Solasta: Crown of the Magister Released, Reviews
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Tactical Adventures' D&D-based RPG Solasta: Crown of the Magister is here, featuring roughly 40 hours of turn-based fantasy gameplay where illumination and verticality aren't mere buzzwords. You can pick the game up on Steam or GOG for $31.99 or your regional equivalent, including the launch week discount.
Here's the official release trailer:
And the game's description:
Bring the authentic Tabletop gaming experience to your PC!
Roll for initiative, take attacks of opportunity, manage player location and the verticality of the battle field. Set yourself up for the finishing strike and possibly roll a natural 20 at that key moment of battle.
In Solasta, you take control of four heroes, each with unique skills that complement one another. Every hero expresses themselves in the adventure, making each action and dialog choice a dynamic part to the story. Players will create their heroes just as they would in a pen-and-paper game by choosing their race, class, personality and rolling for their stats.
You make the choices, dice decide your destiny.
Key Features:
An Epic Team Adventure
Discover the shattered world of Solasta: explore ruins and dungeons for legendary treasures, learn the truth of an age-old cataclysm - and stop it from happening again.
Create your very own party of adventurers with our Character Creation Tool in the classic tabletop RPG tradition. Breathe life into your heroes, and see their personalities reflected in their dialogue. Tailor your squad to your preferred strategy and maximize your party's abilities. The choice is yours.
Discover a Mysterious & Dynamic World
Delve into long forgotten dungeons to unearth ancient artifacts, but stay watchful of light and darkness: many dangers hide in the dark, but a light can attract monsters. Some enemies have darkvision, some may flee from your torch... Successful adventurers will learn to use it to their advantage.
Fight monsters in squad-level, turn-based, tactical combat. Solasta's dynamic environment offers some interesting tactical options. Bridges can collapse, leaving enemies stranded and vulnerable. Walls and columns can be pushed over - on top of your foes, if you do it right. The world is your playground.
Prepare to Think in Three Dimensions
The dungeons in Solasta are more than flat game-boards. Climb, jump, or fly around obstacles. Evade or surprise foes from above or below. Push them into chasms or drop things on their heads. Position yourself on high grounds to start the fight with an advantage.
Size also matters. Escape through narrow passages where bigger enemies won't fit and crawl through tunnels to find secret areas. Take advantage of the environment to find cover suited to your own size. Watch out, though - the monsters are also thinking vertically.
Dungeon Maker
In Solasta, the adventure does not stop after the campaign is over. Unleash your creativity and craft your own dungeons to play and share with friends with the snap of a finger using the in-game Dungeon Maker! From the room layout, monster composition and treasure the party will find – down to the decoration and lighting of each room or the music track playing – everything is decided by you.
Note that the Dungeon Maker is a work in progress and will keep being improved as time goes by, so look forward to more Dungeon Maker features in the future!
And here are a few reviews for the game:
VentureBeat 4/5:
My gripe here is I wish Tactical Adventures had thought twice about its setting and had done as much to turn the “ruined ancient empire” trope on its head as it did with Solasta’s tactical combat. Once it gets better at this, Tactical Adventures has the potential to join the ranks of Obsidian, InXile, or Larian as a top-tier RPG dev house.
WCCFTech 7.5/10:
With its extremely faithful rendition of the Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset, Solasta: Crown of the Magister is a dream come true for all those D&D fans who also happen to love video games. However, strict adherence to this ruleset is also the game's main flaw, as it results in an overwhelming experience for all those who do not live and breathe Dungeons & Dragons. Those who power through the initial difficulties, though, will find a solid cRPG featuring great tactical combat and amazing depth.
PCGamesN 7/10:
It isn’t the final, polished product I hoped for, but Solasta: Crown of the Magister is a distinctive entry in the tactical RPG space. Though most of the the story and dialogue covers well-trodden territory, the combat is challenging and rewarding – even when it feels like the dice have a vendetta against you.
PC Invasion 8/10:
Solasta: Crown of the Magister has a few notable problems, and it starts to stumble the closer you get to the finish line. However, it still manages to offer an engaging and highly customizable experience that will keep you entertained for many hours.
The Indie Game Website 8/10:
On the whole, Solasta is a solid D&D simulator. Though its narrative is nothing to write home about, and the game can be a tad buggy at times, it has actually made me reconsider playing D&D as it showcases the system’s strengths so effectively. Hopefully Tactical Adventures will add more campaigns to Solasta over time, allowing players to use the same characters in various scenarios, mix them together to create party combos, and just generally become invested in them.
