

I then run into myself from a past life, the red lizard man, now a non-playable character called The Red Prince. Another is more chipper – a true believer in the ruling, assumedly non-Catholic ‘Bishop’ who tells me the political decisions behind my imprisonment are all going to work out for the best. A stern-looking guard talks down to me, delighted to know I am heading to a place of utter torment. Luckily, it isn’t long before I start chatting with other characters and the dialogue, though still dotted with inscrutable references, comes across with enough genuine personality that it doesn’t seem to matter. What’s a ‘Godwoken?’ Some Tolkien-esque spin on the born again Christian? Who are ‘the Seven Gods?’ Can I just transpose Game of Thrones onto this and hope for the best? The plot is, as expected, thick with terms that don’t make any sense yet. Now a boring old human, I set out to explore Original Sin 2’s opening level: a wooden prison ship carrying my character and other ‘Sourcerors’ to a place called Fort Joy. That’ll do, I decide, and let Jesus take the wheel.Ĭurrent mood: Thankful regretful. I consider customising him a bit, but don’t want to get ahead of myself. I rush back into the character creator again and, quickly overwhelmed, go with the boring, bearded human knight, Ifan ben-Mezd. Seeing him in the opening area, set against the game world with a blood-coloured tail and long scaly neck poking out of a tattered shirt, I realise I can’t spend dozens of hours with what is essentially a walking, talking snake. Thank god, then, for the handful of pre-made characters whose set appearance and skillset cuts through the usual decision-making paralysis.ĭeciding on the shiny red lizard man – clear MVP of the line-up – I watch the introductory cutscene.

It is filled with options for building the game’s protagonist out with skills that initially, being unfamiliar with its systems, mean absolutely nothing at all. Original Sin 2 opens with a big, fancy character creator. The following is a diary of my time with its opening hours, and an honest-to-god, open-minded attempt to figure out what, exactly, makes the game tick. And so I started to play the sequel, determined to come to grips with what it offers, hoping that the same complexity and freedom that pushed me away from its predecessor would put me under its spell if I stuck with it. Tired of smacking my head against its brick wall, and unenthused by the first act of its storyline, I abandoned it.ĭespite this, the release of Original Sin 2 has reignited something in me – the praise it has garnered raised a brow. Playing it, there was a constant sense that I was missing something important – that no matter how closely I paid attention, there were details of the world, aspects of the combat and character building systems, and worthwhile side-quests I was missing. I spent a few hours with the first Original Sin, a game I found as fascinating as it was impenetrable.
