Solasta - Review @ MMORPG

HiddenX

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MMORPG checked out Solasta: Crown of the Magister:

The RPG Files: Solasta: Crown of the Magister Review

I've been diligently playing the release version of Solasta: Crown of the Magister since about a week before it launched. I also played a bit during early access, which allowed me to see how much it changed during the early access period and compare that with the launch version of Solasta. This is, without a doubt, the most faithful adaptation of D&D into a video game I have ever played. Some other games might be a bit more polished or fancy in certain aspects, but none offer detailed implementation plus the freedom for the player to augment things to the same degree Solasta does. Beyond that, it's a great game, even if you aren't at all familiar with the tabletop version of D&D.

[...]

Conclusion

Solasta: Crown of the Magister is an excellent game for anyone who loves turn-based RPGs or D&D in general. Since there are so many options for difficulty and game rules, pretty much anyone can play it regardless if you want something easy to experience the story, something extremely challenging, or something in between. Additionally, although I did run into some issues early on, all of them got better as I moved further into the story, which is the reverse of most games that typically start super polished and get rougher as you move closer to the end. This isn't a game to sleep on.

Score: 9.5/10
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Nice review, good to see it getting such a good score from a neutral observer!
 
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This review pretty much sums up my impressions of Solasta. It's likely a game anyone who is into turn-based or D&D will like. If you're into both...you'll likely love it, like me!

The game is far from perfect: the story is arguably thin, it could use more polish (tons of minor issues) and the camera drives me nuts sometimes. I'm really loving it so far though...not sure how far I am; I'm level 6 and just started the post-EA areas. I did also do a bunch of side quests that weren't available during EA, at least when I played it.
 
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This review pretty much sums up my impressions of Solasta. It's likely a game anyone who is into turn-based or D&D will like. If you're into both…you'll likely love it, like me!

The game is far from perfect: the story is arguably thin, it could use more polish (tons of minor issues) and the camera drives me nuts sometimes. I'm really loving it so far though…not sure how far I am; I'm level 6 and just started the post-EA areas. I did also do a bunch of side quests that weren't available during EA, at least when I played it.

Great but yet a bit of empty game. Mechanics are there, story is just lacking and way to short.
 
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Great but yet a bit of empty game. Mechanics are there, story is just lacking and way to short.

Pretty much. Nicely crafted world, fun combat encounters, but the story and especially the dialog were pretty cringey and distracting.

This was also my first 5e(ish) experience and found it a bit too stripped down and basic compared to Pathfinder. I like some of the changes (advantage/disadvantage, saving throws just a stat check) but character development seemed way too basic and cookie cutter. I'm not sure if that's a 5e thing in general or just a result of the limited scope of the game itself.
 
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Yep, the score imho is a bit too high. It just doesn't have that quality level.

I'm thrilled to see what they can do with a (hopefully) biger budget.
 
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...but character development seemed way too basic and cookie cutter. I'm not sure if that's a 5e thing in general or just a result of the limited scope of the game itself.

I play both (D&D 5e and Pathfinder 1.0) in regular RL campaigns, and D&D is definitely much, much more stripped down.
 
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I am a big fan of this game!
And the potential moving forward is very high. I am looking forward to further developments from this studio.
9.5/10 is a bit high IMO to be honest. I might give it 8.5 to 9/10.
But might play it over higher scored games. Definitely my cup of tea!

My cons would be that it is a little linear, and I would love more: more voices, more quests, longer story, more races and classes, more places to visit.
The biggest trouble with expanding upon it is that you could mess up the levelling if you add too many optional quests etc.

Perhaps one way to get over this is to have roadblocks in the leveling: Say that to go above level 8,16, and 24 you need to find an visit a relevant trainer (that is not available until a certain point in the main quest.

The graphics are ok, but not wonderful - but to be expected with this developer. The faces could definitely use some more choices and better ?graphics?.

Also I would like to see more variation in personalities in the game, and maybe a little more choice in personality at the beginning. Personality is a wonderful addition to the game!!

Would love to see your choices affect the main story more as well.

But I have loved this game, and am waiting for the sorcerer update to play a group of 4 sorcerers (or maybe just wizards). Would love more options for voices though, as I can't play 4 women or 4 men, due to not wanting 2 characters with the same voice. (And the option to change the voice after game creation, so as to have those 4 different voices)
 
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This game is definitely not for everyone. If you play CRPGs for the story, I'd skip this one. If you want a great pc version of D&D tabletop mechanics though...this is the best since TOEE.
 
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Pretty much. Nicely crafted world, fun combat encounters, but the story and especially the dialog were pretty cringey and distracting.

This was also my first 5e(ish) experience and found it a bit too stripped down and basic compared to Pathfinder. I like some of the changes (advantage/disadvantage, saving throws just a stat check) but character development seemed way too basic and cookie cutter. I'm not sure if that's a 5e thing in general or just a result of the limited scope of the game itself.

5E is nowhere near as complex as pathfinder. It's not Solasta... I believe 3.5 is the only true D&D version that comes close. My understanding is that pathfinder fans think of pathfinder as D&D 3.75
 
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Once again, I think the score has to be put in context, it's a review on an MMO site. They don't even talk about the story, it's really not their primary concern.

I like some of the changes (advantage/disadvantage, saving throws just a stat check) but character development seemed way too basic and cookie cutter. I'm not sure if that's a 5e thing in general or just a result of the limited scope of the game itself.

5E is nowhere near as complex as pathfinder. It's not Solasta… I believe 3.5 is the only true D&D version that comes close. My understanding is that pathfinder fans think of pathfinder as D&D 3.75
I think it's a bit of both.

The Solasta project is nowhere near the scale of Pathfinder: Kingmaker and WotR, due to the budget and team size. There are fewer races, classes, spells, levels, so even the mechanics are more limited. The story is much smaller, and less of a priority in comparison, it's a tactical CRPG.

And indeed, D&D is simpler than Pathfinder 1E too. Besides, Owlcat Games did not limit their games to the base ruleset, they added a lot of material from add-ons, while Solasta doesn't even have the base of D&D, only the SRD to which they added a few things. Same for the setting.
 
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Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Solasta and will surely play it again once I know they're done adding content. I think I just enjoy Pathfinder rules over 5e, regardless of budget and scope of the game itself, although maybe my opinion will change once BG3 comes out.
 
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