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I can think of no finer compliment to pay Divinity: Original Sin than this: while it was rarely in danger of not being my favourite Ultima-inspired game since Ultima 7, it's the first one I can say - not without a lot of guilt, mind - that I might have enjoyed more than its inspiration. You'd think that nothing could live up to 20 years of fondness for a beloved game whose crap bits have long been mentally erased - and yet if Original Sin has a few rough edges smoothed off by patches in the near future, it's got a real shot at the title.Either way, this is in every respect the game that Larian has been working towards since Divine Divinity showed up with its silly name and admirable goal of being the new Ultima 7, but without the decade of lessons that it took Origin to create its masterpiece back in 1992. As for the later Divinity games, I know they have fans, but for me they suffered from focusing on their big ideas at the expense of mundane but critical foundations. Not this time, though - at least, not where it counts. Original Sin is a far more traditional offering that successfully goes back to its roots without going back to basics, combining ambition and experience with a budget that has forced the design to embrace limitations as well as cool possibilities. All of this is in its favour.
Simply calling the result a love letter to classic role-playing games does it a disservice. For starters, it's more of a mix-tape: a greatest hits collection that takes in everything from Ultima's world simulation (albeit lacking advanced elements like NPC schedules and day/night cycles) to the Chrono Trigger-inspired home base at the End of Time. It even takes a few trips into other genres, including a fourth-wall-breaking "show me the future" gag straight from the LucasArts jokebook. Original Sin wears its many tributes on its sleeve. It's proud to be a nostalgia trip that lets you find flour, mix it into dough, bake it and make your own packed lunch.
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