Solasta - Preview @ Slanted
 

Slanted checked out Solasta: Crown of the Magister:

More information.

I finished up Solasta this week with 30+hours of gameplay and a lvl-5 party. Here is my "Review":
Solasta is a low-budget game but it is amazing what they were able to do and the game holds lots of promise. Solasta implements the D&D5e ruleset so brilliantly and faithfully that really satisfies me as an avid D&D player. The last video game that surpassed my expectations in terms of D&D rules implementation was the Temple of Elemental Evil. And speaking of which, I would call Solasta a spiritual successor of the ToEE because it really reminds me of this game that I hold dear to my heart. Solasta is also very atmospheric, particularly the places that you go near the end of the game (of the early access). The library and the bone keep castle are just awesome. However, the game does test your patience when you start playing it: the character models are awful, the story is not that engaging at the beginning (but it gets better as you progress), the initial foes (Soraks) are just weird, the first place that you go is not that interesting, and the game is very buggy right now (this is expected as an EA version). Nonetheless, if you get past that and stick to the game it will be a very rewarding experience, especially if you are a D&D hardcore player.

Does the narrative finish or does EA only cover the first one or two chapters?

You are asking if the story ends in EA? No, it does not. It doesn't seem that they divide the game by chapters, so I am not sure if the point that I ended up is like the end of a chapter or something.

Further, my party ended up lvl5 and they said that the players will be able to level up the party up till lvl10. So I guess the EA covers 50% of the story, more or less…

In 5e you get to lvl 4 or 5 pretty fast and then it should slow down a good amount.

Thanks for the minireview, Gabriel. That does indeed sound a lot like ToEE, which sounds kind of perfect to me.

I never understood the cult-following of TOEE. I tried playing it and while the first part is interested, as soon as you enter in the Temple itself, the game suddenly becomes a hackfest with little story, interactions… you just fight one room after the other Ad Nauseam in an endless dungeon.

Certainly, DnD rules are very well integrated and combats are pretty well done… but imo, a game needs to be more than that.

Perhaps I didn't go far enough in the game to be hooked ?

Anyhow, I really hope Solasta is a more complete game.

Gabriel, great review. I have not finished yet, but i just completed the library area you reference. i have pretty much the exact same thoughts, including the Soraks…

Did you notice a lot of attacks made being made at a disadvantage? I play tabletop 5e and I can't figure out why this would be happening.

Awww, I'd have to disagree. It's no ToEE. (with CO8 patch!) But we'll see how it turns out. :)

Also, the devs said there was about 10 hours of game and you should get to around party level 6. Not level 10; 10 hours!

I partially agree with you here. The strong point of ToEE was never the story. So yeah, not much to show there. However, ToEE is good at two things: atmosphere and D&D ruleset implementation. That's why so many people like it, it really feels like a D&D game session.

Thanks. Most of the disadvantages that I got playing Solasta happened because of the lighting: if your target is dim-lit and if you have normal vision you get a disadvantage, and if your target is not-lit (at all) then you get a disadvantage even if you have dark vision.

This is only true for the EA. They said that at launch you will be able to level up your party up to lvl 10. Further, in my playthrough, I was only able to reach level 5, and I am a very completionist player (it took me 30+ hours to complete the game). So I don't think anyone will be able to reach lvl 6 in Solasta EA.

I didn't play far, but tt definitely didn't feel done to me. I'll take another look at launch. And again with the short list of classes. It made me want to play Knights of the Chalice, the sequel of which has plenty of classes. It also feels like playing a D&D module, and its first game also suffered from a short list of classes.

I can understand why they only put a limited range of classes in for early access, but I think I'd actually favour getting that aspect fleshed out first, even if it meant a bit less EA content. I think there's a lot of folks that are pleased when they see a rich variety of character possibilities, and that will get you some good word of mouth with RPG types.

I took the time to write more detailed feedback about the game in their forums (I really want to see this game thrive). In case someone is interested in more details of what is good and what is bad about this game, here is the link: https://forums.solasta-game.com/foru…mpleted-the-ea

All a DnD game requires is a Rogue, a Cleric, a Warrior and a Mage. The rest are non-essential bonus that can be added later :-)

ftfy ;)

Maybe it's just me but this is the basic premise I want from any RPG and I want more from D&D - rich class building is one of the strengths of D&D so why should I settle for the basic options only? :)

Because as grumpy RPG elites we only want the original classes from 600 years ago and not that other fancy modern classes that are totally useless.

(But I REALLY want a charisma based prepared arcane full caster! It's OBVIOUS that this MUST exist.)

Even Wizardry had the classes of Bishop, Ninja, Samurai, and Lord.

@gabrielarantest
Yeah, 10 hours in EA. You've done alright getting 30 out of it!

I always feel like I have to go fighter, cleric, mage, thief for the first four, just to make sure I have a solid party, then the last two are where I spice things up. Sucks to be limited to four in Solasta.

hahaha! Good one!

Playing to too many different games these days has clouded my mind ;-)

I don't know what I do differently but I always take twice the time (or more) to complete a cRPG than the average player. Maybe I spend too much time sorting my inventory? Idk… PF:K for instance, I think it took me 200+ hours to beat…

I do the same thing. I do it in real life, too.

Just finished it. Even at this unfinished stage, it was a lot of fun. I think it's going to be better than ToEE. Can't wait for the full game. I just hope it's not going to be one of those titles that sits in EA for a year or longer.

I also hope the current EA doesn't represent 1/2 the game like some people are saying. If so, it's not going to be a very long game. Considering how many places were shown on the map though, I think the full game is going to be significantly longer than 2x the current build.

There were a few things I couldn't figure out in the Bone Keep. Not sure if I missed something or if it was just due to the current unfinished nature of the game. In the room where you stand on the marked tiles to open various doors, there was one I could never open. It looked like a large cage in the center of the room. Anyone manage to get in there?

Also, near the very end, there's a camp/rest area I could see but couldn't figure out how to reach.

I read their update today and it seems that the EA covers their first chapter and the game will have 3 chapters at launch.

One of my party members spawned in this cage after I did something wrong with the puzzle. Nothing interesting in there.

I was able to get to some places using the misty step and the fly spells. Maybe you can try using one of those.

Misty Step is a great spell and it got me to a few secret spots. It also bugged my party once and I had to reload.

There were a couple of times I used Misty Step to reach a spot but then found I had no way to get my mage back to the rest of the group.

I found an exploit you can use when that happens though. If you're close to an area where a cut-scene is triggered, just have the rest of the party trigger the cut-scene, and everyone will be grouped together again afterwards.