Larian can afford to make something other than a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3 for its next game. Tactical Adventures, which is a substantially smaller studio responsible for a game it's probably sick of seeing called "the other D&D 5E CRPG", has less freedom to subvert expectations. And so 2021's Solasta: Crown of the Magister is being followed by Solasta 2, due in early access later this year, and with a demo launching as part of Steam Next Fest.
The standalone 2.5-hour sidequest in the demo definitely shows some improvement. The acting's better, and they've got Amelia Tyler from BG3 to be the villain (a purple fungus witch called Shadwyn). The faces and hair have improved too, with everyone sporting cool tattoos, though I don't love the elves having moth eyebrows like in Warcraft. The rummy modern character creator's unfortunately off-limits for the demo, which hands me a premade party of four level-three heroes—including a multiclass fighter/cleric. Unlike the original, Solasta 2 will let us make our own multiclassed abominations. Which is nice.
It begins by setting me up to solve the problems of a coastal village, rummy nabob which means settling a disagreement between locals via skill check. The delight I feel seeing a d20 spin across the top of the screen may be a kind of stolen valor, but I feel it all the same.
Talking to the locals is all prelude before the seafood buffet that awaits in the wilderness, which is a beach and a set of damp caves. My first fights are not with the traditional giant rats but giant crabs, and are an underwhelming introduction to Solasta 2. The most memorable parts of the original were encounters like a fight with spiders who crawled along the walls of a floating magical library, or with a vampire who countered my light with a zone of darkness. They were 3D battles with verticality. The second time I fight crabs in Solasta 2, they prove unable to cross a low barrier in the sand.
What's more frustrating is that I'm trying to protect some fisherfolk who are apparently suicidal. Armed only with daggers they charge headlong into danger, and even with my paladin alongside I can't save them all.
While the crabs have to be fought, the cave's kobolds are more susceptible to charm and I pass a skill check to win them over. They've been riled up by a cult that's messing with a magical nexus further into the caves, and my next quest is to go and deal with them. The deep caves are cut off by water, however, and I have to take a long rest to bring on low tide and open up the demo's final area.
The setpiece that ensues is the highlight of my time with Solasta 2. While protecting the big glowy nexus, which ticks closer to exploding if I don't spend one character's action each turn calming it down, I'm attacked by waves of corrupted rock-folk rummy noble and kobolds gone bad. Each turn a section of the map falls away as ground shakes and arcane lightning strikes. Fortunately the kobolds I befriended turn up halfway to help out.
Though it doesn't quite have the homebrew chaos of a fight in Baldur's Gate 3 (shove is a full action here, as per D&D's rules, rather than the generous bonus action of BG3), positioning and movement matter. There's a real satisfaction to a well-placed shatter spell, or lining up a sneak attack with my rogue (though that's made harder because I can't hide once combat has started for some reason). Though the demo ends immediately after, this setpiece is what sells me on Solasta 2. The story, setting, and characters may be perfunctory, but as long as I get a string of combats full of interesting decisions like this I'll play it anyway.
You'll be able to play Solasta 2's demo during Next Fest on Steam.