I’m playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 at last — I can’t get enough of its terrain-based tactical battles

1. Gaming
2. Consoles & PC
3. PC Gaming

I’m playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 at last — I can’t get enough of its terrain-based tactical battles Features By Josh Russell published 6 June 2026

A song of fire and ice... and poison and blood

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Reddit
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Threads
• Email

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter

Tactical role-playing game (RPG) Divinity: Original Sin 2 has been in my backlog for a couple of years now. Ever since I completed developer Larian’s next game, the superlative Baldur’s Gate 3, I’ve been looking for something that scratches that same itch. And when Larian announced its sequel, Divinity, I knew I had to stop dragging my heels and find out what I’d been missing.

From the Backlog

Every gamer has a backlog — and that’s no different for us at TechRadar Gaming. From the Backlog is a series about overdue first-plays, revisiting classics, returning to online experiences, or rediscovering and appreciating established favorites in new ways. Read the full series here.

Having racked up a slightly terrifying 257 hours on my first playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s safe to say that I was going to like Divinity: Original Sin 2. It’s the franchise that helped Larian hone their formula after all. And yet for all the similarities it shares with the game that followed it, the franchise is its own beast.

Far from being the same formula denuded of its D&D dressing, Divinity: Original Sin 2 very much stands apart, hewing closer to the CRPGs of old than Baldur’s Gate 3’s tabletop-imitating trappings. It feels far more tactical and strategically freer than the later game — if Larian is able to add to its solid bones some of the fantastic polish and depth it brought to BG3, I’ll be very excited about the upcoming Divinity.

Latest Videos FromWatch full video here:

Class action

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Building a character in Divinity: Original Sin 2 feels incredibly fluid. Nominal classes exist as a starting point, with each focusing largely on two families of combat abilities. And these skill families steer away from CRPG cliches just enough to feel novel — yes, you can create standard rogue, cleric, or fighter builds, but others are more of a departure.

Each of the elemental magic schools feels unique and deep, while polymorph allows you to transform your limbs and body parts to suit the situation, and summoning lets you call up totems and demons that match elements on the battlefield, making it super versatile.

You may like

• Best RPGs: unmissable role-playing games for PC and consoles, and we've reviewed them all
• The 28 best Xbox Series X games to play right now
• I’m finally playing Eastshade, and it’s turned me into a travelling painter who really cares about artistic composition

But it goes deeper than this. For those who are tired of being railroaded into specific class combinations, Divinity largely tears down class boundaries entirely. You can invest points in whichever stats and combat abilities you see fit, then learn any skills you meet the criteria for by using consumable skill books. That allows you to create complicated classes for every character that suit your playstyle — or create unworkable builds that will get pulverized in every battle.

Not every element of its roleplay feels this deep and rewarding, though. The character creator feels limited, even for a game released in 2017, making it feel a little less immersive than it could have. And while the story and voice acting are perfectly decent, I rarely felt the kind of close connection with my party members and their struggles that I did while playing Baldur’s Gate 3. I engaged with Divinity: Original Sin 2’s lore as much as I could, but often Rivellon felt more like a gauntlet to run with my party than a living, breathing world in its own right.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Fight me, bro

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

While I have a lot of praise and some reservations over the roleplay elements, the area where I think Divinity: Original Sin 2 is unimpeachable is when it comes to combat.

Read almost any user comments about the game online, you’ll see people talking about how they struggled to get to grips with its combat system. I’ll happily admit: battles can be gruellingly hard if you’ve made mistakes with your build. And if you tangle with enemies above your level, you should expect to be spanked down hard – as anyone whose party ended up in the belly of a teleporting crocodile can attest.

Fortunately, once you understand the tactics involved, things start to slam into place like Tetris pieces. First off, enemies and allies have two types of shield, physical and magical, that soak up damage of each type before it reduces health. As a result, you have to focus on specific damage types for each enemy to ensure you’re maximizing the wounds inflicted. Rather than focusing on buffing or defence, this really rewards gung-ho, high-damage playstyles — that really appeals to me as someone who’ll always opt for a glass cannon over a bard or paladin.

What to read next

• I was worried that the Gothic remake would water down the unapologetically tricky 2001 original, but seven hours hands-on has put my mind at ease
• The 17 best Steam Deck games 2025
• Crimson Desert review: the open-world epic sandbox lovers have been waiting for

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

But combat is at its most rewarding once you learn how to dominate and utilize the battlefield. Abilities like teleport make it easier to kite enemies or group them together to be pulped by an area of effect (AoE) spell. Higher terrain gives you a damage advantage over enemies in ranged attacks, while low terrain gives you a corresponding penalty.

Even more critical, the battlefield is splattered with a range of surfaces, including blood, poison, ice, and fire. Depending on your resistances and weaknesses, many of these can either heal or harm your allies and enemies, meaning where you stand is often as important as the attacks you choose.

And each surface causes its own effect. For instance, oil slows people down, but it’s also flammable, making enemies standing there vulnerable to a tossed flame. Water can be frozen into ice to trip characters, evaporated into steam, or electrified to stun enemies drenched in it. There’s a complicated interplay of these elements — and that’s before we even get into their blessed or cursed variants…

While most CRPG battles come down to the interplay of attacks and status effects, Divinity: Original Sin 2’s battlefields are an ally and an enemy in their own right. That makes every encounter satisfyingly knotty, and it’s something I’m glad I’ve mastered for the day that Divinity finally drops.

The best gaming consolesAll the best consoles of this generation

➡️ Read our full guide to the best gaming consoles1. Best overall:PlayStation 5 Slim2. Best budget:Xbox Series S3. Best handheld:Nintendo Switch 24. Most powerful:PlayStation 5 Pro

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

CATEGORIES Steam Deck Josh RussellSocial Links NavigationReviews Editor

Josh is Reviews Editor at TechRadar. With over ten years of experience covering tech both in print and online, he’s served as editor of T3 and net magazines and written about everything from groundbreaking gadgets to innovative Silicon Valley startups. He’s an expert in a wide range of products from Spatial Audio headphones to gaming handhelds. When he’s not putting trailblazing tech through its paces, he can be found making melodic techno or seeking out the perfect cold brew coffee. 

View More

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Consoles & PC Best RPGs: unmissable role-playing games for PC and consoles, and we've reviewed them all    Xbox Series X The 28 best Xbox Series X games to play right now    Gaming I’m finally playing Eastshade, and it’s turned me into a travelling painter who really cares about artistic composition    Xbox I was worried that the Gothic remake would water down the unapologetically tricky 2001 original, but seven hours hands-on has put my mind at ease    Steam Deck The 17 best Steam Deck games 2025    Gaming Crimson Desert review: the open-world epic sandbox lovers have been waiting for    Latest in PC Gaming Gaming PCs 2026 is the year of handheld gaming, and Computex reveals are proof alone    Gaming PCs Asus just announced a new handheld at Computex, but one question remains    PC Gaming 007 First Light has Denuvo DRM added before launch, and fans are livid    PC Gaming 'I'm confused and I need an adult' — that unsettling Steam game you're seeing on Instagram is real, it's coming soon, and frankly, I'm terrified    Social Media Users think Discord's Linux update is a distraction from the controversy    PC Gaming Zero Parades: For Dead Spies review: an ambitious psychodrama that charts its own course    Latest in Features Pro ‘Our hardware is designed to be picked up and shaken about’: Aquark Technologies takes quantum sensing outside of the lab as a viable GNSS alternative    Pro ‘Chasing every model release is a fool's errand and a fast track to AI fatigue inside your organisation’: GoodData.AI CTO says businesses should focus on automation use cases over every single new release    Speakers High End Vienna 2026 Best in Show awards: our favorite 11 speakers, streamers and more    Tech ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories, from Android to Lego    Health & Fitness I've been using Google Health's new AI Coach for a week — here's 3 things I liked about the Fitbit Premium revamp (and 2 I really didn't)    Blu-ray Here are the 4 new 4K Blu-rays I'm most excited to test in June 2026    LATEST ARTICLES

1. 1How to watch Brazil vs Egypt: Free Streams & TV Guide for World Cup warm-up
2. 2‘Chasing every model release is a fool's errand and a fast track to AI fatigue inside your organisation’: GoodData.AI CTO says businesses should focus on automation use cases over every single new release
3. 3How to watch Bolivia vs Scotland: Free Streams & TV Guide for World Cup warm-up
4. 4Nothing is proving that smartphones can still be chic, and I hope other Android manufacturers are paying attention
5. 5'Not 300 but almost': A lone Ukrainian robot held a key position against hordes of Russian attackers for a staggering 45 days