Solasta 2 was recently announced just during this year’s TGA. and this announcement came up as a pleasant surprise to fans of the original game and fans of the CRPG genre, mostly because there was next to no news about the development of the game, with only teaser images and some articles talking about what comes next for Tactical Adventures, and even then nothing was ever confirmed so you’re able to understand the shock fans had when the trailer dropped.
For those who aren’t familiar with Solasta 2, Solasta 2 is a sequel to Solasta: Crown of the Magister, a CRPG with turn-based combat based on Dungeons & Dragons. It also uses the rules of the 5th edition of D&D faithfully. In the original game, you get to create a party of four characters from scratch, with their characters' races, classes, and personalities influencing interactions and story outcomes which made things a lot of fun. Its turn-based combat emphasizes tactical depth, using verticality, terrain and even lighting for strategic advantages. Alongside exploration and dungeon crawling, the game features a Dungeon Maker tool that allows players to create and share custom campaigns. The original game also has a thriving community where players get to share their campaigns and a modding community that regularly pushes out QoL mods to make the game a bit better. It’s a bit of a niche game, but if all the things I’ve said earlier sound interesting to you, then you’re in luck. In this article, we’ll be talking about Solasta 2 and the swathe of changes the sequel has in store for you.
Solasta 2 - What We Can Expect From The Sequel
One of the biggest changes you can expect from the upcoming Solasta sequel is that it is shifting from Unity to Unreal Engine 5. This switch is expected to bring some major visual and technical changes to the game especially coming from Unity, including better graphics and supposedly smoother gameplay. However, Unreal Engine 5 is pretty known for its performance issues on lower-end systems, so I do have a bit of concern about how well it will run on weaker gaming setups. I know the graphics change is one of the most important changes in the sequel because the original game took a lot of flak with how the graphics looked severely outdated for a 2020 game and that’s something a lot of players have complained about so the fact that they bumped up the graphics immensely must mean they don’t want a repeat of what previously happened and that they actually really do care about player feedback.
The sequel takes players to a brand-new continent called Neokos, set about 15 years after the Palace of Ice DLC from the first game. You’ll put together a party of four adventurers and guide them to the distant island of Neokos to take on a quest tied to their family legacy. With the ancient and mysterious Shadwyn threatening to spread corruption, it’s up to you to decide how to push back against the danger. Years after the Sorak menace was defeated, a fresh group of heroes heads into unfamiliar territory, looking for redemption and answers.
One of the most anticipated features is the inclusion of multiclassing right from the start, removing the need to rely on mods to finally have this option. The game will also stick to the 2014 D&D 5E ruleset instead of the 2024 SRD. I also think this is a good move because one of the original game’s biggest strengths is its faithful devotion to the 5e ruleset, which actually does a great job of capturing the feel of a tabletop experience. the developers are also aiming to launch with all 12 core D&D classes, with each class featuring two subclasses instead of four. That said, the transition to a new engine and the team’s relatively small size might made things a bit too hard which is why they maintained the subclasses to just two per class. I’m hoping they add more post launch. The main quest will be more dynamic this time, offering multiple endings shaped by your faction choices, which adds replayability while keeping the story-driven focus intact.
One of the most welcomed upgrades is that the sequel will be fully voice-acted, with enhanced facial and body animations to make characters feel more lifelike. The team is reportedly working with a larger budget for voice actors compared to the first game, which should improve the overall experience and make things a bit more immersive. Character models will also receive a noticeable upgrade, with more detailed faces and better reflection of their equipped clothing and armor. And thanks to Unreal Engine 5, players can just expect significant improvements in character visuals overall. On the customization side of the game, the personality system is being reworked to prioritize depth over variety, removing it from the traditional alignment systems. Crafting will also make a return but in a more efficient and streamlined form, though how these improvements will be hasn’t been fully explained yet. Exploration is also seeing some improvements, with more freedom to travel across overland maps instead of just sticking to roads. Players can also expect the sequel to have more skill checks, improved enemy AI, and better item sorting for inventory management.
The sequel won’t have original Solasta-specific classes or couch co-op at launch, but it’s pretty likely that more classes will be added later as DLC, just like with the first game. There’s also no plan for a Dungeon Master mode. The developers have made it clear they’re not trying to turn Solasta into a virtual tabletop (VTT) alternative, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re better off sticking with a dedicated VTT. Unlike the original game, the sequel isn’t using Kickstarter for funding; the team plans to save crowdfunding for their other projects later on. Early Access will also be open to a wider audience beyond just pre-orders, making the game more accessible while giving the devs the chance to gather feedback. The timeline for Early Access is still a bit unclear, but they’ve confirmed it’ll start sometime in 2025. On the plus side, a playable demo is expected around February 2025.
Mod support is a bit up in the air at the moment because of the switch to Unreal Engine 5, and while the team wants to include a dungeon maker, it’s probably not going to be ready at launch. The good news though is that it could still show up later as part of post-launch updates. I guess the devs just have to get used to the new engine soon before we can expect a bulk of new features. Solasta 2 is set to launch on PC first, with next-gen consoles likely following afterward. They’re also targeting Steam Deck compatibility as the minimum standard for performance. It has also been confirmed that they won’t be releasing on Mac.
Some gameplay tweaks are also on the way, including a reworked night-and-day cycle to improve some gameplay functionality and a max level cap of around 10 to 12. The devs are also aiming to have the overall game length to be about the same as the original game’s length, not counting any DLC. They are also trying to figure out some ways to make fan translation support much easier. And the devs are considering a season pass system that would align with Steam’s refund policies, since it’s been said that devs have to release all promised DLCs then consumers can ask for a partial refund. While they haven’t locked in on console plans yet, gamepad support is a priority for the PC release. The demo will initially be available in English, and they’re making sure multiclassing is included from the start.
Lastly, the team has grown to 35 members, so you can expect more hands working on the game to make sure it comes out the way the devs want it to be. This also allows for a more community-driven development process where the devs could take player feedback and make adjustments whenever necessary. And I’m not just talking about early access here. They’re planning biweekly Twitch streams on Fridays at 9 PM PST to keep fans in the loop. The forum will reportedly stay dead though because bots have made moderation a pain to do. It’s actually really weird that there are bots in those forums in the first place. These probably aren’t all the updates that you can expect in the game, but it does look like a huge chunk of it. I’m hedging my bets on the fact that there’s still more to come, but maybe that’s just me. We’ll probably get more news from their Twitch steams so if you’re following the game, be sure to check them out.
Solasta 2 - What I Want To See From The Sequel
Here’s a wishlist of things I’d honestly love to see in Solasta 2, it would be really cool if these were included sometime after launch, or maybe they could make the adjustments before launch.
Firstly, party dynamics would be a fantastic addition. Letting the protagonists build friendships or rivalry relationships could bring some much-needed party drama and character development. I’d love to see plots and relationships within the party evolve alongside the main story and interactions with NPCs just not romance. On a related note, quests and exploration could also lead to new conversations with party members, not just influencing how much they like me based on dialogue choices.
The ability to respec characters without having to rely on mods would be a huge quality-of-life improvement. While Solasta shines in combat, there’s still plenty of room to enhance the non-combat aspects, like exploration and social interactions. Maybe having deeper NPC dialogues and having neutral and evil story paths could add more depth and replayability, and it lets players approach the game with different perspectives.
Another big wish is for better tools to create custom adventures. One of the best parts of Solasta is its “D&D Maker” aspect. Improving the adventure creation tools and making it easier to share and access community content would help keep the game alive for years.
A higher level cap would be great, as will new playable races and subraces. Adding some unique, homebrew races specific to Solasta could give the sequel a fresh touch. Also, item progression could use some balancing since the first game has, at some times felt unfair, with certain characters missing out on good weapon and armor upgrades. More even access to powerful gear and a greater variety of Wondrous Items would definitely help make things better. It’d be great if every character had a fair shot at acquiring powerful gear, and I hope they balance this out in Solasta 2.
When it comes to classes, Solasta did a great job adapting the 5e ruleset, but it wasn’t perfectly balanced just like 5e itself. If they incorporate some of the updated 2024 rules they hinted at last year, it could fix a lot of those balance issues. Rebalancing subclasses would also go a long way in making all builds feel more viable.
More customization options would be welcome too. Additional voice choices during character creation and more subraces for Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, and Gnomes could help players feel more connected to their characters. With all these tweaks and additions, the sequel could potentially be even better than the first game!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m really impressed with the changes coming to the sequel. They’ve tackled a lot of the issues the first game had. I’m still hoping they’ll do some class rebalancing as well. It would be great if they could include the Dungeon Maker, but I understand the challenges of working with Unreal Engine 5. While it’s often praised for being easy to start with, mastering it is a whole different story, so it makes sense that some features from the original game can’t carry over just yet. Though I’m just glad that they haven’t fully ruled it out just yet. Fingers crossed that it’ll be added as some sort of update to the game once they’ve figured out how to do it.
With all that said, I’m also glad that the developers provided a rough timeline. Knowing that a demo is coming soon in February 2025 and that regular updates will be shared via their Twitch streams gives us something to look forward to. What do you all think about the game so far? Are there any additions or changes you’re hoping to see in the sequel? Let us know in the comments!
