Even at your headquarters, a potbellied villager can be seen solemnly downing a mug of who-knows-what through a doorway. (His bulging eyes and crumpled skull are still stuck in my mind.) Corpses hang from light posts and ravens scatter from decaying bodies as you scamper past. Instead of rescuing a hostage just in time, you’ll more likely watch a monster crush his head like a tomato. This isn’t your typical cutesy anime RPG, either – Knights of Veda’s hauntingly detailed dark fantasy world shows in its grotesque enemies and corpse-filled landscapes. It’s the kind of story that needs a white board to piece together the web of connections, and one I enjoyed better once I embraced a certain suspension of disbelief. I appreciated the character-focused chapters that extended beyond Veda’s overarching fetch quest, and the story does its best to connect all those dots (even if it’s sometimes in convoluted, soap opera-ish ways). Knights of Veda also weaves in stories about the allies you meet along the way, each with their own agendas, smartly tying them into the kingdom’s larger history. I could have done with less of Belle screaming over my shoulder and stating the obvious, like that I’m low on HP, though. Most of the campaign focuses on uncovering the tantalizing pieces of your missing memories, as well as the truth behind the apocalyptic present, which is a more compelling goal than tracking down the goddess’ heart. However, Veda’s request sits oddly on the back burner for the majority of the story, instead giving way to the takedown of the corrupt King Magnus and a fight to stop the spread of the Undead. She also enlists help from a mini version of herself, a fairy-like companion named Belle, who might give any Genshin Impact fans some potentially traumatic Paimon flashbacks. You play as the Master of the Book, a stereotypical “Chosen One” role given to you by the Goddess Veda, who asks for your help finding the missing pieces of her “heart” after reviving you. But while Knights of Veda’s detailed world, heart-racing drama, and challenging combat show promise, its overly aggressive grind and unnecessarily complex progression systems dampen the charm. The zombie-infested battlefield that eventually kills you does a good job of teasing the mystery about to unfold, setting the stage nicely for your resurrection into this tragedy-stricken kingdom. Suddenly, just as it starts to seem like this will be another standard medieval hack-and-slash, the warriors around you fall to their knees and transform into grisly, undead versions of their former selves. That much is obvious in the opening moments of Astra: Knights of Veda, which drops you straight into a war, clashing swords with strangers in suits of armor.
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