Tim Wink

DoS2 builds upon everything that made DoS great and somehow manages to make it all less fun. Whereas the original presented us with multiple solutions to challenges, allowing a player freedom to play how they want and work things out - somehow DoS2 feels less free with highly specific optimal solutions. On the whole, I found it overly scripted, but not in a good way. A lot of time is spent reloading the game and how a player approaches that is probably the greatest determining factor of how much they will love it. I played it on Switch and found the reloads a bit too long for my liking, which is a shame because reloading is a necessary mechanical aspect of the game experience. Also found battles too overly scripted. In the original, a great fun was executing your plan on battles. In DoS2, battles are without exception scripted events, with enemies spawning out of thin air surrounding the party in almost every instance. You are not executing your plan, you are always on the defensive due to the nature of how battles were written. Yes, I know I'm going to talk to this guy, he'll go hostile, there will be a battle. I get it. Seen it dozens of times already. But somehow it isn't getting any more fun. Ultimately, any sense of the characters growing powerful is forever tempered by controlling hand of the developers, a sense that hangs over everything in this game. The Godwoken aren't the power here. They never are. Choice is an illusion. Let us all dance to music of whoever it was who wrote thing thing, forever.