Solasta II Early Access Preview
There's clear passion behind the game from both the developers and fans, and it should hold Solasta II in good stead as it builds upon what appears to be a very strong base during its Early Access period.
Developer Tactical Adventures carved out a strong fan base with its 2021 cRPG Solasta: Crown of the Magister , making good use of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset with its own fantasy setting. The studio is looking to build upon the success of the previous game for Solasta II by following a similar Early Access development plan. Ahead of the game's arrival on Steam Early Access this week, RPGamer was able to learn more about the current state of the game and where the developers have looked to improve upon its predecessor.
Solasta II is set decades after the events of the first game and takes place in a different part of the high-fantasy realm of Neokos, meaning newcomers can readily jump in. Players create and control a party of four adoptive siblings who find themselves drawn into an ancient conflict alongside their elder siblings, Rickard and Deorcas Colwall. One of the areas that Tactical Adventures has paid attention to improving is the game's character creator, which offers a significant array of appearance and character build options. Players can choose from pre-made characters; select a class, ancestry, and background; or fully build their character through advanced options, with a full set of appearance customisation settings to adjust as well. The initial release will include four ancestries and six classes with thirteen subclasses, with more to be added as the game receives updates, and the game will also allow multiclassing.
[caption id="attachment_186581" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Solasta II features robust character customisation options.[/caption]
While last year's demo used the same Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.1 ruleset as the first game, the Early Access version of Solasta II has been updated to the 5.2 ruleset. Solasta II is also using a different engine to the first game, switching to Unreal Engine, while also having higher presentational values in both its notably upgraded visuals as well as full voice acting, including talents such as Ben Starr, Amelia Tyler, Devora Wilde, and Ellen Thomas. An upgraded camera lets players go in much closer to their characters and see all of the details in the game's world. The game's UI is also getting significant upgrades, and its modular approach helps it to work with various screen and font sizes, with the game being designed to be fully playable on Steam Deck from the get-go.
Unlike many RPGs, Solasta puts players in control of the full party rather than one main character with companions, meaning all of the party is involved in conversations, though the party can be joined by additional companions during quests. Players get to choose which member responds, with the choices dependent on their personalities, experiences, and skills, helping to evoke the shared nature of a tabletop campaign. Utilising the SRD ruleset also gives the team that solid gameplay base to build upon and spend its time focusing on combat and encounter designs, which it has already proven itself very adept at in both the previous game and Solasta II' s initial demo.
[caption id="attachment_186584" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Combat is more responsive than the previous game, with the modular UI looking strong.[/caption]
One particular battle shown lets players choose whether to side with an Ettin or the skeletons fighting it, or even attack both. Tactical Adventures has also looked at making the game's combat more responsive and being less prone to getting bogged down as players wait for enemy turns and the like. The development team is looking to ensure that relevant information or terms will be available for players to look up in the game, and there is also a wide assortment of difficulty settings and modifiers that players can freely fine-tune.
Narration and progression are additional areas of focus for the game, with the game also hoping to welcome both experienced tabletop gamers and newcomers. In addition to offering various amounts of customisation at character creation, the game will offer suggestions for level-up choices that players can override as they wish. The game's UI looks to work very nicely with the combat, with various hoverable tooltips and indicators allowing players to find any and all information they might want without clogging up the screen. A new quest log helps players keep track of their adventures, providing all the relevant details, while the world map has also undergone some reworking. The map is divided into a hexagonal grid that players can fully explore rather than simply travelling between discovered points of interest. As players travel, players will encounter various events that give players choices for how they wish to interact with them, such as trying to hide from or surprise nearby enemies.
[caption id="attachment_186596" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The game's world map offers more opportunity for players to explore the world.[/caption]
Containing around ten to fifteen hours of content, the initial Early Access release of Solasta II will let players go through the game's first act and reach level four. Plenty of updates are planned for this year, including the game's multiplayer mode, new story content, a higher level cap, new classes and ancestries, and a crafting system. A faction system will play an important role in the game's story, though it doesn't play a major role in the early acts, so it will be interesting to see how it comes into play as additional story content gets added to the game.
Tactical Adventures definitely appears to be using its experience and learnings from Solasta: Crown of the Magister to fine effect. The studio is certainly not resting on its laurels, and has been ambitious with all the areas where it intends to improve upon its debut title. There's clear passion behind the game from both the developers and fans, and it should hold Solasta II in good stead as it builds upon what appears to be a very strong base during its Early Access period.
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