Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition

Genre: Top-Down Turn-Based RPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless, Online), 2 Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a Turn-Based RPG originally released on PCs in 2017 and later re-worked for consoles and then re-released as a “Definitive Edition” with a re-worked third act with 30 hours of new content as well as a newly-added competitive Arena mode. That version of the game has now been brought to the Nintendo Switch largely intact – hardware limitations meant that the Switch could no longer support the game’s couch co-op mode, but it still supports up to four players online and in local wireless play, and the game even touts a cross-save feature with the PC version of the game on Steam, allowing you to take your saves from one to the other and back, a feature unique to the Switch and PC versions of the game.

Graphically, Divinity Original Sin 2 looks good, although there have clearly been some sacrifices made to get the game to fit on the Switch. The dynamic resolution in docked mode ranges from 1280×720 down to 1088×612 in some places (albeit with a 900p UI, specifically designed for the Switch version of the game), while in handheld mode the resolution ranges between 1152×648 and 880×495 (credit to Digital Foundry for the numbers). Likewise, while the game mostly retains a stable 30FPS framerate, late in the game in some busy areas this can take a hit. Also reduced are a lot of the texture details, which combined with the lower resolution can result in the game looking a bit blurry at times. This version has reduced polygon counts as well, there’s a few areas where I noticed textures popping in… like I said, clearly sacrifices have been made here.

Yet, even though this is visually a clearly inferior game in just about every way, none of these sacrifices damages the experience all that much. The game still looks very nice, with a good amount of detail, and some nice water and lighting effects. What’s more, I can say that the text and menus look fine in handheld mode, despite having a lot of information packed onto the small screen. While this is a visual downgrade from other versions, in every way that counts Divinity: Original Sin 2 still looks very good on the Switch.

However, while this game’s visuals look decent, the real star of the show has to be the sound. This game features an absolutely gorgeous orchestral and choral soundtrack that truly makes this feel like every bit the epic experience it’s intended to be. What’s more, this incredible soundtrack is joined by absolutely fantastic voice acting, and with every line of the game’s dialogue being voiced (and even its narration getting tongue-in-cheek voice-over), I feel like this game has set a high bar for sound design in RPGs.

Of course, none of this would mean anything if the game’s writing wasn’t equally as good, and I can say that along with the sound, the writing and story here is one of the game’s highlights. The overarching story deals with a growing number of attacks by monsters from a realm called the Void, and a Divine Order that seeks to end these attacks by putting a stop to the use of The Source, a form of energy used for powerful magic. However, their methods for doing so entail capturing and imprisoning people capable of using The Source, of which your character is one. As you progress, it becomes clear that there’s more going on than it seems at first.

However, while there is a grand and epic story going on, there are also smaller, individual stories, and the game will let you play through as one of its superbly well-written heroes who each has their own personal tale winding through the narrative… or, you can simply create your own original character. Whoever you choose, you’ll find the other unique heroes to be recruitable allies early on in your adventure, and I’ll say that one of the things that fascinated me early on was wondering how things would have gone differently had I chose a different hero as my character.

Early on, my singer Lohse was greeted by a child who recoiled in terror from her, apparently able to see the demons that Lohse believes are haunting her. Meanwhile, I befriended the mysterious and charming “Lone Wolf” Ifan, who almost immediately demanded to go on a personal errand that involved him apparently threatening a local guard, though I wasn’t privy to exactly what he said. I found myself wondering, if I had chosen Ifan as my hero, how would the child have reacted to me, what would his first conversation with Lohse look like from the other side, and what would that conversation with the guard look like? Clearly, this is a game that promises a lot of fun potential for replays, both to make other characters your main hero, as well as to recruit different allies. It bears mention that the game makes it even easier for players to do this as these heroes’ starting stats and abilities are not locked down. In fact, you can even alter their appearance if you want.

The gameplay here takes a bit of getting used to – this game was clearly not originally designed for a controller, and some of the controls feel a bit awkward and unnatural. Sadly, the Nintendo Switch version of the game doesn’t add touchscreen controls either. However, I give the game’s designers credit for doing their best to accommodate players who might have different playstyles. By default, players directly control their character, but by clicking in the left thumbstick players can swap to having a cursor on-screen and click on areas for your character to walk to, much as you would do with a mouse. What’s more, you can click on items individually to inspect them, or hold down a button to scan the area in a radius around your character. These options were much-appreciated, and more than the game’s creators needed to do.

Combat in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is fairly straightforward, although it has some nice nuances. On your turn, you have a limited number of action points to move around, cast spells, and attack, but the game is frequently highlighting the importance of being mindful of your environment. When characters take damage, they spread blood on the battlefield, which can conduct electrical attacks or be used by characters with necromancy. Oil spreads fire, which can be put out with water, which can then be frozen. Characters with high ground get bonuses to their attacks. Suffice it to say, while this game isn’t quite what I’d call a Strategy-RPG, the sort of awareness you need to have of your surroundings is very much in line with those games.

Taken all together, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a marvelous RPG with a fantastic story, great soundtrack, and excellent voice acting. And while, yes, the graphics definitely took a hit in the transition to the Switch, the game still looks very good and remains extremely playable. And while the loss of couch co-op is disappointing, this version makes up for it by adding in the console-exclusive cross-save feature, and the game still has strong multiplayer support in local wireless and online. If you’re looking for a wonderful, deep, story-focused RPG on the Switch, Divinity: Original Sin 2 should be close to the top of your list.

tl;dr – Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a Turn-Based RPG that had to sacrifice couch co-op and a lot of graphical fidelity to fit onto the Switch, but the game retains its massive, deep, well-told campaign, excellent strategic gameplay, absolutely beautiful soundtrack and superb voice acting and writing, and superb co-op play in local wireless and online. Plus, the Switch version has exclusive cross-save support with the PC version on Steam. The result is a version of the game that is one of the best RPGs on the Switch, and a must-have for fans of the genre who don’t already own it on another platform.

Grade: A-

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Genre: Top-Down Turn-Based RPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless, Online), 2 Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)

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Review:

We don’t know for sure the chain of events that led to us getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Divinity: Original Sin 2, a game that is now 7 years old and also seeing new versions released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S alongside it now in 2025… however, I think we can make an educated guess. Developer Larian Studios clearly has a Nintendo Switch 2 development kit, and surely thought it would be a simple enough matter to test it out on one game they’ve already released on Nintendo Switch before moving on to their more recent, massive success. Well, before everyone starts celebrating at the strong likelihood that this means we’re looking at strong prospects of a Nintendo Switch 2 version of Baldur’s Gate 3, let’s have a look and see how this game is improved by the Nintendo Switch 2.

You’ll recall that I thought the game worked surprisingly well on the original Nintendo Switch, albeit in compromised form. Yet despite this, I have to admit I was a bit surprised at how little a difference this upgrade actually made.

The biggest improvement here is the framerates. The boost to 60FPS from 30FPS is wonderful, making the game run much more smoothly. There’s also a boost to resolution, though I honestly found this to be a much more subtle change – there are still plenty of details that seem pretty low-resolution here.

I should also note that the loading times aren’t greatly improved here either loading up the game has actually gone up slightly, from 30 seconds on Nintendo Switch to 31 seconds on Nintendo Switch 2. Loading a game save is faster though – down from 58 to 31.

I’ll also note that one feature you’d really hope to see added into this version, mouse mode controls, is not present. This really is just a graphics and performance upgrade, and not a major one either.

Overall, it’s still a solid version of a great game, and it’s free to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 version of you own the version from the original Nintendo Switch, but this definitely isn’t a massive improvement. Still, it’s nice to have an improved version of such an excellent RPG, even if that improvement isn’t massive.

tl;dr – Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a Turn-Based RPG that had to sacrifice couch co-op and a lot of graphical fidelity to fit onto the Switch, but the game retains its massive, deep, well-told campaign, excellent strategic gameplay, absolutely beautiful soundtrack and superb voice acting and writing, and superb co-op play in local wireless and online. Plus, the Switch 2 version has exclusive cross-save support with the PC version on Steam. The result is a version of the game that is one of the best RPGs on the Switch 2, and a must-have for fans of the genre who don’t already own it on another platform.

Grade: A-

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