The original Solasta was an entertaining way to get a bit of digital D&D into your life, and the second iteration, while only in Early Access, already feels like it’s building on that in some meaningful ways. Early Access can always be a bit hit or miss, and while I don’t necessarily think it fits the CRPG genre that well… yes, even after Baldur’s Gate 3, I do think it can work out. What’s here so far is solid, but it mostly has me looking forward to what comes next.
In terms of gameplay, Solasta 2 is a very faithful recreation of what makes tabletop D&D so compelling. In fact, as it’s the first game we’ve got based on the newest 5.5 rules, it feels quite fresh. It helps that the developers have added in a few cool original spells and feats as well, so it offers some surprises even if you’re a D&D sicko like myself. While the options available are far from complete at this point, when everything’s been implemented, it’s going to be a great way to muck around with builds.
If your only experience with these kinds of games is Baldur’s Gate 3, then you’re going to be in for a shock here. The first instance of this for me was going to cast Chromatic Orb on my Sorcerer. Not only did my foolish mage not have their Arcane Focus equipped, but I also found I was lacking the gem needed for the spell’s casting. This is rules-as-written D&D made digital and interactive, and it’s almost jarring, when so many games do these things for you. Still, that just makes shopping a little bit more fun, and it makes every resource you find feel a bit more meaningful when you’re going all-in on spells.
Combat feels like D&D, so, uh, it’s really good? I’m a little irked that we’ve gone for grid-based movement here, as it takes away a little bit of the tactical crunch I like, but it’s also how a lot of people enjoy the TTRPG, so you might love it. Again though, that’s going to feel very odd if you’ve only ever played with Baldur’s Gate 3 rules.
In terms of the story, I think it’s a very solid start, but it’s obviously not complete as-is. You play as a group of orphans adventuring together for reasons I’m not going to spoil, and things ramp up as they always should. I will say that the character creator, from a visual point of view, is very underwhelming at the moment, so I’m hoping that gets expanded. From a mechanical standpoint, though, you can mix and match prebuilt characters, easy generation, and full customization to fine-tune your starting builds, and I really like how that’s all done, but it’s far from perfect.
Graphically, we’re looking at a prettier game than the original, although some of the models do occasionally feel uncanny, I’m hoping that’ll change as the game moves through the Early Access period. The voice acting is also better, although still a little hammy.
There are also more than a handful of bugs at this point, but that’s to be expected. I think if you’ve been waiting for this game for ages, then you’ll likely enjoy what’s on offer at this point. There’s a lot of fun to be had right now, even if it’s not complete. However, if you’ve been on the fence about the whole thing, I don’t know that this iteration of the game is going to do later versions justice. If you’re one of those people. it might be best to wait for a bit for more updates first.
