Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Imbalances The game still has some massive balancing issues that need to be worked out, some encounters that are so easy they put you to sleep (such as the green dragon that you would think would be one of the most difficult fights of the game) to the other side of the spectrum where you can have a perfect group that gets one-shotted before you even react to an OP lighting spell at lvl 3. Character Customization All of the face options pretty much look the same, the only thing they have in detail is coloring. And with only 2 voice options per sex your group sounds like the same person talking no matter what character is in dialog. Content One year after release and still no additions to the story line, no new playable content with the exception of a small side quest they offered with the DLC, which dosent include much except for 2 new character types. Mechanics Several game mechanics such as line of sight to a target or increased AC based on terrain, obstacles etc are in dire need of a complete overhaul. In some cases a target mob that is literally standing in an open field with nothing but pebbles and grass can have a +5 or +2 AC terrain modifier, while another mob standing behind a wall or pillar will have no modifier at all. Encounters Last but not least, encounters in Solasta are waning in several regards: 1) Ambush cut-sceenes that almost always place your characters in wide open areas with no cover. 2) Many abilities such as hide in plain sight are pretty much useless throughout the game. 3) Mobs that just "appear" out of thin air, they love to just have stuff pop in around you like they were all beemed in from an orbiting star ship. Summary I loved the game in EA for its play style and I still do, I love the authentic D&D turn based game play. Its heartbreaking to have to deal with all of the idiosyncrasies the game currently is plagued with.

The engine for this game is quite nice and it makes all of the rules it's using from the tabletop game very clear and easy to understand for the most part. But the original campaign is terrible. The designers apparently believe that your party of adventurers are idiots e.g., forced cutscenes that pull your characters close to the enemy you've been trying to avoid or ambush, camping spots in the middle of fields and underneath a tower that makes it trivial for your party to be ambushed from all sides. I have played computer roleplaying games for decades; I don't choose to roleplay as "idiot with a deathwish" and this game forces you to do that.

When I saw that the Tactical Adventures team was adding multi-player support, this immediately went on my wish list. It did not disappoint! Although, I have to admit that I was skeptical and very worried at the opening of the game when I heard the word "piss" in three places in less than two minutes. Thankfully, the dialog got waaay better! The good: 1) Everybody knows the combat is great. The vertical dimension adds a lot to the game. 2) The voiceovers are good and frequently funny. There are lots of comments that appear during combat. For me, these are the highlights of the voice acting because there are frequently new ones that pop up, keeping a sense of freshness to the characters. 3) Good stories and engaging (though straightforward) quests. 4) Great music. Improvements to make: 1) Because the game is fully voiced, dialog options are pretty limited. There's nowhere near the amount available compared to a Baldur's Gate 2 or, more appropriate, Divinity Original Sin 2. Part of me would be happy to have more depth there at the expense of the voices. 2) There are only three male voices. So, if you have an all-male party, two guys will have an identical voice. It would be nice to have a free DLC that adds 2-3 new sets. 3) There are only three female voices and one of those is the high-pitched male voice! 4) There are some bugs here and there, but nothing that completely breaks the game. The "Crown of the Magister" campaign got itself out of sync a few times during combat and the game was unable to proceed because one player saw the turn for one character, and another saw the turn for a different character. I haven't seen this in "The Lost Valley". I'm looking forward to more modules a la "The Lost Valley", which is an improvement over the original campaign.

This game is a like a light mix of Icewind Dale and Realms of Arkania. You create your party of 4 based off of any combinations, then are sent on a combat heavy trek to recover an important artifact, with little bits of basic story spread throughout to keep you going. When travelling to world map locations, you need provisions and there is a descriptive panel on the left for flavour telling you what your adventurers are doing or who they bump into on the road. You also have random encounters which are fairly repetitive. Solasta is definitely NOT of the same quality as the above mentioned games, but I found the main campaign to be interesting and engaging enough, and it is nice for a change to play a game that doesn't dump paragraphs of lore onto you or modern day politics. The combat is great, giving you a real feel of tactical control over what is happening. Casting Light will damage the vampires surrounding you, Levitating your wizard will protect him from melee orcs, shoving a skeleton into a chasm is satisfying. If you have experience playing these types of games, the fights can be very rewarding. I thought at first that maybe the fights were too simple, so I went into a fight with no real tactics at all and got destroyed easily. I went back to the same fight with preparation and destroyed them easily. Planning matters, which is nice in this day and age where a lot of games you can just basic attack your way to victory. Definitely worth a play if you want a more classic experience.

Really pleased by what I've played so far, with 5 hours in the game and a few dungeons under my belt, I see this is two independent things: 1. It is a very good translation of the D&D 5e Rules Set into a PC Game. I've been playing D&D since AD&D 1st, and while this isn't an OD&D clone, it is indeed just a verbatim translation of D&D 5e, as near as I can tell, limited only by what they were allowed to use as part of the SRD. They have done this admirably, and I really hope they are able to use more in time. The campaign thus far is well written, and feels much like any campaign I have played in or ran - I would describe it as generic high fantasy. Nothing wrong with that. 2. It is also a toolbox for other people to use. I was very surprised to see that the game has support for co-op, creating your own adventures, and downloading other peoples'. A review of the mod.io website shows what appears to be a handful of level 1 - 12 campaigns, and it appears the community remains active. Long story short, it appears that D&D 5e now has an outlet for dungeon masters to share their creations to a broader audience. Once again, very happy with what the team has managed, and I hope they continue and expand their work.