Divinity: Original Sin update adds two new companions and a "big coat of polish"

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Divinity: Original Sin is a hit, having already sold more than 500,000 units , and while that obviously doesn't put it in the league of Call of Duty it's quite an achievement for an unapologetically old-school, PC-exclusive isometric RPG from Belgium. Even so, the work isn't done yet: The latest update to the game adds makes significant changes to the dialog system and adds two brand-new companion characters.

There are plenty of bug fixes in the new update , the full list of which you can catch over at Steam , but the biggest change (aside from the new NPCs) is the addition of "listening functionality," which allows players to listen to dialogs between characters, and records a full log of what's being said, in case anything is missed. Some tweaks and fixes to the story have also been made, and a "big layer of polish" has been applied to spell and skill effects.

As for the new companions, they're an interesting pair. First is the Bear, actually the ranger Bairdotr, who was born in the wild and raised from a young age by wandering druids. At the beginning of the game, her adoptive father has been kidnapped, and she's in hot pursuit of those who took him. She's immune to Rot, and the stories told to her by her druid family have made her a natural Loremaster.

The Burglar, on the other hand, is the rough-looking Wolgraff, who aspired to be a Source Hunter in his youth but was rejected by the Order because of his inability to speak. Plan B was a life of crime, which he took on somewhat reluctantly; as Larian boss Swen Vincke put it, "He's a good guy who became a bad guy, but probably deep down he still wants to be a good guy." Wolgraff has very high perception, and as you might expect, is handy in the ways of stealth.

The Bear and the Burglar update is free, and is available now from Steam or GOG .

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.