Solasta II is currently in-work and in a playable demo state on Steam. I've never played Solasta before but I've been looking for the next BG3 replacement. I was hoping this was it based on what I was hearing from others but after the demo I have some issues with this game and why I think it's nowhere near as good, but if it's cheaper I think is still worthy of purchasing. Here's what's good and bad...
Look and Sound: B
The game looks and sounds fine but it's not as good as it should be for a 2025 CRPG. I hear it's a small studio with a small budget and given that, I gave it a B. It's fine, but I just wish it was a little bit crisper on the graphics and more unique on the sounds. The music is great, but the graphics on epic are still average and the sound effects just seem typical.
Character Creation: B+
This is a tough one but BG3 has quite the CRPG character creator and this game is fairly basic. However, character build progression is off the charts, but we'll get to that in another category.Character Progression: A-
Character build and character progression seem to have off the charts potential in this game. The demo is very limited in what you get to see but from what I've seen elsewhere the game has potential to be way better than BG3. This is a true DnD 5e ruleset and allows a lot more subclass progression and customization without the need of mods. This has potential to be an A grade but since it's limited in the demo I'm holding off on that opinion for now.
Gameplay, Story, Character Development, Story Elements: C
Gameplay is one of the reasons I'm disappointed in this game. I sort of combined all aspects of the game I don't like into one category. This game is extremely basic gameplay wise. Player choice is basic. The world and story feels linear. Your path is mostly set for you with only limited choices. You cannot interact with most of the environment or NPCs. You cannot interact with or attack any object or person you want to. Your character(s) don't really have much in the way of a story to them. This is my biggest pet peeve with this game. Combat, however, is amazing. BG3 can be a little confusing with combat until you're used to it but this game finds a way to simplify your UI, choices, movement, combat, etc to be very user friendly but still have a lot of depth to your moves and attacks. It's extremely tactical in that way which is where the real bread and butter of this game lives. I believe if you took the character progression/build variety and combat of this game, and add in the RPG, story, choice, graphics elements of BG3, then you'd have one of the best CRPG's of all time. Better than Expedition 33 even. Unfortunately on its own, Solasta II in its demo state is just nowhere near the game it should be. At least it has 4 player co-op though.
User Interface: A
The UI, HUD, and menu system are very clean and gives me hope that bad UI is something that AAA studios are haunted by because all the good UX designers are at independent studios. I have nothing else to say here, it's just a good user experience in terms of menus and display for where you should look to see or interact with buttons and options, whether it's in the game's menu or interacting with the HUD during exploration and combat. This game also allows WASD controls to move around.
Endgame: TBD
I'm unsure if this game will have an end game, new game plus, or alternate endings for different playthroughs. I hope we get 1 or more of these and it's just not a one and done experience. It seems like based on history the game will have replayability and possibly even DLC.
Monetization: TBD
I hope this game is cheaper than AAA games given its lack of production value. I also hope there's no further monetization of this game. Only time will tell if this is an A or F.
Overall Grade: B
Overall I really wanted this to be my next BG3, but it seems like we'll have to wait to get something that good again. If you're looking for a decent CRPG with deep subclass customization and a true 5e turn based combat system, then I think this game will definitely be for you. If you're looking for a more player choice, character development, story driven true RPG experience, then this game definitely is not for you in its current state.
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