Recently I’ve discovered the joy of CRPGs, having previously only dabbled in them without spending any significant time on the genre.
With Baldur’s Gate 2 just around the corner, which I’m sure many of us are hyped for, I wanted to try a similar CRPG to get a feel for whether I’m going to want to play it. Enter DOS2; this game is made by Larian Studios, the same studio making BG2, and is an absolutely incredible game.
From the graphics, which are stunning even 6 years on from release, to the combat which makes you think about your moves in a manner similar to how you might do in a game like chess, and best of all stories which are for the most part genuinely interesting. I frequently found myself surprised at events / characters / quests I found throughout the world, even small things like hearing someone screaming nearby then discovering they had been torn to pieces by voidwoken.
I recently just finished Act I and just started Act II but wanted to share a bit of love for this game as it is an absolute masterpiece with a well deserved 95% positive rating with 144k reviews on steam.
Please share your experience with DOS2 and whether or not you have fully completed the game!
The co-op is wildly underrated. Amazing game to play together.
My wife is not an RPG player and it’s her favorite game of all time.
500 hours in and a couple of play throughs. There’s so many different ways to progress it’s wild. Every time was different.
Trompdoy forever
3 friends and I played this. They all liked it I did not. It felt like a shopping simulator.
How quickly gear became obsolete in DOS2 is a super valid criticism. No loot, no matter how unique, ever felt special because you knew as soon as you leveled up there’d be better at the merchants.
Since Baldur’s Gate 3 is built on a framework of D&D 5e, however, there should be a lot less shopping - upgrades are rare in 5th edition and almost always found while adventuring instead of bought from stores. Good news for anyone who hates shopping!
How quickly gear became obsolete in DOS2 is a super valid criticism. No loot, no matter how unique, ever felt special because you knew as soon as you leveled up there’d be better at the merchants.
I felt the same, it´s really frustrating to find a cool piece of gear but having to replace it after just a few level ups. Because of that I activated the Sorcerous Sundries giftbag that allows you to increase the levels of items (for a hefty price that increases every time) and it completely fixed the issue. I can now use epic gear as long as I want in a run because I can upgrade it every few levels instead of buying/looting new stuff. Is there a reason you don´t want to use Sorcerous Sundries?
It’s not just the shopping part of it but also the way unique items with unique effects get deprecated so fast you barely get any use out of them. It’s a damn shame.
I felt the same, it´s really frustrating to find a cool piece of gear but having to replace it after just a few level ups. Because of that I activated the Sorcerous Sundries giftbag that allows you to increase the levels of items (for a hefty price that increases every time) and it completely fixed the issue. I can now use epic gear as long as I want in a run because I can upgrade it every few levels instead of buying/looting new stuff. Is there a reason you don´t want to use Sorcerous Sundries?
I love CRPGs and was excited when I got recommended this game - it got a lot of praise. Unfortunately, I found it to be tedious and overall uninteresting. That wouldn’t be worth mentioning if this game wasn’t on every top-rpgs-of-all-time list… I honestly don’t get it and I am confused.
Personal taste is always a factor. I’m curious, though - which CRPGs do you consider less tedious/more interesting?
I enjoyed both Baldur’s Gates, Planescape Torment, Pillars of Eternity, Arcanum, Gothic, I don’t know, pretty much RPGs across the board I think.
That’s a solid list, though I’m surprised to see Pillars up there. Gave both 1 and 2 really serious tries, tens of hours each, and just couldn’t get through them. Flat characters and uninspired world, I felt. I even like Critical Role but found their performance in PoE2 phoned in.
@Taliesin @solidstate Legend of Grimrock has its moments.
Grimrock and Grimrock II were awesome! Not really CRPGs, though. Dungeon crawlers in the tradition of Eye of the Beholder (apparently the sub-genre is called “blobbers,” I am amused to have just learned. On account of the party moving around as a blob).
How far into the game did you get? I know it took me a couple tries to actually get hooked, but that involved doing a good portion of the tutorial island multiple times
Only problem I have with the series is that the average battle takes around half an hour. Wish there was a way to speed that up. But fun games with awesome graphics no doubt.
