Wish you could play tabletop Dungeons & Dragons but have no friends? Solasta: Crown of the Magister offers a solution
Summary
No doubt a result of lockdown-induced cabin fever, I found myself recently pining for those halcyon days of ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws but faced one insurmountable obstacle – I have no friends, and even if I did, I wouldnt be able to see them to organise a new campaign because of the will-they-wont-they coronavirus restrictions. Dungeons & Dragons video games are nothing new, but Bioware and Black Isles entries (Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights) took place in the proprietary Forgotten Realms campaign setting (Faerûn) and, though built on the rulesets of the time, dice rolls were simulated in the background. Tactical Adventures arent trying to revolutionise high fantasy, nor should they, but heres a quick summary: Thousands of years ago a wealthy elven empire, Manacalon, dominated – right up until a mysterious rift opened and humans poured through from the planet Tirmar (as far as I can tell), pursued by the reptilian Sorr-Akkath. You have to hand it to the 15-strong development team: character models might be dated, but the environments are pretty and functional; the writing is nothing mind-blowing and the voice acting amateurish, but theyre still able to raise a smile; the UI is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. Solasta does not quite reach the heights of Larians genre masterpiece, Divinity: Original Sin 2, but its a perfect place to rest a weary head while we wait for the Belgian studios take on the Forgotten Realms with Baldurs Gate 3.