VED review

It seems like every month players are treated to another unique RPG adventure. Whether it's like a big franchise Dragon Age Or like a brand new IP Black Myth: WukongPlayers have enjoyed a variety of experiences. This month, one such adventure comes in the form of a hand-drawn RPG VED. The first game from Lithuanian developer Karaclan, VED promises to provide a magic-filled story for players to sink their teeth into. And while the game's art style may be a sight to behold, almost everything about the experience falls flat.

VED Puts players in the shoes of a young hero named Cyrus who discovers he has powerful magical abilities. Because of this, he quickly becomes embroiled in a wild story that sees him master his abilities, face all kinds of powerful enemies and save the world. All of that leads to a game that has some exciting combat encounters and some unique mechanics, but the actual story and writing often feels weak, which ultimately makes for a rather forgettable experience.

The world of Vedas is beautifully unique

It is said, VED Not all bad. The story can be weak, but the beauty of the game and the combat can be very exciting. The entire experience is presented through a beautiful hand-drawn art style. Everything looks like a painting, the characters are moving and acting like art in a museum. This makes for a truly amazing scene that players can get lost watching for hours on end.

If players get bored looking at the same world, there are actually two completely different worlds with their own unique scenery. A micropolis is a dirty and scary city, full of gangs, warring factions and villainous characters. Another appears whenever Cyrus teleports, and is filled with fantastic creatures and magical floating islands. Both do a great job of captivating players VEDFighting makes things better.

Fighting VED can be challenging and fun

Combat is a standout here, which is good, since players will fight a lot of things during their adventure. When they arrive on the mysterious floating island world, they must first equip themselves with powerful abilities, which are unlocked by upgrading the cute troglodyte village. Once they are happy with their loadout, they must head out to discover the many secrets of this land. To do this, they teleport between different islands, each with a new threat or scenario to attend to.

Some islands have friendly NPCs to meet, while others have random events that require players to roll a D20. Depending on what they do, they often earn buffs or debuffs as they run through the magical land. Then, if they are brave enough, they can take on one of the many enemies dotting these islands. If they are unable to defeat the threat, they return to the village and have to do it all over again. But luckily, the islands they've already cleared are clear.

At the start of each combat encounter, players are able to select one of three buffs or debuffs to apply to an enemy. Depending on what the buff is, they will be rewarded with more energy, which works VEDcurrency of If they feel it will be too challenging, they can even skip it as they are completely optional. They will lose the bonus energy, but will still be awarded the standard amount if they win.

The combat itself is turn-based, but with a few twists. Players must select their attack, choose where they want to hit the creature, and hope the creature doesn't take them out first. However, instead of having a set of attacks they can always choose from, the player's available moves are determined by where Cyrus is standing. The heat bar is divided into four sections, each section representing a different location on the battlefield. Some attacks move the player, others keep them stationary, and it's planned around them.

VED's story and writing leave a lot to be desired

In any story-driven RPG, the actual story needs to be exciting. Players don't want to settle for a bland or boring story, they want the dialogue to feel natural, and they want the story to make sense. with VEDIt feels like Karaclan is struggling to deliver on all those fronts. So, instead of blowing players away with a great adventure, it mostly falls flat.

The story follows a young boy named Cyrus, who has the power to teleport. When he teleports, he is brought to a magical floating island world. Outside of this world, he must traverse the city of Micropolis and juggle several factions trying to make their mark on its world. Because of this, every decision the players make matters, explaining at the end of each chapter what choices they made and what decisions they left behind.

It should make for an interesting story, but nothing about it feels natural. The dialogue seems to flow strangely, it doesn't sound like anyone is talking. Characters speak in run-on sentences, they end conversations abruptly, there are too many exposition dumps, and the script looks like it's in dire need of editing. Caraclan said that the whole thing was translated into English, and that it probably resulted in some awkward dialogue, a fact that the whole story detracts from the overall experience.

With this V. VEDThe voice acting is a bit stiff. The dialogue probably doesn't help, but more often than not, it feels like you're reading a script rather than speaking the words. This can really hinder the immersion of the game, and often it can be a bit overwhelming to listen to. Of course, not every game needs award-winning voice acting, but it would have been nice if these characters were a little stronger.

VED It's far from a perfect game, but it does have some redeeming qualities. The hand-drawn art style is amazing to look at, showcasing just how powerful this game can be. Additionally, combat is often exciting, because if players aren't careful, things can quickly go awry. However, the story and dialogue have left the experience far behind. And ultimately, it leads to a very poor experience overall.

VED Available now for PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.