Chris InglisThe tactical brilliance of 2021’s Solasta: Crown of the Magister was a fantastic introduction for me into playing a proper tabletop RPG in video game form. Having now spent some time with the early access build of Solasta II, which officially launched on March 13, 2026, it’s clear that developer Tactical Adventures and publisher Kepler Interactive have listened to player feedback as well as taking the leap to Unreal Engine 5 with all the bells and whistles. While we are currently in the Early Access phase, the team has already confirmed that a full 1.0 release is targeted for early 2027, which will also see the game make the jump to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The story centres around four adopted Colwall siblings who are drawn back to their childhood home following their mother’s mysterious death. Alongside their elder siblings, Rickard and Deorcas, they must navigate loyalties strained by grief, and their faith tested by darkness. You start the journey by building your full party of four, choosing from the six initial classes of Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Paladin. There are also 13 different subclasses, and each feels distinct and highly customisable, but you can also choose from some preset characters.
Visually, the shift to UE5 has turned Neokos into a stunning, mana-infused landscape that is much more open than the many narrow corridors of the first game. My only gripe is in some of the cutscenes and the character facial/head animations. There is some occasional lip-syncing lag and speckly hair in certain lighting, but these are easily overlooked by the gripping story. The leap in quality also extends to the gameplay systems, which now fully utilises the 2024 D&D 5.2 Ruleset (SRD 5.2). Your character’s background (like Soldier or Sage) now gives you specific ability score boosts and an Origin Feat at Level 1, making your character’s history feel mechanically relevant. In addition, the rules for traveling and exploration were formalised, which matches perfectly with Solasta II’s new hex-based world map.
Navigating this hex map requires careful management of your Movement Points (MP). Each day, your party has 8 regular moves—typical day travel—before they need to set up a Long Rest to recover and prevent exhaustion. If you’re in a hurry, you can push for 4 “Forced March” moves into the night. It’s a high-risk gamble; night travel significantly increases your chance of dangerous ambushes and strains your party’s resources. Hidden encounters, timed events, unmarked areas and some of the toughest combat clashes via random elite boss spawns are all only ever one hex away from being discovered. This was reminiscent of the day/night risks when playing the original Baldur’s Gate 1 which was great nostalgia.
When you do eventually reach the battlefield, the turn-based combat remains the undisputed king of the genre. The implementation of Weapon Mastery from the 5.2 ruleset is a gamechanger for martial classes, allowing you to use tactical manoeuvres like Topple or Sap with every strike. It’s a system that thrives on the luck of the draw, with many dice rolls determining your fate, but the strategic layer of verticality and lighting remains as sharp as ever. The mystery of the Shadwyn threat provides a compelling breadcrumb trail that kept me pushing through the initial 10-15 hours which takes your party to level 4 within Act 1 of the story.
One of the most surprising yet welcome upgrades is the sheer volume of cinematic cutscenes. By recruiting industry royalty like Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI), Devora Wilde, and Amelia Tyler (Baldur’s Gate 3), Tactical Adventures has added a layer of emotional gravity that elevates the experience well above the first game. These performances bring a genuine soul to the Colwall siblings, and while the increased frequency of cutscenes does slow the pace of the game compared to the original, it does so in a way that fostered total immersion for me.
Looking ahead, the Early Access roadmap is ambitious and transparent. Tactical Adventures has scheduled a major Brotherhood update for Q3 2026, which will finally introduce Online Co-op Multiplayer—a feature that was a staple of the first game’s longevity. This will be followed in Q4 2026 by the Legacy update, which expands the story into Act 2, increases the level cap to 6, and introduces a comprehensive gear-crafting system. They are also planning to drip-feed more subclasses and ancestries throughout the year, ensuring that the version we see today is only the foundation for a much larger experience.
While there is still some Early Access haze to clear up, the foundation here is solid and exciting. Solasta II is a premium tactical experience that has stepped up the graphics and tactical turn-based combat from the original. You can follow the early access updates directly on the Solasta II Steam Page or through the Tactical Adventures Dev Hub.
This review utilised a key provided by Tinsley PR and Solasta II is out now on Steam early access with a planned v1.0 launch in 2027 alongside PlayStation and Xbox launches.
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