Ved

VED is full of gorgeous graphics and hosts a decent combat system, even if its story and characters do not come together in a satisfying manner.

VED may have a unique hand-drawn art style and challenging combat mechanics, but the story and writing leave much to be desired.

When thinking back on my experience as a whole with VED, I just feel hollow and confused.

If you're willing to get into the turn-based RPG combat of VED, it isn't bad. But because of the relatively slow action sequences and some of the script and voice directing choices, it never really pulled me in where I could lose track of time playing it.

If you like visual novels with a mixture of simple gameplay, wrapped in beautiful graphics and a fairly interesting story, you should give VED a chance, but don't expect rich RPG elements.

The game will do well with those who appreciate its visual novel tendencies, and the gameplay holds up well enough overall to encourage others to explore the mysteries of Micropolis.

As much as I enjoyed the turn-based combat and RPG systems, they comprised too small a portion of the overall product for me to recommend VED. I do hope this game can find an audience that appreciates it for what it is; there was clearly a lot of passion put into this project. The development team Karaclan, which consists of three brothers from Lithuania, has been working on VED for twelve years.

VED isn't a bad game, it's just not a very good one, either, and never quite manages to find its stride.

VED is perfect for players who love narrative-driven games or want something that feels like an interactive graphic novel. The combat and world mechanics are there to support the story, not overshadow it, so if you’re more into storytelling than stats, this one’s for you.

VED is an original game that dares to try new things and succeeds at most of them. The decision-making feels meaningful, the dice-roll segments add tension and stakes, and the battles are genuinely epic. The art direction is nothing short of breathtaking. My main gripe is that the story, while captivating, sometimes drags and could use some tightening up. Even so, I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a shot. The hard work of the developers shows, and it’s a journey that deserves to be experienced. A free prologue is available on Steam for those who want to dip their toes into the world of VED before taking the full plunge.