D:OS2 Playthrough (Part 2 - End)

130 hours, give or take for time spent AFK distracted by food and whatnot, and my journey of ascension has come to an end.

I want to avoid spoilers because honestly the game is amazing and should be thoroughly enjoyed by anyone who might happen upon this. Suffice it to say I completed the game, played on Classic, and really loved the whole experience. There were a few moments in the third of 4 chapters especially where I wanted to just move on to the next main story plot, and the final chapter had some similar moments ("Ugh, really? Some random spiders are ambushing me?"), but overall the combat is engaging enough to remain a constant challenge as long as you're not cheesing it.

I've read some opinions/concerns online about Larian's approach with Baldur's Gate 3 potentially mirroring that of D:OS2 in that they'll demo the first chapter which will be full of content and then the rest of the game rushed and/or relatively empty/short, and I can somewhat see where those concerns might come from. Of the four chapters, the first was about 20% of the total gameplay, chapter two was a massive 50%, and the last two filled the rest with the third being over before I realized it. I won't say I did everything, but I certainly quested the heck out of chapter two especially as I was feeling a tad underleveled near the end of it and wanted to get more XP/levels before moving on.

The ending was more of a recap after speaking with my friends on our ship. I was more moved by the short conversations than the pre-credits cutscene, and none of it was particularly grand, which is fine I suppose.

Really the gameplay and the character interactions carried the game, in that order. I really loved the ability to respec my characters basically at will by going back to the ship, which encouraged experimentation. I kept everyone basically the same theme as intended by the game/story, with some minor adjustments and the typical attempts at unguided min/maxing. It was really engaging and I already want to play again on a higher difficulty and with a smaller party (the Lone Wolf perk being especially appealing sounding).

I really do highly suggest the game, it's beyond excellent. Has me super excited for the full release of Baldur's Gate 3 later this year.