Solasta 2 will indeed be part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, taking place from February 24th to March 3rd. You will also have the opportunity to test this demo for free, while waiting for the game's early access release later this year. In any case, know that if you loved Baldur's Gate 3 or if you like the pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, this first glimpse is definitely worth a look.
Solasta 2: more beautiful, bigger and stronger than its predecessor?
At its inception, Tactical Adventures was a small French studio including the co-founder of Amplitude (Endless Legend, Humankind). His intention with the first Solasta was to offer a modern C-RPG, based on the rules of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons and developed on Unity. The adventure began with a Kickstarter campaign, then an early access release in October 2020... the same month as the early access of a certain Baldur's Gate 3. The competition was therefore clearly tough, despite the ambitions and qualities of the title. In any case, it built a solid fan base, and the studio was able to calmly launch into the development of a sequel. Thus came the announcement of Solasta 2 at The Game Awards 2024, with the promise of many changes, including a major one: the use of Unreal Engine 5 to give substance to their new game in a much more beautiful way.
While waiting for it to arrive in early access, we were able to see a first draft via the demo that interests us here. And, from the moment it launches, the change in engine is literally obvious. Solasta 2 indeed displays settings and characters that are much more pleasant to look at, without distorting its very heroic fantasy artistic direction. This sequel also takes the opportunity to review its controls and camera management. Instead of the only isometric view present in the first opus, here we can zoom close to the ground, and control our group with the WASD keys or the controller, to give us almost the impression of being in a third-person Action-RPG. Clearly, we feel that Baldur's Gate 3 has been there before, but it's certainly not to displease us, since we can better appreciate the enormous graphical leap allowed by Unreal Engine 5. The same observation is made for an interface that gains in ergonomics and ease of use for our great pleasure. Of course, this is a demo, what's more, a build of the game in Pre-Alpha. Some bugs and glitches are therefore to be expected, and all of this obviously does not represent in any way what the final product will give. This early version was in any case quite well optimized, running very smoothly with all the graphics settings at full blast on our machine equipped with an RTX 4080 SUPER, a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32 GB of RAM.
What will not change in Solasta 2, however, is the original formula of the franchise, namely to start a game by creating ourselves the four characters with whom to follow the story, solo or in cooperation. For the sake of the demo, however, we were given a predefined group, composed of a gnome thief, a dwarf paladin, a dual-classed human fighter/cleric, and a wizard elf. Tactical Adventures has assured us, however, that we will be able to customize our own heroes in the game's early access, but probably with only a portion of the possibilities that the final version will offer. In any case, those familiar with Baldur's Gate 3 or Dungeons & Dragons will not be disoriented too much, since we find the same rules governing our character sheets and their actions in the Solasta universe. The demo also allows us to discover the prologue of this sequel. Our group, whose members call themselves "family," must go to the coastal village of Tor Wen, at the invitation of their friend Ellie. The bucolic village is in turmoil, as a dragon has taken up residence nearby, and strange earthquakes are becoming more and more frequent and worrying. It is therefore up to our heroes to conduct their investigation. Thus begins our adventure in Solasta 2.
A Dungeons & Dragons C-RPG all the way down to the pixels
Like Baldur's Gate 3, our group evolves in Solasta 2 within relatively open areas and can move freely, climbing onto higher platforms or swimming if necessary. From time to time, we will come across hidden elements, which we can discover via a perception test from our characters. From the outset, we feel the influence of the rules of Dungeons & Dragons. The same is true during conversations, with a clear difference compared to Larian Studios' masterpiece. When creating our characters, we can indeed give them a personality. This will be manifested through unique lines of dialogue, but also through the different reactions of their comrades during our discussions with NPCs. Gone here is the fact that the hero we control is the only one to intervene, each one being able to make their contribution. For example, when it comes to persuading their neighbor, our four companions will go about it in their own way. The thief will then use deception, the fighter/cleric intimidation, and the paladin charisma. It is therefore very pleasant to have a certain freedom in the way we manage discussions, without having to rely solely on the most charismatic member of the group to advance the story. It should also be noted that Unreal Engine 5 still does some great things at this level, with characters that are much better animated and lively than in the first opus, which was seriously lacking in this area.
A C-RPG based on Dungeons & Dragons also means turn-based combat with a strong emphasis on its tactical aspect. The French studio lives up to its name in this respect. Here again, fans of Baldur's Gate 3, or even titles like XCOM, should feel right at home. When engaging opponents, all participants in the skirmish will roll initiative to determine the order of each player's intervention. We will then have to deal with the movement of our heroes in relation to the enemies, via a grid system well known to Tactical-RPGs, and wisely use the Actions and Bonus Actions that are at their disposal via attacks, the use of spells or equipped objects. Even if it is an early version of Solasta 2, we find here the sensation of playing a game of D&D on a table, but in video game format. The whole thing is very satisfying keyboard/mouse or controller in hand, both from a tactical point of view and in the sensations provided by the animations or the sound design of our actions, generally of solid quality. On this point also, Tactical Adventures' skillful use of Unreal Engine 5 is clearly seen and heard. Note that, at least in this demo, it is not possible to change the difficulty level. The different battles it offers presented a fairly balanced challenge, but which could give absolute neophytes of turn-based tactical C-RPGs or Dungeons & Dragons a hard time.
As the game begins, the Solasta 2 demo only allows us to control a level 3 party (out of 20 in D&D). In the first game, the maximum level was set at 10. It remains a mystery what will happen in the final version of its sequel. But, despite a playtime of around 2 hours, we already have a fairly promising overall glimpse of what the game aims to offer. Special mention in particular to a very interesting interaction with the world around us: by taking a long rest (to heal and recharge various skills), the sea level surrounding the village will drop. This will unlock access to new areas to explore, and therefore to other fights and treasures to recover. The first game had already distinguished itself well when it came to this kind of immersive activity. We therefore hope that its sequel will be just as satisfying in this area. Despite a low-level group, the demo ends with a fight that risks putting your tactical skills to the test, and which also boasts frankly impressive staging. Another clear improvement, if ever there was one, made possible by Unreal Engine 5 compared to the first opus under Unity.
We are waiting for Solasta 2… as a solid alternative to Baldur’s Gate 3
Ultimately, Solasta 2 is clearly shaping up to be a sequel that completely outclasses the first opus, notably thanks to a convincing use of Unreal Engine 5. Even if we feel that Baldur’s Gate 3 has come before it, the next title from Tactical Adventures has enough specificities of its own to potentially offer a worthy alternative to Larian Studios’ masterpiece. This is all the more impressive given that the French studio only has around thirty developers. Fans of D&D-style C-RPGs definitely have good reasons to keep a close eye on it. We therefore highly recommend that you try this demo for yourself, which will be available on February 24th during the Steam Next Fest. For our part, we are very curious to see what its early access, expected in the coming months, will be like.
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