Solasta 2, the follow up to 2021’s Solasta from developer and publisher Tactical Adventures, has a lot going for it. After going hands-on with an upcoming demo, the tactical RPG has a lot going for it. The combat is excellent, using Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition as its core. The party dialogue and banter is great, alongside a world that reacts to your actions. Your choices have impact, as situations can play out wildly differently depending on your characters and rolls. It scratches that tactical RPG, dice rolling, Dungeons & Dragons itch, and if Solasta 2 can stick the landing, there’s something special here.
The demo drops you into the seaside village of Tor Wen, controlling four orphans seeking out a friend residing in town. The characters are pre-made in the demo, but the full game will include a character creator, allowing players to customize the experience. The demo features a fighter-cleric, rogue, sorcerer, and paladin, representing humans, halflings, dwarves, and elves.
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Solasta 2 is built on Dungeons & Dragons, making dice rolls your best friend and sworn enemy. After finding Ellie, the aforementioned friend, a roll already happens as you enter conversation. If successful, you get an additional dialogue option. Each party member is part of the dialogue, each having dialogue options and skill checks that can dictate how the conversation plays out.
Every action, whether it’s dialogue, attacking, investigating something, or just about anything else, comes down to dice rolls. Coming across an interesting area will trigger a roll, where if successful, more information can be gleaned. Attacks and amounts of damage come down to how the dice land. Solasta 2 captures the heart and soul of D&D and other tactical RPGs so well, thanks to the dice. For any fans of Baldurs Gate 3, they’ll feel instantly at home.
Solasta 2 gets the D&D dice gameplay just right.
Ellie briefs the crew on a few things: a dragon causing a ruckus, a missing friend, Jabori, and mysterious tremors and happenings in town. The mayor has placed the town under a curfew, preventing Ellie from going to find her friend. What happens next is up to the player. You can head into town to talk to the mayor, explore the town, or head straight for the coast, where Jabori lives.
After electing to head to town, the player can stumble across an encounter between two merchants. Both are arguing about who should move their carriage, the gang can choose to get involved. The choices and rolls matter here, as there are different ways to handle the situation. Neyra, the fighter-cleric, can threaten them, using the more aggressive approach. Daisy, the rogue, can lie, convincing them that the mayor told them to move. I elected to be more direct with Neyra’s approach, as that option had a higher chance of success with the rolls.
With the merchants dealt with, the search for Jabori began. Solasta 2 is gorgeous, with the seaside cliffs packed with foliage and detail. Hopping along from outcrop to pathway showed sweeping vistas, and at one point, a massive shadowy figure swimming beneath. The graphics and presentation here are on point, drawing the player in to live in its world.
Along the way, I was attacked by a number of crabs. Solasta 2 is entirely turn-based, with the standard D&D mechanics at play. Each unit can use an action, like attacking or casting a spell, alongside movement and bonus actions. The actions vary greatly depending on the class. Neyra can run up and use melee attacks but can also offer healing. Joralas, the sorcerer, on the other hand, has a litany of spells that can deal a lot of damage to groups of enemies, but finitely so.
Combat is a ton of fun in Solasta 2.
Combat is turn-based, with a combat initiative line running across the top. Rolling higher on an initiative check puts you farther in front of the order, while a poor roll can leave you at the mercy of your enemies. On your character’s turn, you can attack, cast spells, heal, use items, move, or any combination of the above, depending on the character. Daisy, being a rogue, for example, gains advantage on her rolls when the enemy is flanked, resulting in a higher damage output and making positioning important as well.
The combat is a ton of fun. As you learn your characters—their strengths alongside their drawbacks—each combat encounter is like a giant game of chess. Moving your pieces and attacking where you can while making sure healers and spellcasters are at an appropriate difference becomes a giant balancing act. All of this hinges on good dice rolls for you and poor rolls for the enemy. I came across multiple situations where enemies should have killed my character, but with a few poor dice rolls on their behalf, I managed to turn the tables.
While it was initially overwhelming not knowing my characters’ abilities, I quickly adjusted and wrecked the crustaceans. Being able to create and understand my characters from the get-go will likely alleviate this, as the demo drops you in part way into the story. That being said, Solasta 2 really pushes players with its difficulty, as each combat encounter in the demo had me on the ropes at different moments. You really have to know and understand your skills and characters to survive.
Heading into the caves, we find Jabori, who’s been captured and being held prisoner by a bunch of lizards called Kobolds, worshipping the resident dragon that comes to feed every year. There are different ways to approach the situation, with wildly different outcomes. Do you sneak in with Daisy, stealing a dragon egg to convince the Kobolds that you also worship the dragon and are friendly? Or do you go in swinging, taking them out?
Once you do get to Jabori, he tells you about looming danger, but first, he needs to be freed. If you took out the Kobolds, it’s as simple as opening his cell. Otherwise, you can go convince them that he’s friendly and needs to be let out. I elected to take the more diplomatic route. Separating Daisy from the rest of the party as she had the highest stealth stats, I managed to sneak over and steal the egg without alerting enemies. Following a few more advantageous dice rolls, I convinced them that we were on their side, freeing Jabori without falling back to combat. Jabori tells the party of a Nexus—a powerful construct that’s at risk.
Every decision feels impactful in Solasta 2.
Now that Jabori’s been rescued, the game presents you with another choice. Do you rest by the fire, waiting for the tide to recede, allowing you to continue to the next destination? Or do you go look for the fisherfolk who fell during tremors? If you rest, you’ll come across bodies littered on the way, too late to save the fisherfolk from an attack. If you go right away, you stand a chance at saving them as you enter combat and fend off crabs attacking them.
Every decision feels impactful in the demo, where even resting to try and regain spells and health can prove to be detrimental. At the same time, charging in with a wounded party may not end well. A short rest can recover some health and abilities, but those also come in limited supply before you need a proper long rest. These choices carry weight and feel meaningful.
After making it to the Nexus and taking out the enemies guarding it, it starts to crackle and explode with energy. The final battle that follows is awesome. Split between trying to use Joralas’ actions to keep the Nexus stable while it destroyed the battlefield, and using the rest of the party to take out an almost overwhelming amount of enemies, it took everything I learned to survive.
The Kobolds I had previously reasoned with came to my aid, turning the battle at a most desperate time. Daisy, the rogue, died while trying to fight off multiple enemies, with Neyra battling valiantly to save her. The Nexus would pop off every turn, streaks of red lightning destroying precious pathways to enemies. It was a huge, epic encounter that ended on a massive cliffhanger.
After finishing the demo, Solasta 2 quickly became one of my most anticipated releases this year. The combat is tight and incredibly deep, demanding the player know their squad well. The story, voice acting, and characters are all fantastic so far, with the cliffhanger successfully drawing me in. The choices all feel impactful and important, each dice roll leaving me cheering with success or sulking with disappointment. If Solasta 2, which is currently planned to launch this year into Early Access, can manage to stick the landing, it could truly be the next great tactical RPG.
Solasta 2’s demo launches on Steam on February 24th as part of Steam Next Fest.
