I'm genuinely baffled by people who compare these two games.
Solasta is a low budget, grid and turn based strategy game with light roleplay elements
BG3 is a big budget/triple AAA cinematic rpg, albeit with turn based combat
This isn't to disparage one or praise the other. It is just to point out the differences. BG is like Pathfinder, Solasta is like Xcom. That should be blatantly obvious to anyone who has even watched a video of both. They differ vastly in their scope, ambition, core market and most importantly basic design philosophy. Like Pathfinder, all the dice rolling is done behind the scenes and the result is depicted realistically and cinematically in BG3. The dice roll is displayed prominently in Solasta, all the information is available to the player. This isn't just for artistic reasons, it is because both game treat information differently.
In the video linked when smite applies a dialogue box appears. It is addressed to the player. There is no pretence that this is a realistic action by the character. It is an option for the player to choose.
How many times have you seen such a dialogue box in BG? Or any other cinematic rpg for that matter. It's rare, because it breaks immersion. It's very common in strategy or tactical games. RPG's are controlled almost entirely by context dependent menus and hotbars.
I just wonder how people asking for reactions would expect them to be depicted graphically? How do you know when to cast shield if you can't see the dice roll? How do you counterspell when the act of casting a spell and its effect are depicted as almost instantaneous like in BG3? And featherfall, how would that even work as a reaction graphically? In Solasta, if you don't tick the option to have a timer for reactions, the game pauses until you click yes or no. Can you really see Gale, having been pushed off a cliff, frozen in time as he decides whether to cast the spell? That happened to me once with featherfall in Solasta. Time just stopped as I answered the phone.
Genuinely curious. I like both and can appreciate both for the different type of games they clearly are. Anyone that is hoping for BG3 to turn into Solasta, though, is probably in for a sore disappointment.
