Larian Studios found an incredible amount of success with Baldur’s Gate 3 — a single-player game that still averages 90,000 concurrent players (on Steam) over two years after its release. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Baldur’s Gate 3 catapulted Larian into the mainstream, despite the studio’s previous accomplishments.
The success of Divinity: Original Sin 2, though still a fantastic game, pales in comparison to that of Baldur’s Gate 3. As a result, the majority of Larian’s contemporary fan base are fans of Baldur’s Gate 3 and not necessarily Divinity. Larian is fully aware that many of the players looking forward to Divinity are completely ignorant of the series’ past, and is trying to navigate the implications of that in as deft a manner as possible.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Larian head Swen Vincke spoke about the series’ past and was explicit in his non-recommendation of players going back to play older Divinity games if they specifically like Baldur’s Gate 3 for its cinematic nature.
Different Kettle of Chub Fish
“If you played Baldur’s Gate 3 because it was a cinematic narrative experience, you shouldn’t play the previous ones unless you want to know the lore,” Vincke explains. “If you played because you really enjoy tactical co-op combat or co-op multiplayer, or really having lots of freedom, you should definitely play Original Sin 2, because that’s a game that was a blueprint for BG3. Original Sin 1 also, although in a slightly lesser manner, because it didn’t have the companions we had in those two. So I would point you in the direction of those games.”
Original Sin 2 is one of the best computer role-playing games out there, but the production value doesn’t quite reach the peaks of Baldur’s Gate 3. As Vincke said, if you expect to be as engrossed in the characters of Original Sin 2 as you were in Shadowheart and company, you may find yourself sorely disappointed.
“If you really want to know everything, there’s games that came before but they’re a bit outdated by now, they are quite old,” Vincke adds.
Rest assured, for those who did boot up Divinity 2: Ego Draconis in 2009, Vincke assures that every game in the series will be referenced in the new Divinity. It’s not a reboot, and the history of the series will be respected. It seems the team is leaning more heavily on Original Sin than the older games, however.
