Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Such potential, but not ready for release. First half was fun, but many aspects are flat out unfinished. A complete lack of spell descriptions is especially frustrating. Without 5e experience, picking spells must be a real chore, or even buying scrolls/potions/poisons/etc. Fly and spiderclimb all have numerous issues that make them cumbersome or flat out not work at times. AOE spells at times are cumbersome or flat out impossible to target properly, even using planar mode. Third quarter of the game felt slapped together and unfinished. Last quarter was a disappointment, like they were up against deadlines and just threw some balogna at the wall. I wait for games to be full release for a reason. I don't like paying to beta test someone's game. When it's released in this state, I just feel conned.; Other than that, I'm sure this will/would be a great game if it is ever finished.

A DnD adaptation is something I always looked forward to - an immersive and detailed fantasy setting is a pleasant distraction. Solasta is a mixed success. The positive sides include a funny combat system, good graphics and the succesful idea of creating and controlling all party members during the dialogues. The character creation is something I can't complain about. I wish I could have been more "merciful" with this game by leaving 4 or even 5 stars, but there are some problems. The biggest flaw is the mediocre immersion: plot, dialogues and choices aren't convincing. Also, choosing the languages known by the characters doesn't seem to have much impact on the game (if a character knows how to speak with giants or dragons, why am I not interacting with such races?). But the biggest disappointments are the DLCs. I have to buy more in order to have more classes, races and adventures. No, this is unacceptable. A game should be complete and good. Maybe some campaigns may be added later on for an attached fanbase, but Solasta's creator exaggerated by selling separately things like monks and dragonborns. The base version of a game should be enjoyable, not a leech that wants you to buy more and more.

Several reviews are saying that Solasta is the best representation of Dungeons and Dragons 5e in video games. When it comes to combat, they're right. Solasta has a strict adherence to 5e rules and the new subclasses they created feel like they could easily be pulled from the game and used at a table. Not only are the rules the same but the developers are top-tier encounter builders. Every battle I've played has been a blast. Exploration is also a joy with great maps, hidden secrets, and treasure to be found all over the place. I would recommend turning off Solasta's encumbrance rules, though, and sticking with normal 5e rules instead. Fortunately, there is an option to do this in the game's settings and it will make finding that treasure actually enjoyable rather than an exercise in inventory management. The role playing is where Solasta falters. The game feels as though it was just a bit too ambitious with what it hoped to accomplish. While most of the game is played from an isometric perspective like Divinity OS2, Pillars of Eternity, or Baldur's Gate 3, dialogue goes into a more cinematic camera angle, showing you your party directly and the NPC you're speaking with. All dialogue is fully voiced as well. That said, Solasta simply doesn't have the resources of Larian so these scenes are incredibly awkward rather than engaging. The character models are rough and having everyone stand in a line to speak feels forced. The dialogue itself is also pretty jarring, rarely offering the player any real choices about what to say. I can't help but feel the game would have been better served if it stayed isometric during dialogue and stuck to text rather than the huge resource sink that is complete voice acting. Solasta is an amazing achievement for the team but it is a bit overambitious, causing a few missteps. If you want great 5e combat though, you can't do better.

My idea of a good Western RPG is something that is tactically challenging and interesting to play and also tells an interesting story with compelling characters set in an interesting setting. In practice, it is rare that even well-regarded games will excel in both of these dimensions - Divinity: Original Sin has great combat but weak story; something like Deadfire is mostly the other way around. Solasta is a very good indie RPG that will scratch that Divinity: Original Sin itch for complex, rich and challenging turn-based party combat but the story is a fairly generic and predictable, and characters are little more than cardboard cut-outs. Quests are thin on the ground and are mostly fetch-affair type things. The setting shows some promise but the game doesn't really explore it very deeply. It reminded me of pre-Baldur's Gate old-school RPGs in these respects - this is more about bashing in heads than telling a good story. The game is short for an RPG but still a decent length for an indie game - I think my fairly complete run-through clocked in at about 40 hours. Environments and combat encounters are designed well and present interesting challenges for most of the run-through (like many RPGs, once you're high level the game becomes a bit of a walk-over, except for the boss encounters. The final quest is particularly disappointing in this respect - final fights are much too easy!) There is a kind of thin-ness in the strategy after a while, too; most monster attacks target AC and monsters don't switch targets often so once you have a well-armored tank it just becomes a matter of sending them up ahead to soak blows and having the rest of the party clean up the monsters. We could have had more saves-based attacks later in the game to force you to adapt away from the tank n' grind. However, if you like tactical RPGs there is a good amount of fun to be had here and, let's face it, games like this don't come along too often! Recommended, esp. on sale!

Combat is fun, and true to the ruleset in a lot of good ways. But the story and voice acting are atrocious. And you need to pay EXTRA for the barbarian and druid classes.