Baldur's Gate 3 vs Solasta 2

Since its release in Early Access, Solasta 2 has drawn comparisons to Baldur's Gate 3. The game's fantasy CRPG world is heavily inspired by Dungeons and Dragons using its SRD 5.2 rules, and it might just be the tonic for those of you, like many of us at TheGamer, who have completed Larian's Classic.

Sharing many similarities with the games, including actress Devorah Wilde (Lae'Zel in Baldur's Gate 3), we decided to see how they compared during their first week in Early Access. And while Baldur's Gate 3 is the clear winner, there are promising signs for Solasta 2.

Comparison of Baldur's Gate 3 and Solasta 2's first early access week

Overlaid on an elven mage from Solasta 2 Blain Zoe's image and character creation.

Before I begin, it's worth noting that Baldur's Gate has a history. The first game, developed by the respected BioWare, was released in 1998, and it built a cult following among PC gamers. This is the reason why it is as successful as it is today. By comparison, the first Solasta game only started in 2021. But I digress. First, let's look at the player numbers:

	Baldur's Gate 3	Solasta 2
Day 1	68,772	4,953
Day 2	73,980	3,508
Day 3	66,557	3,649
Day 4	58,119	3,419
Day 5	65,507	1,984
Day 6	63,590	1,493
Day 7	49,292	1,301

Clearly, if it's a competition, there's only one winner here, with Baldur's Gate 3 pulling in more than 10 times the number of players that Solasta 2 did. This is where the history of Baldur's Gate helps. There was great anticipation surrounding the third title, so naturally, thousands jumped on the release.

Solasta 2's launch numbers are nothing to sniff at, though. While they've denied being too quick, the Solasta 2 team has promised continuous improvements and released a roadmap that stretches to 2026 and beyond. There is hope that it will help maintain its existing player count while reaching a wider audience.

Reviews, while still showing a bit of a gulf, are very close.

	Baldur's Gate 3 positive reviews	BG3 negative review	BG3 Positive %	Solasta 2 positive reviews	Solasta 2 negative reviews	Solasta 2 net positive reviews
Day 1	1,823	434	81 percent	177	95	65 percent
Day 2	2,976	627	83 percent	314	128	71 percent
Day 3	2,165	377	85 percent	301	89	77 percent
Day 4	1,572	247	86 percent	226	46	83 percent
Day 5	1,410	207	87 percent	93	23	80 percent
Day 6	1,442	220	87 percent	96	28	77 percent
Day 7	1,081	100	92 percent	94	14	87 percent
Overall	12,469	2,212	85 percent	1,301	423	75 percent

Baldur's Gate 3's opening week reviews were strong. It received more than 12,000, 85 percent of which were positive.

Since Solasta 2 has far fewer players than Baldur's Gate 3, it has received lower reviews. But there it is something Equality In its first week, Solasta received 75 percent positive reviews, which is a solid performance.

A deeper dive into the reviews shows that comparisons between the two games are everywhere. One positive review said, “Does it have issues? Yes, and so did BG3 when it was released in Early Access,” while a second added, “It's like the love child of Solasta 1 and BG3.”

It's too early to tell if Solasta 2 will find anything close to the success of Baldur's Gate 3, but if it can gain a little traction, the signs are positive.