”

They sure are: The first game in the series (but not the timeline), Divine Divinity, came out in 2002, followed by Beyond Divinity in 2004, and their age definitely shows. As a counterpoint, though, both games are available for less than $1 each in GOG’s Winter Sale, and they include absolutely wonderful soundtracks composed by the late Kirill Pokrovsky—music that’s more than worth the price of admission all by itself.

So, my advice? Heed the words of Divinity aficionado Ted Litchfield, who says the OG Divinity games are only for “the true sickos“: Enjoy the music, and just read a timeline.

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