'm not gonna lie here. But Solasta was refreshing to play in that you don't need to stack a billion buffs and attack bonus on top of the base attack bonus, just in order you can hit more powerful enemies later on. My own party at the end of each Solasta campaign in terms of AC was in the 20s -- the same goes for the most powerful enemies. Naturally, that's only a part of D&D 5e (the binded accuracy part), though.
Even on the computer, where you don't need to do everything "manually", I find the lower level play, at least in those terms, to be more enjoyable. But then you're also managing a full party. Not just a character you role-play. It's not the buffing per se, it's minimal buffs and bonus that need to be stacked on top of each other to eventually do something useful.
Soooo...playing Pathfinder last night reminded me of the very points your making.
Pathfinder is D&D when the patent ran out and an upstart basically branched away from official D&D.
Pathfinder continues to stack more and more complexities, while WOTC greatly simplified things by 5e. BG2 had way more complexity for classes (Larian's brains would explode) than the BG3 erra. Both BG3 and Solasta are based on 5e, which is why they are much better suited for implementation comparisons.
Pathfinder had to make its own lore, while BG3 has a license that gives them access to the entire history of Faerun...poor Solasta is working with official D&D but didn't get the license that let them use all the story lore...wa wa wa (game show looser sound). Larian wins here.
Pathfinder table top was similar to 5e tabletop. Pathfinder does let you easily create very unique characters, but yes, the complexities are crazy in PF. It explains why the number one mod is a buff manager, that auto-casts all the necessary buffs you need for serious encounters. Solasta (witch started with like a quarter million dollar budget) manages 5e far better than Larian. In a three way contest, Solasta wins...you take the hammer and hit the nail...blink blink blink. How many Larian coders does it take to screw in a light bulb?
In a three way comparison, Larian stomps the other two in making a game that isn't so cartoon-like. Envisions big Ash stepping on a bunch of little Ashes..."London bridge is falling down...". BG3 is a beautifully crafted game. The characters, whether you love 'em or hate 'em are much more life-like. Larian completely out did themselves here.
Now in a two way comparison between Larian and BioWare, BioWare trounces Larian in creating an immersive Boulder's Gate setting in a world that feels alive and lived in. In the original BG setting, you step into a world with an Inn ("...as clean as an Elvin arse"), music, hustle n bustle, with no covid-era drama and brokeness...a place you would like to be.
~suddenly your thrust into an adventure with day night, weather, interesting people, and the urge to explore.
For all its beauty, BG3 completely misses this mark.
