Solasta Crown of the Magister review. Baldur's Gate III & Pathfinder Wrath of the Rigtheous fat bro?
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- čas přidán 19. 02. 2022
- Solasta Crown of the Magister is a D&D RPG with turn based combat that follows the 5th edition D&D ruleset. It was meant to be one of the big three D&D/pathfinder games to come out in the year 2021 along with Baldur's Gate III and Pathfinder Wrath of the righteous.
Solasta feels a bit like Icewind Dale with turn based combat and few additional twists. For some reason it got the "little ugly brother" treatment though. So let's find out why.
This review is based on a criteria that assigns weights to aspects of the game that are particularly important for me. It is not meant to be the ultimate truth about the game. Classic Role Playing Games are my favorite video game genre for a reason and there are a few things I expect from them... You can check our system of categories in one of our early videos.
• And this is how we rev...
Disclaimer: This is a computer RPG review, it's not meant to comment on the D&D ruleset or on how well the game implemented it in its mechanics. - Hry
I think what I love most about the "terrible" story is the campiness and just how much it feels like an actual game of D&D instead of a well crafted CRPG.
The stiff acting perfectly replicating the awkwardness of playing in character, and the dm having trouble differentiating their own npcs
Replayed this with my wife in multiplayer with the Community mod. We had an absolute blast!
Sounds awesome!
In all fairness to Solasta when compared to some of these other titles, you could probably fund the entirety of "Solasta 2: The Bigger and Improved Sequel" on the budget it costed Larian to make the BG3 cinematic trailer.
And probably a couple additional DLC's
Obviously you don't know the origins of how Larian Studios started as they were financially struggling since it's inception all the way through to 2016. Everybody has to start somewhere.
@@ravipeiris4388 Obviously you are making baseless assumptions that have hardly any correlation with what I said. "Where Larian started" is irrelevant to where they are now.
Rockstar started as DMA Design and one of their earliest hits was Lemmings. That doesn't change the fact that today they are filthy rich.
@@ravipeiris4388How they started doesn't matter here . Plus if they (Larian)did see this and decided to help it would be nice considering they know the feeling of being poor.
I think you compared Solasta to the wrong game. Solasta is way more similar to the Temple of Elemental Evil. Actually I would go so far to call it a spiritual successor to the ToEE.
Purchased at launch to support a smaller studio, but have yet to play it. I’m liking what I’m seeing so far, it’s no BG2 but looks like there is some fun to be had with the 5e implementation. By the time I get to it there may be more content available and more bug fixes. Thanks for the review!
The fun factor with this one is off the charts, man. Give it a shot whenever you get the chance.
I'm currently chewing through Wrath of the Righteous and have this game on deck. I have been playing D&D for about 20 years, and a huge fan of 5e.
I don't mind the lack of polish, and considering I got the game on sale, I have no reason to NOT play it. I cannot say how much I appreciate how thorough you are with these reviews.
Oh, absolutely. The only thing that would make me think twice about getting Solasta is it's price tag. But if you already have it, and if you're into D&D and 5e, it's a no brainer! You'll see that it's much leaner and better paced than WotR (even if Solasta's combat is a lot less challenging).
Please review the DLC “Lost Valley” and the “Primal Calling” add-on. It adds a lot to the replayability…along with DM mode and online multiplayer.
Thank you for your interest! It's coming!
@@YeOldEntertainment I found your channel a few days ago and have truly enjoyed your commentary and analysis. Please keep it up.
Best review of this game I have seen. With such personality in its characters, so much could have been achieved if the game had been more history-focused!
Thanks mate! I think this is a promising first game. I would 100% buy a sequel even if this one had its problems with the writing and some aspects of the gameplay
@@YeOldEntertainment I hope that this proves to be what Shadowrun Returns was to Dragonfall, a mere proof of concept. Now that they have shown that they have a good engine and solid mechanics, perhaps they can venture in deeper story like what happened in Dragonfall.
I used to poke fun at PC gamers but I have been laughing at myself the past couple years because you all have the better games, as for the rerolling in IWD and BG1&2... yeah I'm guilty on it but I still don't understand how to properly play these kind of games. I am playing pillars of eternity 2 and I just now figured out a setup to keep me alive in core difficulty after 10 restarts. Tides of Numenara is actually the reason I found my love for CRPG games.
This is a game i really didnt pay much attention to, but this really made me reconsider it. the combat and party banter really is something that can get me into it. and for terms of the plot, it seems like basically every authentic d&d homemade campaign. i also am quite curious about the dungeon maker tools they have, and if it is near the caliber of the the nwn's. otherwise, this review really was extremely descriptive of the experience of the game, not just what the game is, and it is really eye opening.
Check out user @marwron2 's comment in this thread. He said he's sunk more than 140 hours into it. Other people have also praised the Dungeon Maker. If that's your jam it seems like it's worth checking out.
I absolutely love this game! The 3D nature of the combat areas is very well implemented. The story may be tropey and linear, but it plays out in a wonderfully quirky way that varies each time you play through it depending on the party you build. The crafting of magical weapons and armor is also a fun way to change up the game, as each character will have different items that you will want to work toward getting for them, and choices will have to be made about how to best use the resources available for crafting at any given time. Careful planning with crafting and character builds is greatly rewarded by the game, and combat becomes significantly easier if you take that care, but it is not absolutely required to do crafting.
All of the knocks on this game matter not at all when you are climbing around a huge 3D dungeon fighting monsters. That's what you pay for, and it is worth it!
I LOVE this game. I like that I can create the whole party and they all interact with the story.
I hate it when my companions are there for the ride or when I am forced to use premades unless I want them to just not exist in the story.
A year later and two DLC's into it, we have nearly all of the PHB races/classes to play around with and also a reasonable modding community
Looks and feels like an incredibly succesful and ambitious title, but made by a rookie studio.
It looks absolutely hideous. Still, maybe I'll grab it when it goes on sale.
From what you were saying about the plot it sounded like a rehash of Xcom Enemy Unknown, but in a fantasy setting and with extended concept of The Council.
The writing and the graphics do feel amateurish. But it is very fun most of the time. I still think it is a little pricey for what it is. I'd say grabbing it when it goes on sale is the right call, yesy.
I never played Icewind or many of the old school CRPGs but I got this precisely because it was based on the D&D ruleset and tried to stay within that ruleset and mechanics (like resting and attunement) and turn based (same way I play pathfinder) since it is closest to the experience of D&D Tabletop. The fact that there are community mods with mini campaigns is also a huge selling point...from what I'm aware the other CRPGs mentioned don't have that.
Well those came out nearly 20 years ago, they were meant to be more of a solo-single-player-campaign deal. But some of those (namely Icewind Dale II and Baldur's Gate II) far surpass Solasta in terms of the quality of the writing, the immersion, the stakes of the campaigns, the length, the feeling of adventure you get from the dungeons (even if in this game it's pretty good in that respect too) and many other respects. I think player-created campaigns started being a thing with Neverwinter Nights 2. None of those are turn-based (don't know how important that is to you) but if you haven't played them and if you are familiar with Advanced 2nd edition or with 3rd edition (my favorite) D&D rulesets, and if you have been gaming for more than 20 years (or at least 10), you should give those (BG2 and IW2) a try because they are the goats.
A pretty good review! I agree with most of what you said, the game is overall really fun to play. Just as a point of clarification, though, those personal side quests for your characters actually depend on their backgrounds, not their classes. Although I see how it may seem that way if you choose "typical" background/class combos. The "stolen sword" quest, for example, is for the "lowlife" background, it doesn't matter if they're a rogue or a wizard.
PS. for people who find it hard to deal with the way characters look (like myself), I highly recommend mods, they add at least a few really decent face options.
I usually don't like Turn based CRPGs, but this one was so smooth - if only Larian could take a look at that... It didn't drag like the others. Though if you spend most of your time in sneak mode you'll barely have a hard time with fights. Too bad they only raised the level cap in november, I want to see lv 12 spells but since the game has almost zero replayability I wouldn't do it again for the next 2 years maybe. Unlike... Icewindale and most CRPGs I've finished ! That said, it's still a very pleasant game, especially if you buy it on sales.
Been binging your content and love it.
Dropping a comment to appease the algorithm gods
Nice!! thanks a lot!
Tnx for a great review. I usually dont sub to a YTer after watching 2-3 videos, but you my frend have earned it. Clear and concise presentation, good knowledge of RPG and game mechanics, well organised chapters and a bit of humor sprinkled in here and there. This is how to do a thorough review. You have a sub.
As for the game all i can say is meh. From the moment you showed us the main menu i was turned off by this. I am an old school gamer and i appreciate a functional but also beautifully crafted UI with artistic decoration and flare. I absolutely CANNOT stand these modern rectangular UIs that look like they were made out of ugly plastic bits. No decorations, no wooden or stone frames, no volumetric buttons, no beautiful sculptures in the corners. Just plain ugly squares with drab grey colors. I dunno what happened to UI designers in the 2010s but they went full stupid, my frends. Also i really dont like the character models. They look like they were taken straight from a PS2 era game. They are simplistic and plasticky looking. The animations are pretty bad too. The combat looks interesting but i think that is the only saving grace of this game. The story is bland, the voice acting is terri-bad and the overall presentation is lacking. The questing is kinda dull and the writing over all is pretty poor. Yes the banter between the party members may be decent, but not enough to warrant forking over 40 bucks and wasting 50 hours on, imo. I would rather play Pillows of Eternal-tea a 3rd or 4th time than get this game.
I prefer a very well written story and character archs in my RPGs and, brother, this one DONT have it.
But tnx for the review as i know to stay away from it.
Thank man! Welcome aboard. The Icewind Dale 2 stone mosaic interface for example was awesome. I don't think that's coming back unfortunately.
@@YeOldEntertainment
Yeah my frend, and the beautiful artistic wooden UI of PoE which was such an eye candy. I also love the UI of BG3. Those guys really understand their demographic and they made a beautiful game, UI and all.
Of course when it comes to UI functionality, nothing beats PoE. That UI designer was a god among men. The BG3 UI is sadly the same from DOS2 and is very poor in the trading window but mostly very servicable and good looking. Changing character however is very janky in BG3 just like in DOS 2, because you have to go through that pointless dialogue scene every time you want to remove/add a character. Oooof, i wish they had just done a nice party menu frame like in POE. Just click on the menu, remove a guy, add a new guy. BOOM, done. Hopefully modders will sort that shit and make a better UI, like they did in Skyrim.
I got stuck in Solasta, it is not always clear how to get through a dungeon.
Where man? I'm actually curious.
I agree with most points made in the video, but I would also like to point out a couple of things both good and bad.
- Coming from a point of view of a tabletop campaign, the game is incredibly immersive,the character personalities are super on point with what you and your friends would be playing in a campaign; of course, not every game is as cheesy as the other but I do commend the devs for giving this feeling.
- The game is based on D&D 5th edition SRD (which is the content of the TTRP with an open gaming license), it's very limited and doesn't have a lot of choices, but the devs still failed to provide everything, and content that I felt that should've been on the base game was provided through paid DLC.
- It's not only the character models that look weird, some weapons and armor look ugly and and most of them don't align properly with character model, causing clipping 99% of the time. You can't notice during combat and exploration, but it's a real eyesore on dialogue and the inventory screen.
- Parallel to these graphical issues the game is still beatiful, most of the landscapes are gorgeous.
Lastly I should point out that this is literally the first game of the studio and that plays a HUGE part on the problems listed both here and on the video. Honestly, for me, it makes the game all the more impressive.
According to the website there should be more content in the future, with hopefully more classes, races and lots of hotfixes. My personal recommendation would be to wait for the development to progress a bit, the game feels unfinished, but it's still a very enjoyable experience.
Well, I literally agree with 100% of what you said. I'm actually very excited about the expansion pack (which I have yet to get) and I've my eye on this developer. While some aspects of the game feel amateurish (character models/armor/clothes and the writing... oh ESPECIALLY the writing) performance and stability are quite impressive and that speaks volume about the devs. These guys mean business.
I actually love this game for it's accurate adherence to "real" 5e rules and SUPER CLEAR UI. Might not be pretty, but UI feels easily superior to BG3
This game is just a DND 5e adaptation (unlicensed tho, so extremely limited) for pc, nothing more, nothing less. It's good in what it does - 5e turn based dnd combat. It's a decent game. Temple of Elemental Evil is "just a dnd adaptation of combat" as well tho... but we can't really expect this level of quality in 2021 lmao🤣
I chose Solasta because I’m not that experienced with rpgs and I wanted something with a good UI that would not be too difficult to play and to learn. I had a lot of fun playing Dragon Age: Origins back in the day.
A smart choice given the situation. Solasta is fun and easy (a little too easy).
@@YeOldEntertainment Thank you for the reply. I really like your reviews.
What games are you showing when you are comparing the travel and camping?
That would be Arcanum, Encased and Expeditions: Viking.
I've been playing this co-op with a friend, and while fun, we found it a bit unpolished, with numerous glitches online (at least). Not a fan of the interface as well.
They should bring back yeslick for baldurs gate 3.
I completely skipped the crafting and enchanting system. Unfortunately, getting magical weapons in Solasta takes awhile unless you craft them. Took me till level 7 before my paladin found a magical weapon he could use. So i suppose for my next playthrough i should dick around the crafting system......UGH!
Everything else in Solasta is Gold for me though. The music, the combat, all ticks the boxes. I hope they make a sequel. There's so much content with the steam workshop.
I haven’t played the game but I listened to the soundtrack online. It’s not as good as Dragon Age: Origins, but it compares well with recent rpgs and is better than most.
Very painful play through my first time round.
I’ll Be fair and say that I didn’t fully utilize the mechanics to its fullest extent; but holy shit was it rough.
Played with a rogue, mage, Paladin, and cleric. Was fucking rough in most sections up until the agonizing ending. Just stuff having a huge amount of HP and resistances.
I’m trying my second attempt at this with a new party since the dlc release, but ugh. Frustrating to fight to like the game so much.
Seriously? I think they ramped up the difficulty for the main campaign with the expansions (I think I read that somewhere), but I haven't played the main campaign since. But the first time I played, I felt like the problem was the opposite, the game was a tad too easy. The expansion packs are a lot harder, though.
My small input on this topic is I liked Solasta kept every single line of conversation and NPC banter recorded and replayable. Although being a low budget game, some of these dialogues are a bit goofy, still quite a few are interesting and well-written. This is kind of important for rpg games isn't it? One of the main problems I have with Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition is its combat log doesn't catch all the NPC dialogues and banters even though the option tick boxes are clearly there. And Larian Studio chose to ignore this obvious bug because everyone says DOS2 is the greatest rpg game ever made regardless.
More voice options, please! 👍
Slow turn based unrealistic one by one fighting system is incomparable with perfect parallel real time with pause Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate. Plus beautiful Icewind Dale 2 2d world is much more beautiful than low poligons 3D in Solasta. Pillars of Eternity 2 in 4k HDR 10 ultra on PC is the real job, we love it.
Here was my thing… I think the old infinity engine games have a graphical charm that still hold up. But solasta just don’t do it for me. It’s graphically fine, but it just doesn’t have a charm to it, looks plastic. That being said the devs set out to do something and they accomplished and that’s something to be proud of, it just didn’t grab me. But I’ll be keeping an eye on them
Ah come on! it's fun! It's a cheese sampler platter and its graphics outside combat areas are dull, but the fun factor is on point. (Thanks for leaving a comment!)
Unpopular opinion but this game was far better than Divinity Original Sin 2 for me, I enjoyed it so much, I felt DOS2 was such a slog and I hated the cartoon art look and the overemphasis on environmental effects & annoying systems like trade or just wide open no rules class system/abilities. Solasta which I had never heard of was a much more enjoyable and pure D&D style experience, a pleasant surprise. Not perfect but had so much fun playing it. It was FUN - something lost in many modern games which feel like work.
Fun it was, aye.
I'm normally not a fan of combat, but this is one of the few games in which I have found some enjoyment in it. The level design turns what might otherwise have been a boring combat encounter into an interesting 3-D puzzle. This, combined with the exploration, party banter, and a healthy dose of cheese, makes this game quite entertaining despite its flaws. All of the games out there that feature an endless stream of boring, repetitive combat encounters could learn something from Solasta. If a game must have combat, quality over quantity is the way to go.
"If a game must have combat"... That's kind of D&D's thing. If you dislike combat so much. D&D RPGs are probably not the ones to look at. Maybe take a look at Citizen Sleeper, Disco Elysium or Gamedec, all of which are combat-less RPGs. And all those go from good to awesome.
@@YeOldEntertainment Disco Elysium is in my collection, and I'll probably get to it before long. I'll take a look at the others. RPG mechanics can be used for much more than combat, and I would like to explore the few RPGs that de-emphasize combat and focus on other things. I think this is an underserved niche in which there is a lot of opportunity for developers to let their creativity run wild and come up with something innovative that doesn't rehash old tropes. Judging from the positive reception for Disco Elysium, there is a market for this sort of game.
The reason that I get into RPGs despite not usually liking combat is that they offer other things that I like. I have always liked the fantasy setting, and these games often provide exploration, environmental storytelling, deep lore, interesting characters, and sometimes even a good narrative. At best, I love these games despite the combat, as is the case for Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, Ultima (especially VI and VII), and Elder Scrolls. Solasta is a rare case in which I actually like the combat rather than merely tolerate it - I think it managed to hit a sweet spot for me, something that very few games have done. The environmental design of the encounters makes a huge difference here. In some encounters, the positioning of party members in order to even gain access to enemies is an interesting puzzle to solve. The variety helps too, with the annoying exception of the random travel encounters, as you noted in the video. It also helps that the game is fairly compact; it isn't the sprawling time-consuming mess than many other RPGs have become in recent years. I think the reasonable scope of this game allowed the developers to focus on doing a few things right rather than biting off more than they could chew.
Well designed turn based combat is an exception to my general distaste for combat, so it strangely makes sense for me to check out some of the turn-based D&D games in case they get it right. To me, getting it right requires quality over quantity, attention to environmental design, variety, and relevance to the game's setting and narrative. Solasta gets most of this right.
Firstest in position!
👍👍
I just finished playing this game after 125 hours in Baldur's Gate 3, EA and the main reason I tried it was the expanded spell list and some of the more true to tabletop rules... Only to find out there is literally 0 reason to pick anything but combat spells, or creating light if you need it. There is not a single time I was able to do something creative with the spell list outside of combat because there just isn't anything besides walking to the next fight and looting. During character creation I was impressed to see all the language options... Totally irrelevant. Never encountered hardly anything on that big list. There is absolutely nothing to the "exploration" pillar besides thieves tools, and for "social" The 4 player party actually decreases the usefulness of your face of the party as they can only be assigned one of the 4 dialogue choices. The combat itself is kind of fun, i appreciate having the ready and dodge actions, but way too easy on default difficulty, I didn't have a single person go down. It loves to throw melee resistant enemies at you though before you can get hands on magic weapons. Long rest opportunities are sometimes weirdly spaced out, there is a basically an entire main mission that's big fight after big fight and no rest the whole way through... So the next big mission i went easy on spending spells and there was a rest right after the first 4 enemies. Ugh. 6/10 game, it's just a 5E combat simulator so you don't have to have a DM
It's thoroughly enjoyable but the voice acting is so... so cheesy indeed
Hi i have over 140 hours in this game and honestly I think your review didn't bring this game justice from one important reason. In Solasta dungeon maker mode is implemented with is huge deal, for example you can create your own map and share with others, or download one of many modules prepared by fans and play it. My own concern is lack of multiplayer with could be nice in game like this. To sum up I think Solasta is nice game with great potential if you like tactical RPG with D&D system you should have fun.
BG3 is a good rpg, but Solasta is a much better D&D game. I love this game.
I bought this on sale but I could not get past the bad writing and horrible models..it hurt to look at..
26:31 So they are very much like politicians in real life?
27:10 Yup, confirmed. Just like politucans in real life. I applaud devs for making them so real life-like.
YOE whining about something being "tropey" has become a trope in and of itself.
...Tropeception.
Ah, come on ,dude! This game is a CATALOG of medieval fantasy tropes. I did enjoy it a lot though, a lot more than I was expecting actually. If I can interest you in watching the latest video on the channel, you'll see that I praise that game for not being trope-ridden at all.
@@YeOldEntertainment I can understand your point of view, but the reason such tropes are so omnipresent is because as our favorite mythomaniac Todd would say, "It just works!". From time to time, you have a setting that turns a trope on its ear, such as Dragon Age having Elves not as culturally-superior nobility but as impoverished, second-class citizens. And that works too, because it's both unsettling and intriguing. But other times it's just comforting to go back to a setting like TES4: Oblivion which is almost as idyllic as medieval fantasy settings come (I mean hell, TES as a whole can be interpreted as a "darker and grimier" version of Dragonlance, lord knows the devs copied a LOT of ideas from there).
@@LarsOfTheMohicans This is a conversation worth having over a beer and Doritos, but I guess this delayed chat comment style will have to do. I think that at the end of the day it all comes down to which tropes and cliiches we are personally o.k. with and how they are treated in the game.
I agree that Dragon Age did shift things around with the Elves and even the Dwarves! (yes they live inside mountains as they do EVERYWHERE else and they are all about mining, etc, but they are fleshed out in a way that makes them feel non-derivative.)
I am not AT ALL a fan of any of the TES games but I will grant you that their lore and atmosphere do feel like their own thing and not a derivative re-hash of something we've seen.
Also know that I am perfectly aware that there are horrible tropes that I never mention or complain about... because they happen to be ones that I am personally o.k. with XD. Maybe it's a double standard, but what the heck.
Yikes, this is the ugliest game I've seen in a long time. Looks like a remaster of a 2005 game. Probably should have stuck to a presentation style similar to its inspirations, it's a lot easier to get away with (see Tyranny, etc).
Yeh, it is (very) ugly looking. But it's pretty fun almost the entire time.