Divine Divinity

Divine Divinity is a video game in the role-playing (rpg) genre developed by Larian Studios NV and published by CDV Software Entertainment AG originally released in 2002. It is currently playable on Windows.

Two thousand years ago, the wise wizards of the Council of Seven sacrificed themselves to save the land of Rivellon. In their memory, a Divine Order was established and sworn to protect the land from the forces of evil. Now, growing unrest, corruption and greed indicate that evil is near. The protagonist wakes up in a house in Aleroth, the city of healers, without remembering anything of what happened earlier. It seems that the leader of the healers has gone mad. The hero is asked to find a way to cure his situation, which leads to a confrontation with the higher powers and, finally, a great quest to unite the heirs of the Council and face the ultimate evil in battle.

Divine Divinity is a 2D action RPG with an oblique (rather than isometric) perspective, set in a fantasy universe. The game borrows certain elements from the Diablo series, most notably point-and-click action-oriented combat and item randomization. However, the game's locations are not randomized, and it contains many features of traditional role-playing games, such as NPC interaction and multiple dialogue options.

The entire game world consists of over twenty thousand screens, each of which is a seamless transition to the next with weather effects and day/night cycles. The main quest progression is linear; however, there are plenty of sub-quests available, many with multiple solutions, and the main character is quite free to travel to most parts of the map from the start. Also notable is the ability to loot almost anything, not just equipment or healing items, but also chairs, candle sticks, and pretty much anything that isn't nailed down (except tables).

At the beginning of the game, the player chooses between three character classes for the protagonist, each with two variants (male or female): Warrior, Survivor or Mage. Each of these classes has four unique skill categories. For example, the Mage can specialize in elemental disciplines or choose the path of summoning various creatures, while the Survivor's skills include, among others, pickpocketing and alchemy. Each class can learn skills from other classes, and the differences between them are mainly the initial skills and stat bonuses when leveling up.

The game features a random item generator similar to, but less extensive than, Diablo. Items in certain locations have fixed names, but most of the attributes (such as damage, armor rating, poison or stun effect, stat bonus or gem slot) are randomized. The player can also upgrade his weapons with gems dropped by enemies or purchased in stores; the dedicated player can even embark on a quest for legendary weapons.

Divine Divinity is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.