Written Review: fextralife.com/solasta-crown-of-the-magister-review-impressions-a-faithful-dd-5e-adaptation/ Wiki: solastacrownofthemagister.wiki.fextralife.com/Solasta+Crown+of+the+Magister+Wiki Live on Twitch: twitch.tv/fextralife 💖 Become a Fextralife VIP fextralife.com/Be-a-vip/
@@julianmorgan79 Mandalore is a less fast-talking version that leaves out the political quips that ACG just can't seem to refrain from making. Because I want politics in my game reviews, even though I share them most of the time. Mando also seems to take more time with the games giving more in-depth observations, I'm definitely satisfied with the switch.
This is a step into the right direction & I really hope the game is successful enough to warrant sequel. We need more party based TBS RPG! LOL The devs did a great with such solid game for indie title.
Not for me... D&D feels clunky and boring on turn bases strategy.. I loved Baldursgate 1+2 and Dragon Age 1.. the Devs went for the more dynamic (pause/break) approach. Devinity orginal sin 1+2 works good on turn based style because it has different rules (way more impactful combat)..
It doesn't have a ton of replayability but I think it was a really solid game. The pathfinder games I found overwhelming as you pretty much had to be fluent in the game systems to even make it through character creation. Solasta is a lot more simplistic but that made it a lot more approachable to me. Sure the voice acting and story aren't top notch but in a way that makes it more endearing. It almost feels like playing an actual table top with your friends doing their best cheesy roleplaying dialogue (barkeep, this beer tastes like donkey piss!) and the story feels like something that could be whipped up by your DM. The new DLC campaign was mostly the same but honestly I will probably make a new adventuring group and play any new DLC they release in the future. Don't set your expectations too high. This isn't Pillars of Eternity or Baldur's Gate but its absolutely worth playing through.
I agree with you on Solasta being a good and fun game. Coming from the D&D corner myself, I didn't know the Pathfinder games, but having played Pathfinder: Kingmaker a while ago I found it to be not really difficult. Sure, in the beginning you have to invest a little time to understand the core mechanics but in the tutorial section (at the beginning) the game does a very good job teaching you all the basics. The biggest complaint I have about Pathfinder is the time restriction. Though it is generous, it distracts from the „I want to explore all the maps and search every nook and cranny for as long as I want“ feeling because in the back of my mind I always had the timer ticking... Anyway, Solasta is a good game though it lacks the depth of all the typical oldschool RPGs in terms of dialogue for example (I love to have 20 possible responses when talking to an NPC 😊 )
@@Fextralife Eh that's nothing. In elementary I was really good about trying to ford rivers I had no business trying to cross. Turned into a lot of "your entire family died" prematurely game ends.
I bought the game last year and played through the Beta tests, and found it fun even then. I think most people got dazzled by Baldur's Gate 3, (I know I did), but Solasta actually does a few things better than BG 3. Even though you can really feel the budget difference, (the story isn't as strong, the graphics aren't as nice, and there are less voice actors, etc.), I think the lack of budget ended up making the team consider their decisions more carefully. The User Interface is AWESOME, and some of the choices, (like how you see your dice on screen) really make it fun to unload a Fireball or nail a Smite! In a glance, it's really easy to tell what your options are for each character, where in BG 3, you have to spend some time arranging all your hot bars from all the stuff that gets loaded onto it while figuring out how your character plays. I also happened to love that your 'character' is actually the entire team. My current run is my Paladin, Battle Cleric, Ranger, Wizard. They are *crushing* this run and it's an absolutely blast! But unlike a lot of games where you pick one main character and are given companions, I really enjoy that I created the whole team, and feel very invested in their growth and success, and delight when the synergy clicks and my team turns the tides on the force outnumbering them. And the new Oaths and subclasses? I mean... who doesn't want their Paladin to have Fireball spells?! I really enjoy some of Solasta's homebrewing choices! BG 3 clearly has a superior amount of story work, voice acting, and graphics. But I gotta say, I was super impressed with Solasta's D&D combat, the easy interface, and how rapidly you can learn how to play D&D. I think if someone wanted to learn to play tabletop D&D but wanted to have a primer first, Solasta is perfect for trying out a few of the classes, getting a feel for how they work, and how team synergy, (like Auras, buffing spells, using light/darkness for tanking and damage, using your heavy armor buddies as cover, etc.), looks in a good game. I think BG 3 will be fantastic, but I'm hoping they actually borrow some ideas from Solasta. Solasta really scratches that D&D itch in a big way with the combat.
Just a note about voice acting: getting good voice actors are really expensive in video games. DOS 1 only got full voice acting after it's huge success.
Which begs the question why people need to make that much money for their voices. Not like they are having to MEMORIZE or do specific stunts like they would in a film. People are greedy in todays world.
@@greenkrickett5664 Ummm being able to modulate your voice to fit the role and then to stick with that modulated voice and simulate the situation the character is in etc takes a lot of effort and skill. Not only that, its not just an art form, it's also acting; with it being acting, you would need to do a bunch of takes over and over again until the voice director is happy with the performance/finds that one perfect take that fits the character at that exact moment, and at that exact situation. Its an extremely laborious process. All acting is difficult so therefore the cost is wholly justified.
Having a great time with this so far, it's like DnD meets Xcom. It will probably be a one and done though with the linear progress unlikely to entice replay.
Linear story? At least I know that this won't keep me from leaving Fort Joy for the first time anytime soon. I've restarted so many times, I have nightmares about Kniles caressing my cheek.
Get this game. Get the DLC that unlocks all the classes and backgrounds. It is a fantastic adaptation of 5e D&D, with a focus on the 5.1 SRD rules. I found it's mix of story, exploration, traveling and combat to be great and excellently balanced. Yes, the graphics aren't a 10/10, but it is sufficient to relay the story and get you immersed and yes the story is not it's strong suit, but it is accessible, easy to get into, and I found the answers and banter in social interactions based on class and background to be a fun and entertaining, albeit a bit straight high fantasy, without a lot of suprising twists and turns. If Baldur's Gate is a three star Michelin gourmet diner that has amazing and unique out of this world tastes, Solasta is an amazing hamburger joint with great fries. I don't always feel cerebral, and Solasta is an amazing substitute.
I love all your videos, your builds for Wasteland3 and DOS2 straight addicted me to the genre. You finally got me to comment when you broke character and exposed some humanity, lol, you mention Oregon Trail and how viewers won't know. I knew! Thank you!
.... Something a dev would say.. do you need help? Are you stuck in a office building with suicide nets? No food or will to live? Like and reply if you need help
Now its out of Early Access, I definitely plan to pick this up. Everyone I trust is giving this a pretty big thumbs up....so I'd be a fool to ignore that.
As others have mentioned, it just depends on your yearning for D&D, but for me a lot of this seems to be great combat...and...well...that's it. I like making classes and exploring combat, but it would be nice to have some story or interest characters to help me want to push it along.
The grid system combat would lend itself very well to controller, so it would be a good idea to release this and other games like it on console. Though indy games do have an easier time releasing on pc versus dealing with the console powers that be, so I can see that being a challenge, though not an insurmountable one.
I don't play on console but is Baldur's Gate 3 gonna release on console as well? I assume it is, though it'll still be a while before full release. Fyi from what i've played in the early access it's absolutely amazing
@@ArcticKoalaCurry I hope it drops for console, would make sense. I've also loved what I played in early access, but stopped after about a week because I don't want to burn out on the starting area like I do on most RPGs.
The best thing from buying Baldur's gate 3 was that it caused me to find this game, after being sorely disappointed with BG3 and losing interest in the game entirely by act 3 to the point where I just quit playing I noticed someone recommended Solasta in the BG3 forum comments, So I checked it out and I am loving it, Solasta really scratched that D&D itch I was looking for that BG3 just couldn't.
Really like how they also added in their own made specialties. Thanks to this video review I plan to add this game to my wishlist and buy when it goes on sale. I love turn based combat like this. Thank you.
I play it since 3 days and it is AWESOME! I like the skillsystem, the story, the music and the characters...The only downside are the charactermodels, the graphic is good, but the characters are just really not good... But that´s really an little downside! Even if you put new items on your character you will see it on the models, pretty cool. Pretty solid first game from Tactical Adventures! 9/10 for me at the moment
Hands down best 5e adaptation there is. Yes Baldur's Gate 3 is also 5e but they are a considerable distance away from 5e RAW. The social aspect is awkward because of the lower budget and exploration is quite simple, but combat is very tactical and forces you to think strategically.
NwN was trash (compared to Baldurs Gate,Planescpae Torment or even icewind dale) actualy one of the worst story and graphics from bioware and obsidian. The only thing where NwN was realy good was the mod compatibility and free world builder .It was basicaly new Ultima Online yet Bioware missed the chance to do something with it so Nwn died after some time.
Fex, is this game exclusively single player; or does it happen to have coop for the campaign in the vein that DoS does? My kiddos and I are interested in D&D but we can't get enough local people involved to start one up. I figure these D&D rule based games would be an excellent way to familiarize ourselves with most of the game's concepts and do a bit of roleplay.
I DM a group of 3. You, your partner, and your children would enough to start a campaign. Whoever DMs will have to take into consideration the smaller than average party size but it's still very fun with a small group.
The thing about healing and D&D is that the healer part is but one of the facets of being cleric/other class. Therefore the game does not attempt to make healing a central aspect of combat, instead making it something to be used sparingly when in great need. Outside of combat though, healing is no problem at all. All this was done intentionally, as to free clerics from the eternal role of the healer. Its a perk of the system, not a bug.
You definitely underestimate the amount of Oregon trail players. Favorite thing to do back in middle school. I also remember Paws, a game used to help teach keyboarding skills.
I have a couple of questions. You praised the turn based combat here, while it was one of the major cons of BG3: what did they do right here to make it so? Do you have any further information on the modding support?
(I've played both a lot.) The real strength of Solasta's combat is the UI. BG3 is a Divinity engine game *first*, meaning the system was adapted to 5E, not built for it. In this regard, Solasta is better. In BG3, if you know 5E or Divinity you're at a disadvantage, as you try to "guess" what the system expects you to do to pull off mundane functions for the tabletop space, or Divinity in general. But if you understand D&D 5E, you'll do well in Solasta, and each encounter is built around playing pretty fair when it comes to the auto-DM. No new info on mod support. I honestly wouldn't expect it.
@@ixis i know 5e and divinity and i just play the game like normal, you're probably one of those babies that thionk you have to use barrels for every encounter.
For a rpg, I've seen very little from Solasta in terms of the actual role playing department. Hopefully there's more to the game rather than just combat because from what I saw in Early Access the story leaves a lot to be desired.
It really is just the mechanics of D&D with the barest whiff of storytelling, characters, or imaginative setting details. Y'know, the *only* reason to play an RPG.
It’s upsetting, but the power of the mechanics eventually won me over. Clearly with the two dozen people who made it, they put all their energy into digitally adapting the rule set. But I love the races and subclasses they made. It feels fun to fight, and hopefully after this first game they can hire actual writers and storytellers for a sequel.
Been really enjoying how strategic this game is. Reminds me of Divinity Original Sin in the sheer amount of ways you can get through any given situation. Very faithful DnD feel, and i love that. it's hard AF tho, or maybe I'm just dumb lol
I completely agree. As a DM I'm actually very impressed how well it holds up and find the gameplay very engaging. I wish there were more opportunities in the non-combat scenarios though to get up to shenanigans like all good D&D campaigns lol! It's outside combat that things are a bit weaker. Still, I am absolutely loving the game so far!
Good review. Solasta is a good game. So far the only thing that really bothered me was, one of my characters knows old Tirmarian or whatever the name of that language is, and the party encountered some inscription in that language, and that very character blurted out "What language is this in". A small detail, but it just really struck me as odd and made me think the creators aren't paying much attention to detail. All the rest is really good, 9/10.
I am always sad when games like these have weak stories. I am a very story focused player followed by the game play. Still already bought the game a while back to just support and hope the devs keep at it. Since triple A publishers are just sad sight these days.
It's baffling when people decide to make an RPG, a genre *known* for storytelling, and then don't even bother trying. And if they did, it's incredibly embarrassing how hollow the souls of the writers must be. The Forgotten Realms is the most bland and generic fantasy setting out there, and you don't even bother being better than that.
@@ixis Did the developers of the game personally kidnap your family or something? Not defending the game’s lack of storytelling or setting, but god damn you’re in all these comments fighting tooth and nail against this game like it’s personal.
I 100% agree, I always struggle to maintain interest when the story in these games is weak, it is such a big part of the experience. Like I couldn’t imagine writing a story myself, but surely if you’re developing an rpg you have some level of creativity that could be applied to writing, or at the least can find someone who does enjoy story writing.
It's hard to make a great story while simultaneously giving you freedom of choice. There is so many potential outcomes with true freedom, so programmers must decide; either the have to skimp on the story OR force you down a fairly linear path.
@@yamahkogribbis6212 fair point, and I would pick a linear story over a pointless free choice one. That is fake options and the end result is that same. Which most of them are. Give me a strong cast and we’ll done story, any day over fake choices or open world where characters just become shop hubs.
Been following this with interest for awhile now, and it's looking pretty good. I've played, and enjoyed, just about every D&D CRPG since Pool of Radience, and Eye of the Beholder. As an aside, I'm due, at 40, to play my first ever tabletop D&D game tomorrow and thoroughly looking forward to it. Having a mechanically faithful CRPG version to play also is great.
I played Oregon Trail in school and then years later when I got my first PC as a kid in the late 80’s early 90’s! I used to think it was so cool to that I was playing a game at home that I used to play in school. We were literally graded on how we did and who survived which was unfair bc the outcomes were RNG and completely random.
The outcomes weren't random. it depended on how fast you were moving. If you used the slowest possible speed you would always have all passengers survive
@@Rain-ro4qn Don't pay attention to him... The only Larian haters are crybabies who are salty about BG3 not being real time with pause like BG 1 & 2...
I just started playing this and it's pretty nice, I had written it off for putting basic content like races and classes behind a dlc paywall but after giving it a chance, the gameplay is fairly solid so far.
I know they are limited by resources, time, money etc to implement all of the classes from the core rulebook at launch but since most of my favs are missing Im going to pass on it for now. Hope all of the classes will come eventually though
My friend and I, who both DM at times made two characters each and made the most insane party comp you could ask for. So much fun though, definitely would recommend if you like 5e DnD.
Any tips to get into turn based? I do get that it’s more faithful to d&d that way but when I’m playing a video game I just couldent get into turn based (I tried it with the divinity games)
Checked this because the game is on Game Pass. I don't know much about the mechanics of D&D rules but enjoy playing Divinity Original Sin, POE even going as far back as Never Winter. I do own Baldurs Gate 3 but haven't messed with it much. I hope Solasta is not too hard to get into.
This looks interesting, but do you have to micromanage all the characters in your party each turn of combat? "You, go here, do this and then this... you, stay there and do this, then this.... you, go here... (rinse and repeat)" Or can you set all characters but yours to act aggressively, or defensively, or a mix, and let the AI handle them while you focus on your one character during the combat?
It is a nice game and good for those that are unfamiliar with 5e rules. It is capped to level 10, but that is perfectly fine. A cleric of level 9 can raise dead already, which is very powerful.
im on the fence on this one, i'm interested in RPG in general never play any dnd but im quite familiar with the mechanics. i enjoyed playing titles like pillar of eternity, Divinity original sins 1 and 2, dragon age series, pathfinder wotr and so on. i'm sold on the gameplay with this one but im not sure about the story and the writing (the lore and world building so to speak) which to me is the no.1 factor for me . so i get that you not only create ur own character but also your companions which make me wonder how is that gonna affect the story and so on? if anyone can tell me whether the story is good or not, i would apreciated. thanks
I think the games good just a little incomplete for the whole dnd experience. I think adding some more races, especially non-human ones, more of the classes like bard or druid, and like 1 or 2 more campaigns would be amazing.
DOS, DOS 2, and Wasteland 3 are a few that are in the same realm as this style. Not quite as tabletop focused. Pathfinder Kingmaker is a more true to fashion tabletop game on console. Anyways, hope these console suggestions help!
@@panamahank7108 all are great games and agree you should check them out. Sadly they are a “bit” buggy on consoles. Played them in both console and pc. Just to support them.
Does this game have any type of scaling for text? Making the text bigger or the UI. It looks pretty small and for many people that is a deal breaker ...... no matter how much they want to play this game.
I wish people would not state linear story as if that is a valid criticism of a story. Stories have been linear since ancient times. You don't open a book and skip to a random chapter. Now is the story good or not? That is completely different. Choices don't matter is not really a good criticism either because A Christmas Carol doesn't allow choices but it is still timeless. You are actually criticizing game mechanics. How are the characters? Plot twists? Dialogue? World building?>
That's modern media discussion for you. People's tastes have gotten used to open world, choices, complicated expansive lore, and "gray morality" which is fine, but I agree way too many people dismiss linear stories or even more "basic" storylines these days. It's to a point if a character isn't "morally gray", or isn't any of the above, it's essentially scoffed at.
I've had a problem occasionally where if I'm playing with a friend our turns get out of sync. Sometimes he'll tell me I 1 shot an enemy but on my screen I missed. Then inevitably it gets to a point where it says it his turn on my screen and my turn on his screen. No choice but to reset after that. Kinda sucks but more so about the time we just put into the fight only to have to reset or I just rejoin after he finishes on his own. Maybe it's a crossplay thing
I'm probably 3/4 of the way through my first play through.....IF you want to get it cheaper wait until it goes on sale on GOG or Steam. So far the only major complaint I have is the feats selection.....it's no where NEAR as robust and diverse as 5E!! I've been playing D&D since the mid 80's and this game is legit in the style of old school table top D&D I would highly recommend this game and like the he said the Mods that people make are going to be INSANLY awesome!!! On a side note I thought the voice acting and the story were pretty good...the interaction between the party members is funny I thought!!
I have a few hundred hours in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and it's not because of the story or graphics. I imagine it'll be something similar with this game. Their adaptation of the 5E ruleset is pretty tight, and overall I much prefer fighting monsters in this game than in BG3, even if BG3 is light years ahead in terms of presentation (BG3 also has a lot more money behind it, Solasta was a kickstarter project iirc). I think I'll end up enjoying both games for different reasons.
Surprised (not in a bad way) to hear that you love the original Final Fantasy. Have you explored any of the romhacks that rebalance or build on it? (e.g. Final Fantasy Ultra or Final Fantasy Restored & Rebalanced)
This made me laugh when Oregon Trail 2 was mentioned....I remember Oregon Trail 1, I played it on the Apple II in 6th grade. This was before internet. HA HA
Sadly for me the story is the most important aspect of any RPG , also , and this is a matter of taste , i really dislike to make my entire party, i prefer NPCs with their own personality , who can disagree with you and your decisions , but as i said that is a matter of taste.
The party in Solasta DOES disagree with each other. You chose a personality type for each of them, and during dialogue they automatically start debating based on their personality; additionally, your dialogue choices are tied to and different for each character.
Have they bolstered healing at all for the game? I know trying to be an active healer who keeps your party members topped off during combat isn't a good strategy for D&D, but that's typically one of your party member slots in non-table-top RPGs, so I'm wondering how they chose to handle that.
Written Review: fextralife.com/solasta-crown-of-the-magister-review-impressions-a-faithful-dd-5e-adaptation/
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TA is a woke pos company. if you want a game where white humans are dumped on, they pronouns, and bugs galore... go ahead
Thanks will check this out
Would defo consume a review from you about this one.
We need a review from ACG and mandalore gaming as well
@@julianmorgan79 Mandalore is a less fast-talking version that leaves out the political quips that ACG just can't seem to refrain from making. Because I want politics in my game reviews, even though I share them most of the time.
Mando also seems to take more time with the games giving more in-depth observations, I'm definitely satisfied with the switch.
Interesting they added a level editor (reminds me of some Neverwinter Nights features)
This is a step into the right direction & I really hope the game is successful enough to warrant sequel. We need more party based TBS RPG! LOL
The devs did a great with such solid game for indie title.
Oh it’s out of early access, I was going to make a comment that first it should be first fully released lol
Not for me... D&D feels clunky and boring on turn bases strategy.. I loved Baldursgate 1+2 and Dragon Age 1.. the Devs went for the more dynamic (pause/break) approach. Devinity orginal sin 1+2 works good on turn based style because it has different rules (way more impactful combat)..
@@Marco-929bro in what world is da1 combat good
It doesn't have a ton of replayability but I think it was a really solid game. The pathfinder games I found overwhelming as you pretty much had to be fluent in the game systems to even make it through character creation. Solasta is a lot more simplistic but that made it a lot more approachable to me. Sure the voice acting and story aren't top notch but in a way that makes it more endearing. It almost feels like playing an actual table top with your friends doing their best cheesy roleplaying dialogue (barkeep, this beer tastes like donkey piss!) and the story feels like something that could be whipped up by your DM. The new DLC campaign was mostly the same but honestly I will probably make a new adventuring group and play any new DLC they release in the future. Don't set your expectations too high. This isn't Pillars of Eternity or Baldur's Gate but its absolutely worth playing through.
I agree with you on Solasta being a good and fun game. Coming from the D&D corner myself, I didn't know the Pathfinder games, but having played Pathfinder: Kingmaker a while ago I found it to be not really difficult. Sure, in the beginning you have to invest a little time to understand the core mechanics but in the tutorial section (at the beginning) the game does a very good job teaching you all the basics.
The biggest complaint I have about Pathfinder is the time restriction. Though it is generous, it distracts from the „I want to explore all the maps and search every nook and cranny for as long as I want“ feeling because in the back of my mind I always had the timer ticking...
Anyway, Solasta is a good game though it lacks the depth of all the typical oldschool RPGs in terms of dialogue for example (I love to have 20 possible responses when talking to an NPC 😊 )
Played a lot of Oregon Trail as a kid. Many corpses in my past from bad river fording decisions.
This looks fun. I miss playing DnD.
5:40 - You really think your entire audience is too young to know the pain of losing family after family to dysentery?
I mean man that game was like 30 years ago it aint unlikely
Ik i am. So unless 19 year olds make up only 25%
came here to say that
I see your dysentery and raise you scurvy...
@@Fextralife Eh that's nothing. In elementary I was really good about trying to ford rivers I had no business trying to cross. Turned into a lot of "your entire family died" prematurely game ends.
Hopefully they make enough off this to do a better story with good voice acting.
The Pathfinder guys definitely did IIRC.
@@TheMarcHicks what game was that?
And better art for the characters...not very good for 2021 imo!
@@TheMarcHicks But that was game horrible and boring gameplay wise.
@@klarnorbert never played it, but according to CohhCarnage they did a lot of work to make kingmaker better.
Really wishing we can bring back the magic of Dragon Age 1 someday.
I was unaware that dragon age ever had any magic.
DOS2
@@weeeeee831 Not even close. Your party members don't even talk to each other.
Dragon Age was rather bland imo... First one was alright but what came after was just terrible.
@@beentray8403 would you say it's worth playing if I haven't tried it
I bought the game last year and played through the Beta tests, and found it fun even then. I think most people got dazzled by Baldur's Gate 3, (I know I did), but Solasta actually does a few things better than BG 3. Even though you can really feel the budget difference, (the story isn't as strong, the graphics aren't as nice, and there are less voice actors, etc.), I think the lack of budget ended up making the team consider their decisions more carefully. The User Interface is AWESOME, and some of the choices, (like how you see your dice on screen) really make it fun to unload a Fireball or nail a Smite! In a glance, it's really easy to tell what your options are for each character, where in BG 3, you have to spend some time arranging all your hot bars from all the stuff that gets loaded onto it while figuring out how your character plays.
I also happened to love that your 'character' is actually the entire team. My current run is my Paladin, Battle Cleric, Ranger, Wizard. They are *crushing* this run and it's an absolutely blast! But unlike a lot of games where you pick one main character and are given companions, I really enjoy that I created the whole team, and feel very invested in their growth and success, and delight when the synergy clicks and my team turns the tides on the force outnumbering them. And the new Oaths and subclasses? I mean... who doesn't want their Paladin to have Fireball spells?! I really enjoy some of Solasta's homebrewing choices!
BG 3 clearly has a superior amount of story work, voice acting, and graphics. But I gotta say, I was super impressed with Solasta's D&D combat, the easy interface, and how rapidly you can learn how to play D&D. I think if someone wanted to learn to play tabletop D&D but wanted to have a primer first, Solasta is perfect for trying out a few of the classes, getting a feel for how they work, and how team synergy, (like Auras, buffing spells, using light/darkness for tanking and damage, using your heavy armor buddies as cover, etc.), looks in a good game.
I think BG 3 will be fantastic, but I'm hoping they actually borrow some ideas from Solasta. Solasta really scratches that D&D itch in a big way with the combat.
Baldur's Gate series does not have any of the dice rolling therefore no DnD spirit in it. It's just a separate franchise at this point.
@@bizznick444joe7 Uhhhhh... might want to update your comment big guy
@@prodICYNSo you're saying it does?
@@bizznick444joe7 I mean yeah lmao of course it has dice rolling
Just a note about voice acting: getting good voice actors are really expensive in video games. DOS 1 only got full voice acting after it's huge success.
Which begs the question why people need to make that much money for their voices. Not like they are having to MEMORIZE or do specific stunts like they would in a film.
People are greedy in todays world.
@@greenkrickett5664 Because even after 10 years, they can sell their games, and still make money? Voice actors don't get percentages.
@@greenkrickett5664 Ummm being able to modulate your voice to fit the role and then to stick with that modulated voice and simulate the situation the character is in etc takes a lot of effort and skill. Not only that, its not just an art form, it's also acting; with it being acting, you would need to do a bunch of takes over and over again until the voice director is happy with the performance/finds that one perfect take that fits the character at that exact moment, and at that exact situation. Its an extremely laborious process. All acting is difficult so therefore the cost is wholly justified.
@@a.plipps Sorry I disagree as I think actors regardless of what they are doing get paid way to much, just like professional sports.
@@klarnorbert And programmers behind all the stuff? lol
Just wanted to let you know, I too, am an OG Oregon Trail Veteran 🙃
Lies... If you were you would have died of dysentery by now! :D
@@11amasuperboy who said hes still alive
@@konnermorris1753 Well unless they're only metaphorically dead inside or a product of necromancy the fact they left a comment says so... :D
@@11amasuperboy your comment was pure gold man!
Having a great time with this so far, it's like DnD meets Xcom. It will probably be a one and done though with the linear progress unlikely to entice replay.
DnD games are supposed to be played in turn based mode.
Probably for the first time XCOM comparison is true. At this moment I even like it better than XCOM, that is also for the first time. Amazing game!
New DLC will have non linear play on a new module
This feels like a modern Icewind Dale. Linear story with a custom party.
Too bad its 5e tho
@@_Khalmyr_ while I favour 3,5, at least it’s not 2...
Yeah, even some of the graphics (character faces) seem to be from the same time that Icewind Dale....
@@_Khalmyr_ While on table top it goes 3.5 > 5e > ADnD > DnD > 4e, it's safe to say that 5e works better in a video game than 3.5.
@@jesusfranco like your mom.
This game is a ton of fun. Definitely the most faithful adaptation of the D&D 5E ruleset that I've seen in a video game.
Have you heared of a little game called Baldur's Gate 3?
Linear story? At least I know that this won't keep me from leaving Fort Joy for the first time anytime soon. I've restarted so many times, I have nightmares about Kniles caressing my cheek.
Get this game. Get the DLC that unlocks all the classes and backgrounds.
It is a fantastic adaptation of 5e D&D, with a focus on the 5.1 SRD rules. I found it's mix of story, exploration, traveling and combat to be great and excellently balanced. Yes, the graphics aren't a 10/10, but it is sufficient to relay the story and get you immersed and yes the story is not it's strong suit, but it is accessible, easy to get into, and I found the answers and banter in social interactions based on class and background to be a fun and entertaining, albeit a bit straight high fantasy, without a lot of suprising twists and turns.
If Baldur's Gate is a three star Michelin gourmet diner that has amazing and unique out of this world tastes, Solasta is an amazing hamburger joint with great fries. I don't always feel cerebral, and Solasta is an amazing substitute.
Very well said...
I love all your videos, your builds for Wasteland3 and DOS2 straight addicted me to the genre. You finally got me to comment when you broke character and exposed some humanity, lol, you mention Oregon Trail and how viewers won't know. I knew! Thank you!
An excellent game with a highly competent dev team!
.... Something a dev would say.. do you need help? Are you stuck in a office building with suicide nets? No food or will to live? Like and reply if you need help
Now its out of Early Access, I definitely plan to pick this up. Everyone I trust is giving this a pretty big thumbs up....so I'd be a fool to ignore that.
As others have mentioned, it just depends on your yearning for D&D, but for me a lot of this seems to be great combat...and...well...that's it. I like making classes and exploring combat, but it would be nice to have some story or interest characters to help me want to push it along.
That Oregon Trail reference just brought back so much nostalgia from my child hood!
Going to check it out, thank you for the review!
Nice review. I like the way you present your point of view and motivate your notation.
I feel like they didnt need to bother about story and should've made this game into a 5e D&D simulator tool instead
So like RPG maker where u can share story later?
It'd be like Mario Maker.
Could craft and share campaigns and characters!
There's a market for that I'd bet.
@@Velumbra yes, that's exactly RPGMaker
Wouldn't it just be a virtual tabletop without all the online stuff?
The turn based combat is incredibly good. The rest is pretty ... amateurish, but the core strategic battlemap gameplay is excellent.
The turn based combat is terrible in every way. There is no strategy, no choice, nothing. The AI is also horrible.
Excuse you! I have indeed played Oregon Trail. My first time playing it was on the Macintosh 2.
I wish this was on console. Divinity Original Sin showed that there's an audience for these kinds of RPGs on console too.
You are so right. Really hope some form of a definitive edition or something like that comes to playstaion or even which since I dont have an xbox
The grid system combat would lend itself very well to controller, so it would be a good idea to release this and other games like it on console. Though indy games do have an easier time releasing on pc versus dealing with the console powers that be, so I can see that being a challenge, though not an insurmountable one.
I don't play on console but is Baldur's Gate 3 gonna release on console as well? I assume it is, though it'll still be a while before full release.
Fyi from what i've played in the early access it's absolutely amazing
@@ArcticKoalaCurry I hope it drops for console, would make sense. I've also loved what I played in early access, but stopped after about a week because I don't want to burn out on the starting area like I do on most RPGs.
@@ArcticKoalaCurry hopefully since divinity original sin 1 and 2 made it to console
The best thing from buying Baldur's gate 3 was that it caused me to find this game, after being sorely disappointed with BG3 and losing interest in the game entirely by act 3 to the point where I just quit playing I noticed someone recommended Solasta in the BG3 forum comments, So I checked it out and I am loving it, Solasta really scratched that D&D itch I was looking for that BG3 just couldn't.
Really like how they also added in their own made specialties. Thanks to this video review I plan to add this game to my wishlist and buy when it goes on sale. I love turn based combat like this. Thank you.
It's on a 20% off sale until the 2nd of June.
It's also on xbox game pass for the moment.
I play it since 3 days and it is AWESOME! I like the skillsystem, the story, the music and the characters...The only downside are the charactermodels, the graphic is good, but the characters are just really not good... But that´s really an little downside! Even if you put new items on your character you will see it on the models, pretty cool. Pretty solid first game from Tactical Adventures!
9/10 for me at the moment
Hands down best 5e adaptation there is. Yes Baldur's Gate 3 is also 5e but they are a considerable distance away from 5e RAW. The social aspect is awkward because of the lower budget and exploration is quite simple, but combat is very tactical and forces you to think strategically.
This game gimme serious NwN feelings and NwN is my all time favorite game, so, yeah, I'm liking it a lot.
I loved NWN and I'm loving it so far having played it 4 or 5 hours at least. The fact its free on game pass it a real bonus.
NwN was trash (compared to Baldurs Gate,Planescpae Torment or even icewind dale) actualy one of the worst story and graphics from bioware and obsidian. The only thing where NwN was realy good was the mod compatibility and free world builder .It was basicaly new Ultima Online yet Bioware missed the chance to do something with it so Nwn died after some time.
Fex, is this game exclusively single player; or does it happen to have coop for the campaign in the vein that DoS does?
My kiddos and I are interested in D&D but we can't get enough local people involved to start one up. I figure these D&D rule based games would be an excellent way to familiarize ourselves with most of the game's concepts and do a bit of roleplay.
It is just singleplayer, no coop like Divinity. Still very good though!
2 players for a DND campaign is enough. Just have your kids use the Sidekicks.
I DM a group of 3. You, your partner, and your children would enough to start a campaign. Whoever DMs will have to take into consideration the smaller than average party size but it's still very fun with a small group.
The thing about healing and D&D is that the healer part is but one of the facets of being cleric/other class. Therefore the game does not attempt to make healing a central aspect of combat, instead making it something to be used sparingly when in great need. Outside of combat though, healing is no problem at all. All this was done intentionally, as to free clerics from the eternal role of the healer. Its a perk of the system, not a bug.
You definitely underestimate the amount of Oregon trail players. Favorite thing to do back in middle school.
I also remember Paws, a game used to help teach keyboarding skills.
I have a couple of questions. You praised the turn based combat here, while it was one of the major cons of BG3: what did they do right here to make it so?
Do you have any further information on the modding support?
(I've played both a lot.)
The real strength of Solasta's combat is the UI. BG3 is a Divinity engine game *first*, meaning the system was adapted to 5E, not built for it. In this regard, Solasta is better. In BG3, if you know 5E or Divinity you're at a disadvantage, as you try to "guess" what the system expects you to do to pull off mundane functions for the tabletop space, or Divinity in general. But if you understand D&D 5E, you'll do well in Solasta, and each encounter is built around playing pretty fair when it comes to the auto-DM.
No new info on mod support. I honestly wouldn't expect it.
For one thing, BG3 is a Baldur's Gate game, and this isn't. The expectation is different.
@@ixis i know 5e and divinity and i just play the game like normal, you're probably one of those babies that thionk you have to use barrels for every encounter.
For a rpg, I've seen very little from Solasta in terms of the actual role playing department. Hopefully there's more to the game rather than just combat because from what I saw in Early Access the story leaves a lot to be desired.
It really is just the mechanics of D&D with the barest whiff of storytelling, characters, or imaginative setting details.
Y'know, the *only* reason to play an RPG.
It’s upsetting, but the power of the mechanics eventually won me over.
Clearly with the two dozen people who made it, they put all their energy into digitally adapting the rule set. But I love the races and subclasses they made. It feels fun to fight, and hopefully after this first game they can hire actual writers and storytellers for a sequel.
@@ixis Agreed. A CRPG without good lore and story is like an FPS without guns.
Story sucks but the combat is definitely worth playing. I beat the game in 30 hours after doing everything so it's not too long
Seems like something to hold me over until BG3 gets some more update.
BG 3 sucks...
@@Damalon01 hah you do too
As an OG BG and BG2 player I wouldn't touch BG3 with a ten-foot pole.
look at all these crybabies badmouthing a game they dont have to play on a video thats a different game to the one they are talking smack about
@@reecedactyl To each his own I guess. I loved BG1&2, but I also had fun with DOS1&2. BG3 still has a way to go in dev, hopefully it works out.
Wow, great review! Hopefully I will get into this now that it showed up on console Gamepass. Thanks!
Been really enjoying how strategic this game is. Reminds me of Divinity Original Sin in the sheer amount of ways you can get through any given situation. Very faithful DnD feel, and i love that. it's hard AF tho, or maybe I'm just dumb lol
Playing Solasta feels more like actually playing a tabletop game than any video game that I have played
I completely agree. As a DM I'm actually very impressed how well it holds up and find the gameplay very engaging. I wish there were more opportunities in the non-combat scenarios though to get up to shenanigans like all good D&D campaigns lol! It's outside combat that things are a bit weaker. Still, I am absolutely loving the game so far!
Oregon Trail woot woot! It was thes best way to spend time at school.
Ah, he said "Oregon Trail", I thought he said: "Organ Fail"!
Good review. Solasta is a good game. So far the only thing that really bothered me was, one of my characters knows old Tirmarian or whatever the name of that language is, and the party encountered some inscription in that language, and that very character blurted out "What language is this in". A small detail, but it just really struck me as odd and made me think the creators aren't paying much attention to detail. All the rest is really good, 9/10.
I've been playing this game for 4 days now and I am totally addicted.
I am always sad when games like these have weak stories. I am a very story focused player followed by the game play. Still already bought the game a while back to just support and hope the devs keep at it. Since triple A publishers are just sad sight these days.
It's baffling when people decide to make an RPG, a genre *known* for storytelling, and then don't even bother trying. And if they did, it's incredibly embarrassing how hollow the souls of the writers must be.
The Forgotten Realms is the most bland and generic fantasy setting out there, and you don't even bother being better than that.
@@ixis Did the developers of the game personally kidnap your family or something?
Not defending the game’s lack of storytelling or setting, but god damn you’re in all these comments fighting tooth and nail against this game like it’s personal.
I 100% agree, I always struggle to maintain interest when the story in these games is weak, it is such a big part of the experience.
Like I couldn’t imagine writing a story myself, but surely if you’re developing an rpg you have some level of creativity that could be applied to writing, or at the least can find someone who does enjoy story writing.
It's hard to make a great story while simultaneously giving you freedom of choice. There is so many potential outcomes with true freedom, so programmers must decide; either the have to skimp on the story OR force you down a fairly linear path.
@@yamahkogribbis6212 fair point, and I would pick a linear story over a pointless free choice one. That is fake options and the end result is that same. Which most of them are. Give me a strong cast and we’ll done story, any day over fake choices or open world where characters just become shop hubs.
Been following this with interest for awhile now, and it's looking pretty good. I've played, and enjoyed, just about every D&D CRPG since Pool of Radience, and Eye of the Beholder. As an aside, I'm due, at 40, to play my first ever tabletop D&D game tomorrow and thoroughly looking forward to it. Having a mechanically faithful CRPG version to play also is great.
Oregon Trail was incredibly fun, I'll have to check this out.
I played Oregon Trail in school and then years later when I got my first PC as a kid in the late 80’s early 90’s! I used to think it was so cool to that I was playing a game at home that I used to play in school. We were literally graded on how we did and who survived which was unfair bc the outcomes were RNG and completely random.
The outcomes weren't random. it depended on how fast you were moving. If you used the slowest possible speed you would always have all passengers survive
Was on the fence about this since I just bought Baulder's Gate 3 not so long ago. But I guess I'm gonna throw the dice and buy this now haha.
If you are looking for a 5e like feeling this blows BG3 out of the water. Though of course it dont look as fancy as BG3
@@CrestOfArtorias and as a plus, it's not Larian Studios
@@nairocamilo wait, what's wrong with Larian studios? Dos2 is still one of the best games I've played
@@Rain-ro4qn Don't pay attention to him... The only Larian haters are crybabies who are salty about BG3 not being real time with pause like BG 1 & 2...
@@NickStrife hmm, makes sense I forgot that many "purists" got riled up when BG3 was announced as turn based.
Backed this, do not regret it, enjoying it so far.
you type like rorshach from watchmen
Fextralife: story is not imaginative enough.
Also Fextralife: names the characters "the paladin", "the wizard", "the rogue", and "the fighter"
🤣👍
I bought this a loooong time ago...is it on full release now? Early Access was very good, with great updates!
I have game pass, I might check it out this weekend.
I just started playing this and it's pretty nice, I had written it off for putting basic content like races and classes behind a dlc paywall but after giving it a chance, the gameplay is fairly solid so far.
Thank you for the review. I just ought this on sale! Will tide me over until BG3 full release
I know they are limited by resources, time, money etc to implement all of the classes from the core rulebook at launch but since most of my favs are missing Im going to pass on it for now. Hope all of the classes will come eventually though
My friend and I, who both DM at times made two characters each and made the most insane party comp you could ask for. So much fun though, definitely would recommend if you like 5e DnD.
5:38 that is where you are wrong good sir! 😎
Oregon trail 2 is the 1st game my mother didn't kick me off of.
very comprehensive and thorough review. Thanks!!!
Any tips to get into turn based? I do get that it’s more faithful to d&d that way but when I’m playing a video game I just couldent get into turn based (I tried it with the divinity games)
You're SURE none of us played Oregon trail 2?
Hoooow sure?
I've been chasing that original Oregon trail high for years.
I was already considering picking it up and then I saw it's on Gamepass, will definitely be playing this one
Been waiting on a review of the final version just to make sure it was nice and polished, glad to see it's good, gonna go grab it now.
Checked this because the game is on Game Pass. I don't know much about the mechanics of D&D rules but enjoy playing Divinity Original Sin, POE even going as far back as Never Winter. I do own Baldurs Gate 3 but haven't messed with it much. I hope Solasta is not too hard to get into.
This looks interesting, but do you have to micromanage all the characters in your party each turn of combat? "You, go here, do this and then this... you, stay there and do this, then this.... you, go here... (rinse and repeat)" Or can you set all characters but yours to act aggressively, or defensively, or a mix, and let the AI handle them while you focus on your one character during the combat?
What is the music that plays at the end of the video and where can I find the whole thing?
It is a nice game and good for those that are unfamiliar with 5e rules. It is capped to level 10, but that is perfectly fine. A cleric of level 9 can raise dead already, which is very powerful.
im on the fence on this one, i'm interested in RPG in general never play any dnd but im quite familiar with the mechanics. i enjoyed playing titles like pillar of eternity, Divinity original sins 1 and 2, dragon age series, pathfinder wotr and so on. i'm sold on the gameplay with this one but im not sure about the story and the writing (the lore and world building so to speak) which to me is the no.1 factor for me . so i get that you not only create ur own character but also your companions which make me wonder how is that gonna affect the story and so on? if anyone can tell me whether the story is good or not, i would apreciated. thanks
Was looking into this. Thanks as always for your input and opinions.
Top quality videos! Subbed!
I think the games good just a little incomplete for the whole dnd experience. I think adding some more races, especially non-human ones, more of the classes like bard or druid, and like 1 or 2 more campaigns would be amazing.
choices need to matter more.
I am not starting the game until you put out all the build guides! ;)
Ha. We'll have written guides today, and videos next week.
@@Fextralife Awesome - thanks!
Where can i get that fun outro melody at the end of the vid?! LoL. Always makes me tap my feet 🤣
Need a game of this style for console
Baldur's Gate 3 ?
If they sell well, will prob make a console port for sure
DOS, DOS 2, and Wasteland 3 are a few that are in the same realm as this style. Not quite as tabletop focused. Pathfinder Kingmaker is a more true to fashion tabletop game on console. Anyways, hope these console suggestions help!
@@panamahank7108 all are great games and agree you should check them out. Sadly they are a “bit” buggy on consoles. Played them in both console and pc. Just to support them.
@@Trace153 Wasteland 3 has been vastly improved on the console, but was a buggy mess at launch I agree
Does this game have any type of scaling for text? Making the text bigger or the UI. It looks pretty small and for many people that is a deal breaker ...... no matter how much they want to play this game.
I wish people would not state linear story as if that is a valid criticism of a story. Stories have been linear since ancient times. You don't open a book and skip to a random chapter. Now is the story good or not? That is completely different. Choices don't matter is not really a good criticism either because A Christmas Carol doesn't allow choices but it is still timeless. You are actually criticizing game mechanics. How are the characters? Plot twists? Dialogue? World building?>
That's modern media discussion for you. People's tastes have gotten used to open world, choices, complicated expansive lore, and "gray morality" which is fine, but I agree way too many people dismiss linear stories or even more "basic" storylines these days. It's to a point if a character isn't "morally gray", or isn't any of the above, it's essentially scoffed at.
Final Fantasy I all time favorite? Nice call, buddy. Subbed.
Just bought it on a Steam sale. Can't wait to play it.
You underestimate how much Oregan trail I have played
I really enjoyed the early access..I cannot wait to dive into the full game tomorrow.
Thanks for the review!
Thank you fextralife, I'm getting this game because this game review.
Thank you so much for this review1 I will check this game out.
I've had a problem occasionally where if I'm playing with a friend our turns get out of sync. Sometimes he'll tell me I 1 shot an enemy but on my screen I missed. Then inevitably it gets to a point where it says it his turn on my screen and my turn on his screen. No choice but to reset after that.
Kinda sucks but more so about the time we just put into the fight only to have to reset or I just rejoin after he finishes on his own. Maybe it's a crossplay thing
Playing this game now on gamepass. Still early but so far I’m loving it.
I'm probably 3/4 of the way through my first play through.....IF you want to get it cheaper wait until it goes on sale on GOG or Steam. So far the only major complaint I have is the feats selection.....it's no where NEAR as robust and diverse as 5E!! I've been playing D&D since the mid 80's and this game is legit in the style of old school table top D&D I would highly recommend this game and like the he said the Mods that people make are going to be INSANLY awesome!!! On a side note I thought the voice acting and the story were pretty good...the interaction between the party members is funny I thought!!
I have a few hundred hours in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and it's not because of the story or graphics. I imagine it'll be something similar with this game. Their adaptation of the 5E ruleset is pretty tight, and overall I much prefer fighting monsters in this game than in BG3, even if BG3 is light years ahead in terms of presentation (BG3 also has a lot more money behind it, Solasta was a kickstarter project iirc). I think I'll end up enjoying both games for different reasons.
Surprised (not in a bad way) to hear that you love the original Final Fantasy. Have you explored any of the romhacks that rebalance or build on it? (e.g. Final Fantasy Ultra or Final Fantasy Restored & Rebalanced)
I've played Oregon Trail 2... That was back in my middle school days.
This kind of thing would make for an epic VTT, hopefully one day.
This made me laugh when Oregon Trail 2 was mentioned....I remember Oregon Trail 1, I played it on the Apple II in 6th grade. This was before internet. HA HA
Sadly for me the story is the most important aspect of any RPG , also , and this is a matter of taste , i really dislike to make my entire party, i prefer NPCs with their own personality , who can disagree with you and your decisions , but as i said that is a matter of taste.
The party in Solasta DOES disagree with each other. You chose a personality type for each of them, and during dialogue they automatically start debating based on their personality; additionally, your dialogue choices are tied to and different for each character.
Have they bolstered healing at all for the game? I know trying to be an active healer who keeps your party members topped off during combat isn't a good strategy for D&D, but that's typically one of your party member slots in non-table-top RPGs, so I'm wondering how they chose to handle that.
U
If I am getting this with game pass, then it's a no-brainer for me to give this a try.
I’m an Oregon Trail and number munchers vet myself.
I've played Oregon Trail....oh yeah I was also born in the late 70's....
@5:38 did you just assume my gend- **catches dysentery**
Is this game easy to pick up for someone new to the genre?
1:06 "Solasta's story is not one of the games strong suits....". That is a monumental understatement.
Bought it two months ago.
300+ hours of game play later...
Hey! I've played Oregon Trail! 😁