It seems like every month players are treated to another unique RPG adventure. Whether that be in a massive franchise such as Dragon Age or a brand-new IP like Black Myth: Wukong, players have enjoyed a wide variety of experiences. This month, one such adventure comes in the form of the hand-drawn RPG VED. The first game from Lithuanian developers Karaclan, VED promises to deliver 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 else 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 is quickly embroiled in a wild story that sees him master his abilities, take on all sorts of powerful foes, and hopefully save the world. All of that leads to a game that has some thrilling combat encounters and a couple of unique mechanics, but the actual story and writing feel mostly lackluster, which ultimately makes for a rather forgettable experience.

Related
Upcoming Role-Playing Games People Are Excited For

While plenty of RPGs have been announced for 2025 and beyond, these titles are especially exciting.

4

VED's World is Beautifully Unique

That being said, VED is not all bad. The story may be lackluster, but the game's aesthetic and combat can be pretty thrilling. The entire experience is presented through a beautiful hand-drawn art style. Everything looks like it is a painting, with the characters moving and acting like art in a museum. It makes for a truly wonderful sight that players may get lost staring at for hours on end.

If players get bored staring at one world, there are actually two completely different worlds with their own unique visuals. One is the dirty and gritty city of Micropolis, filled to the brim with gangs, warring factions, and villainous-looking characters. The other appears whenever Cyrus teleports, and is filled with fantastic creatures and magical floating islands. Both do a great job of captivating players, with VED's combat making things even better.

VED's Combat Can be Challenging Fun

VED combat

The combat is a standout here, which is good, as players will be fighting a lot of things during their adventure. When they arrive in the mysterious floating island world, they must first equip themselves with powerful abilities, which are unlocked by upgrading a cute Troglodyte village. Once they are happy with their loadout, they must head out to discover this land's many secrets. To do this, they teleport between the various islands, with each one having a new threat or scenario to partake in.

Some islands have friendly NPCs to meet, while others have random events that require players to roll a D20. Depending upon what they do, they often earn buffs or debuffs during that 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 go back to the village and must do it all over again. But luckily, the islands they have already cleared remain clear.

At the start of each combat encounter, players are able to select one of three buffs or debuffs to apply to the enemy. Depending upon what the buff is, they will be rewarded with more energy, which acts as VED's currency. If they think it will be too challenging, they can also skip these as they are entirely optional. They will lose out on the bonus energy, but still be rewarded 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 that the creature does not take them out first. However, instead of just having a set of attacks they can always choose from, the player's available moves are determined by where Cyrus is standing. The hot bar is split up into four parts, with each part representing a different spot on the battlefield. Some attacks move the player, others keep them stationary, and it is up to them to plan around this.

VED's Story and Writing Leaves Much to Be Desired

In any story-driven RPG, the actual story needs to be exciting. Players do not want to sit through a bland or uninteresting story, they want the dialogue to feel natural, and they want the narrative to make sense. With VED, it feels like Karaclan is struggling to deliver on almost all of those fronts. So, instead of blowing players away with a fantastic 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 the magical floating island world. Outside this world, he must traverse the city of Micropolis and juggle its many factions seeking to make their mark on its world. Because of this, every decision players make matters, with the end of each chapter telling them what they chose and decisions that they skipped out on.

That should make for an intriguing tale, yet nothing about it feels natural. The dialogue seems to flow weirdly, with it not sounding like how someone would talk. Characters speak in run-on sentences, they end conversations abruptly, there are many exposition dumps, and the script seems like it desperately needs edits. Karaclan has said that the entire thing was translated into English, and while that likely resulted in some of the awkward dialogue, the fact the entire story is like this dampens the overall experience.

Along with that, VED's voice acting is a bit rough. The dialogue probably does not help, but many times, it feels like a script is being read rather than words being spoken. That can really hold back the game's immersion, and oftentimes, it can get a bit aggravating to listen to. Of course, not every game needs award-winning voice acting, but it would have been nice if these characters were a bit stronger.

VED is far from a perfect game, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. The hand-drawn art style is wonderful to look at, showcasing how strong this game could be. Additionally, the combat is often thrilling, because if players are not careful, then things can quickly fall apart. However, the story and the dialogue hold the experience back considerably. And ultimately, it leads to a pretty lackluster experience overall.

VED Tag Page Cover Art

Your Rating

5/10
VED

Reviewed on PC

Released
November 14, 2024
Developer(s)
Karaclan
Pros & Cons
  • Thrilling turn-based combat
  • Beautiful hand-drawn art style
  • Dialogue doesn't feel natural
  • Voice acting is rough at times
  • Story leaves much to be desired

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