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.
This is a very good game. If you like the 5e of D&D, it will be true to the genre. Admittedly, the graphics are very rudimentary and basic, but the gameplay is superb. I would give the story a B+, as the early and middle aspects of the story are good, but the ending is weak. However, my overall rating is very positive because this small Indie developer put a lot of love and effort into making this a true D&D game with good mechanics. They have also supported it after launch and done a good job therein. Definitely worth it.
On the whole, Solasta is a solid D&D simulator. Though its narrative is nothing to write home about, and the game can be a tad buggy at times, it has actually made me reconsider playing D&D as it showcases the system’s strengths so effectively. Hopefully Tactical Adventures will add more campaigns to Solasta over time, allowing players to use the same characters in various scenarios, mix them together to create party combos, and just generally become invested in them.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister takes the mantle of the “most” Dungeons & Dragons video game out there, if not quite the best. Though the game has a modular adventure setup that strongly suggests there will be more stories, this one falls too flat for its 40- to 50-hour length. However, the combat system is merely a few tweaks short of perfection, so I’d still be interested in sending my heroes on another adventure in the realm of Solasta.
With its extremely faithful rendition of the Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset, Solasta: Crown of the Magister is a dream come true for all those D&D fans who also happen to love video games. However, strict adherence to this ruleset is also the game's main flaw, as it results in an overwhelming experience for all those who do not live and breathe Dungeons & Dragons. Those who power through the initial difficulties, though, will find a solid cRPG featuring great tactical combat and amazing depth.
Overall though, in spite of the snags I hit, Tactical Adventures mostly did a really good job with the story and the combat in Solasta. It succeeds in pumping some life into a genre that hasn’t been catching my attention for a while. Some of my points might come across as a bit harsh, but I want to stress that it was still a very good experience most of the time. It might need a little love that it’s almost certain to get post-release, but I can still recommend this game for fans of D&D style RPGs.
SOLASTA: Crown of the Magister has its faults, but still manages to be an enjoyable RPG experience. if you just want a D&D-eqsue dungeon crawler to play through, there are certainly worse options to choose from.
It's a good game, though for a fan of the cRPG genre as such.
But don't listen to all those "I've played more cRPGs than all of you and this cRPG is bad". As if it gives some kind of special advantage.
Many imperfections are only a matter of time before they are fixed, so there's no point in whining about it. This game is still being updated.
The game is more than playable, gameplay-wise it's well done and the mechanics from DnD are nicely felt.
Graphically it's not the best, though it's not bad, but that's not what you should care about in a cRPG.
The story is pretty subjective here, some might like it and some might not.
It is worth noting the dungeon editor, it is a promising feature, although so far it is only in the early stages of development.
This game has great development potential.
It's a game with a lot of potential, despite being made by a small independent and low-budget game company. It definitely earned my respect more than BG3. Of course there are negative things about the game, but you feel that they did the best they could. You should definitely give the game a chance. I expect better things from this game company in the future. I hope they don't break their own line and do nonsense like Larian.
If you are a fan of the combat system in DnD 5e, this game is a must have. However, if you're not, or have no idea what the system is, it's a must-play first.
Solasta is a roleplaying game based on the Dnd 5e system. Unfortunately, the game doesn't offer any choices in terms of plot, despite being an RPG, there are no side quest activities (you walk up to the board, activate the quest, go to a location where you knock out enemies and loot an item and return to the board), and as for the main story line, you are limited to reading dialogues. The dialogues are not captivating either, and the sentences spoken by team members often don't fit together.
An example? The team encounters a secret passage.
Character 1: "It's a secret passage, they escaped that way!"
Character 2: "The passage must be from the time of the First Empire, interesting."
Character 3: "This is not the time for history lessons, follow them because they will escape us!"
Character 4: "They went this way, through a secret passage!"
Generic comments, nothing more.
The reputation system is done by force and is unnecessary, there is a lack of ways to use gold, better weapons can only be obtained through crafting.
The most disturbing and boring system is the one related to travel in the game world. To get to another location, you need to gather the right supplies, then wait for the animation showing the token's journey across the map, sometimes possibly dealing with enemies you encounter. While the first passage **** route is exciting, because you don't know if you won't encounter traps, obstacles or enemies, subsequent passages become boring. As we increase the levels of our characters, the enemies we encounter will become more and more afraid of us, trying to avoid a fight. So why waste time once again on a journey that takes long minutes of real time, instead of moving us to the chosen location right away? There are teleports, but using them often requires going through several loading screens, and they themselves are deployed quite sparsely.
The best thing about this game is the combat sytem. It allows us to do a lot, each skirmish can be played differently. There is a mass of spells, skills, magic items, effects, statuses and environmental conditions. And all this we can use as we wish. The opponent casts a flying spell, soars high in the air and attacks us with spells, while we have trouble reaching him, because our team largely consists of melee characters? Well, how about treating him with the spell "Dispel Magic", so that the opponent will fall down and blow himself silly? Or how about a mage casting a flying spell on a fighter and the fighter gets him in his turn? Or will I just use the bow? Or will I cast a fire projectile, hoping that the opponent will no longer be able to sustain the flying spell? Or maybe I'll just teleport him to the vicinity of the monk, and the monk will render him unconscious? As you can see, the possibilities are many.
Unfortunately, however, we also don't have as many options as when playing a normal DnD session. Sometimes, too, the rules we know from a paper RPG don't apply in the game world (why the hell does torchlight affect vampires the way sunlight does?).
The rest system is also strange, long rests can only be taken in designated areas, this is especially noticeable during the final mission. Additionally, in the finale, the game ended prematurely for me because the AI decided to focus on the priest, and after he died the game said it was over because I had no way to revive him.
Despite the fact that I focus on the downside in the review, I still recommend trying this title. The game is very rewarding, and the main classes and their development paths will keep you entertained as you go through the game again.
You can't leave town unless you complete certain objectives. So, not remotely open world. I just don't like it. Feels as linear as it can possibly be. No thanks.
A disappointing game that is nothing more than a combat simulator with mind numbingly and unthinking implementation of 5e rule to a computer game.
Other than the combat aspect (which is marred by bugs and some issues), the adventuring gameplay aspect, the writing and plot, character development (or lack thereof), the lousy travel mechanics that do not allow you to change your destination once set, the buggy travel mechanics that results in you getting exhausted and thus surprised every time you make camp if you do not set off at the "correct hours", ... all these are extremely lacking.
Not the mention the very linear game play, the limited locale to visit that does not even open up until the plot progress (not even when you see the background image in game and get close to it .. NONE of them) ... the lack of exploration and adventure plus the mindless implementation of 5e rules that does not make sense in a computer game shows the lack of understanding **** rpg game by the developer.
So .. no .. this is a don't buy - unless you are looking for nothing more than a competent DnD combat simulator.
SummaryRoll for initiative, take attacks of opportunity, manage player location and the verticality of the battle field in this Turn-Based Tactical RPG based on the SRD 5.1 Ruleset. In Solasta, you make the choices, dice decide your destiny.