This hand-drawn Lithuania developed RPG commences in a magical realm full of floating platforms, giant mushrooms, and demonic monsters. Magic users known as Veds protect this world, guided by mystical creatures and a powerful witch. No sooner than being introduced to this fantasy setting, we’re flung into the near future where a shady corporation is making their presence known. During this tutorial phase, we also meet protagonist Cyrus, a typically lazy teenager, who’s partially sighted. They’ve recently discovered the ability to teleport to the magical world, blessing them with vision and a newfound sense of purpose. Little do they know that they’re about to change the destinies of both this realm and the real world.
VED is a short, especially for genre standards, story driven adventure that features a mixture of decision making, situations with outcomes relying on D20 dice rolls, and turn-based combat. Navigation is handled entirely by button prompts, with Cyrus teleporting from one floating platform to the next to fight monsters, explore surroundings, and converse with peculiar creatures. Following this branching path will eventually lead to a portal to the real world, which is where most decision making takes place during dialogue scenes, with Cyrus soon making friends with other magic users living nearby. Character introductions are brief and mostly take place not long after the tutorial, leading to a hectic opening. It’s also during the first couple of chapters that Cyrus meets a potential love interest, in addition to being recruited by the aforementioned corporation, known as Impulse. They’re also experimenting with magic, but on a less virtuous scale, having already accumulated relics from the alternative world.
It soon transpires that a three-way battle for control is raging, with Cyrus caught in the middle. The remaining Ved wishes for him to become a guardian of the magical realm, Impulse are looking to create a magical barrier to shield the world from harm, and a ragtag bunch of sorcerers led by one ‘Freddy Fire Hands’ want to perform a ritual to bring magic into the real world. When the story begins to conclude, with the runtime being around three hours, you’re going to need to start thinking about who to side with – but not before becoming reasonably acquainted with each faction, leading to more than a few precarious situations.
The combat system is the meat of the package, with each battle lasting a couple of minutes. You’re given four AP per turn with most attacks and defensive manoeuvres costing 1-2 AP, thus allowing you to attack, defend, and heal within the same turn. It differs quite a bit from traditional RPGs in that the skills alter depending on where you’re standing, with Cyrus able to stand in four different locations by selecting certain attacks. Back at the floating island base, which is where magical structures can be built to gain new skills, it’s possible to assign abilities to different slots, forming a row along the bottom of the screen. It’s wise to have a mix of offence and defence for each of the four positions Cyrus can move into. Although there’s no inventory or an XP system, you do gain more HP periodically along with a wider range of attacks, some of which can harm multiple enemies at once. While some attacks are quite flashy, the 2D sprites fail to convey might and impact.
Enemies take the form of mechanical dragons, knights with magical shields, tree spirits, hydras with reproducing heads, and insects that multiply. Battles against larger foes can take one or two attempts, and many enemies can summon helpers that block damage. I hit a difficulty spike halfway through, and with no way to grind for XP, I felt that luck played a part in eventually succeeding. Upon defeat in battle you’re simply placed back at the start of a stage and can continue your way through, choosing a different route. This keeps frustration levels low. Often, you’ll come across a chest or a creature in need, and these will bestow either a curse or blessing for your next fight. You can also choose to make battles harder or easier, altering the amount of energy received from each battle. There’s an in-game currency for the real world too which is largely redundant and mostly storyline related. It isn’t as if there are stores where you can purchase new items and equipment.
VED is pretty stripped back as the genre goes; it mostly boils down to making decisions, choosing paths through a stage, watching brief cut-scenes, and engaging in the moderately compelling turn-based battles. The hand-drawn visuals are a mixed bag, with the backdrops in the fantasy realm being quite alluring while the cut-scenes have a rough sketchbook look. While most characters are animated, it’s far from flamboyant – flapping lips matched with expressionless faces, accompanied by the occasional hand gesture or such. The music isn’t much to write about either, lacking a rousting battle theme. Voice acting is above average but hoaky with it. There’s a narrator that’s rarely used, and at one point Cyrus’ sword starts talking – only to never speak again. It’s as if the developers couldn’t agree on creating something serious or light-hearted, as a couple of the fantasy characters are also unabashedly twee.
While this may sound quite damning, VED is surprisingly accessible and easy going – something which counts for much of its appeal. The UI is a breeze to navigate, with large text and clearly defined icons. It also helps that this isn’t a slow burner of an RPG; it’s remarkably fast paced, with chapters flying by. The fantasy realms don’t change a great deal from one visit to the next, but each chapter expands the story significantly upon returning to the real world. And then, just a few hours after it began, VED is over. With multiple endings to see, there is potential for another playthrough, and the story is just about interesting enough to justify this. As the whole experience is structured around its multiple outcomes, choices carry a lot of weight.
VED is a unique proposition for RPG fans and adventurers alike, but that uniqueness comes at a cost. It has level layouts that closer resemble flowcharts, choices dependant on dice rolls and an odd lack of character development, ultimately making for an experience limited in what it can offer outside of its dual-world storyline and oddball cast. If you’re a fan of turn-based combat, there’s just enough here to swing VED’s odds in your favour as long as you know what you’re getting into. We’re all for shorter gaming experiences, but the only thing given enough time to grow here are the giant mushrooms adorning the fantasy backdrops.
Karaclan’s VED is out 14th November on all formats. Published by Fulqrum. A physical release is due later this month.