Games worth discovering

This gacha game is gorgeous! Astra: Knights of Veda mixes Dragon’s Crown with Genshin Impact

6K View2023-10-13

SHOULD I PLAY ASTRA: KNIGHTS OF VEDA?

If you’ve been searching for a dark fantasy action RPG, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on Astra: Knights of Veda. It blends vibrant, painting-like visuals with old-school beat-em-up gameplay, and that combination is fantastic. There’s also a dark story with elements of Lovecraftian horror and a gacha system. I ran into some issues during my time with the demo, but the game is really promising overall, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it.

TIME PLAYED

I played for around four hours, which got me to the end of the first chapter. The story stops there, but if I’d wanted, I could have played for even longer. This is a really meaty demo, and by the time I finished, I felt like I had a clear picture of what it had to offer. I was able to fight lots of monsters, watch several story cutscenes, and I even got a good glimpse of the gacha system. If you’re at all interested in Astra, I’d recommend checking the demo out while you can.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT ASTRA: KNIGHTS OF VEDA?

• Gorgeous graphics. Astra’s biggest selling point is definitely its breathtaking 2D visuals. The art style is really similar to the work of George Kamitani, who directed and did art for games like Dragon’s Crown and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. There are a few showstopping cutscenes, but the game always looked stunning, whether I was hacking away at zombies, summoning new party members, or just sitting around and having a chat.

• Dark story with rich lore. Astra feels like Game of Thrones as told by H.P. Lovecraft. You live in a kingdom terrorized by a mad king, and his dark rituals have inflicted the world with unspeakable horrors. I hacked away at plenty of zombies during my playtime, but I also fought monsters that looked like they came straight out of Bloodborne. I love a good dark fantasy narrative, and I’m excited to see where this story goes.

• Intriguing gacha mechanics. Astra’s gacha rolls weren’t quite as generous as I wanted them to be, but I really liked the way they tied into the main story. Your character possesses a magical book, which they can use to summon the spirits of heroes that have died in battle. Many of these characters have tragic backstories that connect them with your main mission.

The gacha system mixes units with weapons, and I only managed to pull a few new characters. While I wish I’d been able to unlock more heroes, every character I pulled was beautifully designed and genuinely useful. It’s not a system that will appeal to everyone, but I definitely thought it was interesting.

• Fun, varied hack-and-slash combat. Astra plays like a side-scrolling beat ’em up, but there’s a twist. I could transform into any of the heroes I’d summoned with the click of a button, so I could switch up my play style on the fly. Every character I played felt distinct, and switching to a new hero really helped out when I was in a pinch. Being able to quickly switch between a wide range of characters made Astra’s battles a lot more engaging.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT IN ASTRA: KNIGHTS OF VEDA?

• Annoying mascot character. About an hour into my Astra playthrough, I was saddled with an irritating fairy sidekick. If you’ve played Genshin Impact, this character will instantly remind you of Paimon. I almost never enjoy these types of characters, but it feels really out of place here. Astra is a dark fantasy game, and the presence of a cutesy mascot character undermines the story that it’s trying to tell.

• Awkward camera. I loved looking at Astra, but I didn’t always love its camera. During battles, the camera would zoom in so far that I couldn’t always see all of the enemies I was trying to fight. This was especially frustrating when I was trying to play as characters with ranged attacks. Currently, there’s no way to adjust the camera, so I hope this issue will be addressed before the game launches.

• Stop-and-start action. Camera issues aside, Astra’s combat was really enjoyable, but I didn’t always feel like there was enough of it. The game was frequently broken up by long story sequences, and while these sequences were entertaining, it felt like the action stopped as soon as I got started. Sometimes I spent less than a minute fighting enemies before the game interrupted me. Astra doesn’t need to cut down its story, but the game would really benefit from expanding its action sequences and giving them room to breathe.

💬 Will you be playing Astra: Knights of Veda, or is this fantasy story too dark for your tastes? Tell me more in the comments!