Larian Studios - News and Information

We have made patch 2 for Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga available: click here to continue to the download page.

Patch 2 for Divinity II - Flames Of Vengeance is also available: click here to continue to the download page.

Here's a Larian Christmas present: we've made a demo available for Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga on PC. Click here to proceed to the download page, or pick one of the mirrors on the official Dragon Knight Saga website.

For the console fans: an XBOX360 demo is also available on XBOX Live. Log in to XBOX Live and check it out and don't forget to rate the demo!

We have made patch 2 for Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga available: click here to continue to the download page.

Patch 2 for Divinity II - Flames Of Vengeance is also available: click here to continue to the download page.

We were a bit concerned when somethingawful.com asked us for review code of Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga, given that they have a slight tendency to rip games apart, and that's why we're very pleased to announce that their review of the Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga turned out extremely favorable. Rating it 9/10, the reviewer said:

"The writing is consistently terrific, from the genuinely creative quests with multiple solutions to the NPCs which are all hand-crafted and infused with personality. Where other games would have copy + pasted Unclickable Villager A and B a few dozen times, Dragon Knight Saga gives you an actual village, complete with gossipers, philanderers, military deserters, the occasional secret murderer, and even a few normal people."

"Combat is fast-paced and responsive. You aren't controlling a lumbering doll with stiff animations, but a nimble character that glides along to follow the camera movements"

"The game's tone is downright enthusiastic. While Dragon Age had an understated tone that served it well, Dragon Knight Saga goes all out. Instead of hints of gryphons that never appear, you get to see a massive flying fortress right out of the gate - and that's just a glorified bus to get from your training area to the first town. The writing just plain goes for it at all times, whether "it" is humor or excitement or depth, and rarely falls short."

Norwegian site Gamer.no awarded Divinity II - The Dragon Knight saga a 90% score. We needed google translate but here's their conclusion:

"Divinity 2 - Ego Draconis was a wonderful role-play with certain imperfections when it was originally released a year ago. The new version has better graphics, fewer annoyances and a generally more streamlined experience. In addition, we have a fabulous add-on pack that not only allows us to experience a proper conclusion to the Dragon Knight's Saga, but also includes lots of great content with a much stronger focus on interaction with other characters than what we found in the original. The result is a brilliant gaming experience all RPG fans should not miss, as long as they do not have anything against the action-based combat rather than virtual dice."

Benelux magazine Gameplay reviewed The Dragon Knight Saga on PC and said "The Dragon Knight Saga brings new life to Divinity 2 and shows craftsmanship at all levels. An ode to all fans and highly recommended for Dragon newbies." Final Score: 82%

French magazine Canard PC said "The Flames of Vengeance part offers us in 20 hours more memorable dialogues and characters than most games manage to do in 60 hours." Final Score: 8/10

Eurogamer.be said "The game has us travel the world with a smile on our face, always hoping to encounter new areas and characters. Most non player characters are true pearls and it's easy to underestimate how much they add to your sense of fun. The dialogues are full of nifty word-games humor and sarcasm." Final Score: 8/10

UK site Console obsession reviewed the Dragon Knight Saga on Xbox360 - "The Dragon Knight Saga is excellent value for money" and "fans of similar RPG’s will mostly likely fall in love with the package, and it will be a love affair that will last for hours, days, weeks, and possibly months." Final Score: 8/10

Godisageek.com, reviewing the Xbox360 version said - "Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is a game that’s worthy of anyone’s gaming shelf." and "he way the game plays is nice and fluid." Final Score: 8/10

We are glad to announce that the patch for Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga is now available for download here.

The patch for Divinity II - Flames Of Vengeance will be released in the coming days.

Testing it on the Xbox360, Spanish gaming site Vandal Online posted their review of Divinity II - The Dragon Knight.
Rating it 88%, they had this to say:

"Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight is a game not only recommended for enthusiasts of the original, but for anyone willing to undertake a new role-playing adventure with a large dose of intelligent humor."

Strategy informer meanwhile gave the PC version a shot, and rated the game 8/10. Their closing comments:

"This is definitely an improved version over the original, so kudos to Larian for the extra work they've put in. The game does do a pretty good job at fixing the technical problems, the extra content is welcome, and the pacing is improved so that you don't get stuck all the time. This is definitely a game for hardcore RPG fans, so if you haven't tried it already, this is definitely worth a go."

US site Beefjack.com reviewed Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga and rated it 8.5/10, saying "The Dragon Knight Saga offers a huge amount of traditional RPG questing, and it's very easy to lose yourself - and hours of your day - enjoying its world."

French print magazine PC Jeux rated the game 87% saying that it's "well paced, rich in detail, very atmospheric, good looking and features fun combat together with fluid performance."

RpgCodex meanwhile scored an interview with Swen Vincke, the game's director, in which he answers some probing questions about the development of Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga.

Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga continues to charm reviewers around the globe. The following reviews were spotted over the weekend:

XBOXDynasty.de: Silver Award, 8.4/10 - "An extensive campaign, countless subquests and witty dialogs make it a game worth playing." (German, translated)

Gamgea.com: 9/10 - "Every action-rpg fan who hasn't entered the world of Rivellon yet, should get this!" (German, translated)

Impulsegamer.com: 8.7/10 - "Graphically, Divinity II is a very good looking game with some great backgrounds and impressive attention to detail."

Videogame UK: 8.5/10 - "The team has worked hard to develop controls that meet the standard console gamers expectations, and they did not disappoint."

In its Christmas special "Les Jeux de Noël 2010" ("Christmas Games 2010"), the French magazine jeuxvideo.com has awarded Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga with the "Best RPG of 2010" award twice! The game was given this honour on both PC and 360.

"Thanks to its open character development, the remarkable quality of the musical score and its well-written story, this games deserves your full attention."

"Don't forget that for a bit less that 40 euro, this title offers a superior 60 hours of gameplay."

Chris from the English Allabouthegame magazine was blown away by The Dragon Knight Saga. Have a look-see at his review, it oozes praise. He was immediately amazed by the updates the game received, and recommends it to everyone with an XBOX360, especially at the bargain bin price this massive game comes at.

"There was no sign of the screen tear or frame-rate issues and the whole thing nipped along at a decent pace. Also immediately noticable was a ton more detail and polish on all the textures and models. Excellent stuff."

"The world of Rivellon is a fantastic one to get lost in."

"Another area that this game oozes quality is in its voice acting."

"Larian have clearly lavished a lot of love and attention on their game. It's huge. It rewards exploration ten fold, and the storytelling is on a par with the biggest block-busting games today. Hell, in a lot of places I'd even say it surpasses them, such is the level of imagination on show here."

The French version of official Xbox360 magazine awarded Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga 17/20 ! The reviewer liked the game a lot and said:

"This ultimate version of Divinity II shows us its best side!"

"The Dragon Knight Saga mixes humor and epic feeling in a brilliant way, and offers excellent value for money."

Inc.Gamers reviewed the Dragon Knight Saga and gave it a smashing 9 out of 10 score!
Here are a couple of things the reviewer had to say:

"Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is a wonderful, welcome surprise. It's been a long time since I've played an RPG that manages to balance a lengthy, in-depth story with such a self-aware and hilarious script."

"Great (and funny) writing, well designed quests, respect for the player's intelligence and an open approach to character creation make The Dragon Knight Saga an outstanding RPG."

"For listening to criticism and revisiting an imperfect game, Larian Studios deserves high praise. The team has turned what appears to have been a near-miss into a triumphant re-release. It's so rare to find writing this strong in an RPG, let alone one with a fantasy theme, that it should be cherished."

And they liked it ! Rating it 8.2/10 and giving it "The Dark Horse award" which stands for "Awarded to a game that has successfully hidden its greatness right up to the moment of review where it has been found to be flippin' marvelous" they say:

"A graphically appealing, world-spanning, exploration and questing focused, largely open-world RPG opus quite unlike anything else on the console. It even manages laugh-out-loud moments with its bawdy and often Pythonesque humour."

On the topic of the humor in Divinity, they also awarded it a LOL-award, which goes to games that "cause drinks to gush from our noses in an unstoppable avalanche of unrestrained mirth"

"The game separates itself from its peers with a number of major hooks...(which) are all paced out rather beautifully." and "there’s simply no other hardcore RPG release in this half of 2010 which can touch it."

First off is the Guardian in the UK which rated Divinity II - The Dragon Knight saga 4 out of 5 stars. Here are a few of the things the reviewer had to say:

"One year on and with a hefty lick of paint and an expansion pack Divinity 2 returns and this time deserves to gain a far wider audience. It should at the very least appeal to RPG fans looking for something prettier than Fallout 3 and more expansive than Dragon Age." and "Traditional it may be but Divinity 2 Dragon Knight Saga is an excellent RPG that is up there with the very best on the Xbox 360."

"Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga is a very good RPG. The adventure is interesting to follow, the presentation is efficient, and the game offers well-balanced gameplay. A nice surprise !

We spotted two reviews of The Dragon Knight Saga over the weekend.
GamingShogun does not rate games, but seemingly liked the game and had this to say:

"Witty dialogue, brilliant graphics, and an interesting skill tree design...The Dragon Knight Saga plays nice and smooth with interesting character building styles and really funny dialogue."

"Divinity 2 simply is a great game...Simply writing this review has made me want to go back and play even more of the game."

Neoseeker just released their lenghty review of The Dragon Knight Saga and awarded it very high marks. Here are a couple of things the reviewer had to say:

"I can say off the bat The Dragon Knight Saga is a gem."

"Conversations are well-written and at times outright hilarious -- I found myself many times having to really stop and laugh out loud. One scene in particular stands out, where I had the option of trading with a skeleton or giving him an existential crisis -- I'll leave the rest to your imagintion and amusement. As with all skilled writing of this variety, it's woven perfectly in with the more serious overarching story, including some horrific bits."
"In short, Divinity II has one of the finest soundtracks in gaming, period, and it really adds a lot the experience. It's quite varied, too, though like the writing, there's an undercurrent running through all of it, tying it together nicely."
"Naturally, much of your time will be spent in combat, something which really grew on me as I played. At first it may seem somewhat simplistic, but the depth opens up as you unlock skills, increase in level and stats, and encounter more complex battles."
"In ways, Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga feels like an organic evolution of the Divinity series, with some of the feel kept intact, but it takes just enough risks and explores just enough new ground to appeal to old timers and newcomers. In short, it's one of the best outcomes series fans could've hoped for."

In the UK, Resolution Magazine awarded the game 8/10 (very good on their scale), saying:

"Divinity II manages to do something magical, appealing to the inner child before unleashing it on a fantasy world full of charm." "Graphically, the game runs on the same engine as Oblivion and Fallout 3. It’s practically a revelation when you consider how fabulous Divinity II looks... It’s an even more impressive fact when you consider the raw size of The Dragon Knight Saga."

And in Spain, Meristation gave it the same score, saying (according to Google translate):

"The Dragon Knight Saga is an excellent addition for any RPG fan, and exceeds the expectations of what you would ordinarily expect from a hack & slash game. A good fight, accompanied by an adventure full of humor sprinkled and inventive content, it's a curious mix, but it works perfectly in the hands of Larian and it's something that's not easy to achieve."

Reviews are starting to come in, at after getting two 90% scores in France already, JeuxActu.com now gives The Dragon Knight Saga a 17/20. Here's a translated snip of what the author had to say:

"The Dragon Knight Saga is a better game than Ego Draconis, and does this using a two-level approach. On the one hand, the initial adventure has received a serious face lift which makes it a lot more fun, on the other hand, the inclusion of the Flames of Vengeance content gives us another 15 hours of additional pleasure and closes the scenario in style. So, yes, the game didn't get the benefit of a tremendous PR campaign, but trust us, it's equally good, if not better, than today's blockbusters !"

A cool video review materialized today at Elder-Geek. Elder-geek.com does not rate games but the author recommends Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga, which is equal to "Worth Buying". Here’s a snippet:

"The Dragon Knight Saga is a huge improvement over Ego Draconis"
"A profound game experience"
"Divinity 2 truly shines now!"

UK newspaper The Guardian has a game's blog in which the author discusses what he's been playing over the weekend.
This weekend The Dragon Knight Saga made it to his console and these are his impressions:

"This is a beautiful role playing game which encourages exploration and experimentation while keeping you at least interested in the main plot"

"From what I've seen so far this could well end up being a cult hit on the 360."

"Divinity II offers a really strong mix of action and RPG elements... Not having played the original I can’t compare what this reworking has improved on but the game does look good, offering some huge lands to explore and a large variety of trolls, ogres, goblins and skeletons to fight against."

The first pure Xbox360 review arrived on our desks this morning, courtesy of French site http://www.xboxygen.com/.
Rating it very good and giving it a coup de coeur award (editor's choice), the author writes (translated):

"Incredibly deep, it is a pearl of a game for all old-school RPG fans, that doesn't make too many concessions and which you'll appreciate if you invest yourself fully into it."

We've spotted a review over at The Examiner which rates it 4 out of 5 stars. Here are two snips of what the author had to write:

"One thing that immediately impressed us with the game was the quality of the story, voice acting, and writing — all of which are excellent. The soundtrack is also very good."

"Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga can be a harsh mistress in the early game, but it is a rewarding, entertaining, and well-crafted game that will keep you playing for many, many hours."

RPG France just released their review of our latest game, and join their colleagues at Jeuxvideo.com by awarding it a 9/10 score.
Here's a snip:

"In conclusion, there are studios who like to please their fans by taking into account what they want so that the game gets better. Larian Studios belongs to that club. By offering not only an improved version of the original game, but also an add-on of exceptional quality, free of issues, Larian Studios proved themselves not only in the originality of the scenario, but also where it comes to gameplay, graphics and music. Flames of Vengenace is an add-on you just need to have if you are fan of the Divinity series (or not !!!)"

Jeuxvideo.com, the largest gaming website in France, just put their review online of Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga. We were glad to see that they were rather explicit in their praise of the game. Here are a few of the things they had to say (translated):

"Let's not beat around the bush - Flames of Vengeance is an add-on of exceptional quality."

"The design of the scenario is brilliant and exciting, and the dialogs are so well written that it seems as if they come straight from the best point & click adventures."

"The result is a magnificent experience, with a narrative quality that brings back memories of Planescape Torment."

"A great role playing gaming which you cannot afford to miss under any condition!"

We are proud and happy to announce that as of today, both Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga and Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance are available for digital download through our new online store - The Larian Vault.

The Larian Vault is Larian Studios’ new digital distribution service that was previously only available for Benelux customers. Featuring fast download speeds and secure payment processing, The Larian Vault service allows you to download, install and play purchased games on multiple PC’s as well as make personal backups.

Yesterday evening, the Belgian national broadcaster had a cool report on Monkey Tales, in which they asked children for their opinion about the game. Head over to Karrewiet to see what they had to say.

If you're living in Belgium or the Netherlands, and want to try out the brand new Monkey Tales, then head over to www.monkeytalesgames.com where you can download a full demo and buy the full game. Monkey Tales is currently only available in dutch but we are working on making international versions.

Two weeks before its release on PC and Xbox 360, we reveal brand new screenshots of Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga.
Discover more of the beautiful world and the vicious enemies you will encounter in this fantasy RPG - not only on the ground, but in the air as well where you will take flight in dragon form!

A new preview appeared today on French game site Jeuxactu.com. Here are a few (translated) snippets of what they had to say about Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga.

"The Belgians did an enormous job on the Xbox360 and this time deliver a polished, well thought out and above all, fluid product... More stable, more beautiful this remastered version is also a lot easier to take in your hands."

"With all these qualities, the nice PC surprise of the end of 2009, looks well set to re-conquer our hard disks in 2010, and this time also our Xbox 360 consoles!"

By a twist of fate, the first press to see Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga came from France. Jeux Video and Gameblog just released their impressions after seeing the game in action. Here are a few snips:

From Jeux Video - Full preview article

"Whether it is on PC or on Xbox360, the game has taken a giant visual leap. Simply put, everything looks more beautiful, more detailed... really impressive !"

"On Xbox360, it's also worth noting that the interface has been improved significantly, more usable and a lot better readable than in Ego Draconis. Another problem they solved is that the camera is now much closer to the avatar, (ed: with different controls) allowing the player to better control his character in combat"

"Flames of Vengeance is an expansion of great quality. Very rich in content, better looking than the previous episode, with bugfixes and improvements where possible, it concludes Divinity II in the best possible way."

"They worked on it for a year to propose you a new version that's a lot more sexy, in all aspects."

We're happy to announce that the brand new Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga website has just gone live. Head over to www.divinity2-saga.com to learn more about the game and also see a brand new trailer.

Larian Studios is proud to announce our educational game Monkey Labs has been nominated for a MEDEA award! Monkey Labs and eight other finalists were chosen from among 140 candidates from 31 countries. Come November 25th, we'll know the winner!

Monkey Labs, part of the Monkey Tales series, is currently only available in Belgium, but we are planning to bring it to other territories soon. For more information on Monkey Tales, visit www.monkeytalesgames.com

French game site FactorNews recently saw a demonstration of The Dragon Knight Saga at GamesCom in Köln and posted their impressions. Here’s a snippet:

"Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga est bien parti pour remplir les longues soirées d'automne et d'hiver des amateurs de RPG à l'ancienne. Si l'écriture est du même niveau qu'Ego Draconis – et pour le peu que j'en ai vu cela semble être le cas – il est temps que je prépare mon armure pour venger tout le mal qui m'a été fait à la fin d'Ego Draconis."

"It looks like Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga is just about ready to fill the long fall and winter evenings of amateur and hardcore RPG players alike. If the writing is of the same level as Ego Draconis – and from the little I've seen I'd say that seems to be the case – it is time to prepare my armour and get set to avenge the wrongs that were done unto me at the end of Ego Draconis."

Be sure to check out their site as they have released some new screenshots too.
Read the full article here.

We are pleased to offer today brand new images of our role playing game: Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga.
The screenshots can be viewed here.

RPG France visited the Divinity II booth at GamesCom in Köln and wrote down some of their impressions (translated):

"Flames Of Vengeance is one of the games of the show that convinced me the most, so congratulations to the team ! Now we only have to wait until October 2010 to get our hands on it !".

Web.de gave it a "Very good" stating that "Those who closed Divinity II in their hearts, will not regret delving into this lovingly made expansion pack". Full review

Looki.de awarded Flames of Vengeance 82% and said "It is a must for all fans". Full review

Gamecaptain.de rated Flames of Vengeance 80% and said "Flames of Vengeance offers everything that made the main game such fun: Innovative quests, action-rich fights and a decent portion of humor". Full review

We are pleased to offer today brand new images of our role playing game: Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga, planned for release on PC and Xbox 360 in October.

Divinity II – The Dragon Knight Saga includes the original adventure "Ego Draconis", and "Flames of Vengeance", the Dragon Knight's new adventure that continues the epic story and adds dozens of hours of additional gameplay. Ego Draconis appears here as an entirely new and re-mastered edition with improved graphics and content that make the game even more beautiful and more impressive than ever before!>

For more information about the game and to watch the screenshots, visit the following link.

Word arrived of an extensive preview at Gamona.de based on playing Flames of Vengeance. The preview is almost a review and their impression was very good. Here's a translated quote:

"The 2010 autumn belongs to Divinity II and that's deserved!"

Gamesmediapro has been reviewing the various games in the Divinity Universe, and they recently had a look at Divinity II - Ego Draconis. Here's what they had to say:

"With some of the best RPG gaming to be found in any series of titles, and in a beautifully rendered world that depicts a fantasists Utopia, Ego Draconis is without a doubt one of the true gems of the 2009 gaming calendar."

We recently had the pleasure of welcoming the Gameswelt TV crew in our offices and present them Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance. They shot footage from the game, the team, the city we work in and also an interview with Lar about what's new in Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance. They left with a "Sehr Gut" or "Very good" opinion of the game.

To see the full footage (in German), click here. Start watching the movie at 16:07 minutes.
A link to the preview of the game is available here.

Gamestar, Germany’s largest PC gaming magazine has reviewed Divinity II - Flames Of Vengeance and awarded it a gold award and a rating of 86%.
Here’s a snip of what the reviewer had to say:

"Flames of Vengeance, like the main game, offers great and eye-catching fun… A great expansion with a great ending!"

"Flames of Vengeance ist wie schon das Hauptspiel ein prächtiger, augenzwinkernder Spaß… Prima Addon, diesmal mit prima Ende!"

The German spoken version of Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance is now available in Germany. Other language versions will be available mid October.