Alphamania - Divinity: Original Sin Backer Alpha Kicks Off

There are so many early access alphas emerging from gaming's underbrush right now - bugs exposed for all to see, freely worming around in the loam - that my pointing it out is even becoming tiresome. So let's skip all the run-up. Divinity: Original Sin, Larian's heavenly-looking fantasy role-player, is now available to backers in alpha form. If you didn't back it, no dice for now. A more open beta might take place at some point down the line, but for the moment the early wallet gets the worm, or 10-15 hour chunk of an extremely promising adventure, as it were. Video and details below.

So the game is functional, and you'll be roaming through a decently sized chunk of its realm. But where are the borders, the proverbial chain-link fences and landmines at the end of the rainbow? Well, this is a true-blue alpha, so probably expect to come across some of them pretty quickly. Larian outlined what's not in the alpha as of now in a Kickstarter update:

"Quite a lot. Currently co-operative mode is disabled, as are the companions. We're still working on getting schedules in, so those are not in either. Sound & music are still very much work in progress too. Further, there's a very long list of features that are not 100% working yet, or just not in yet. This really is alpha, with plenty of stuff unfinished."

Thus, Larian advises that players steer clear unless they have a burning passion for all things game development - warts included. For the time being, extra helpings of funsatronicness, graphicsability, and turbogoodtimesplosions are still on the way.

If you're a backer, check out Larian's update for info on how to download the alpha, known issues, and a tentative update schedule. Are you ready to slay some monsters, play some roles, and file some bug reports?