Review of VED

It seems like every month, players are treated to another unique RPG adventure. Whether it be in a massive franchise such as Dragon Age or as a brand new IP Black Myth: Wukongplayers enjoyed a wide range of experiences. One such adventure arrives this month in the form of a hand-drawn RPG SCIENCE. The first game from Lithuanian developers Karaclan, SCIENCE promises to give players a story full of magic to bite into. And while the game's art style may be a sight to behold, almost everything else about the experience falls flat.

SCIENCE puts the player in the shoes of a young hero named Cyrus who discovers that he has powerful magical powers. Because of this, he quickly becomes embroiled in a wild story that sees him master his powers, take on all sorts of powerful enemies, and hopefully save the world. This all adds up to a game that has some exciting combat encounters and some unique mechanics, but the actual story and writing feels mostly lackluster, ultimately making for a rather forgettable experience.

The world of VED is wonderfully unique

As said, SCIENCE it's not all bad. The story may be lackluster, but the aesthetics and combat can be quite exciting. The entire experience is presented through a beautiful hand-drawn art style. Everything looks like a painting, the characters move and behave like art in a museum. It's a truly gorgeous sight that players can get lost in and stare at for hours.

If players are bored of staring at one world, there are actually two completely different worlds with their own unique visuals. One of them is the dirty and rough city of Micropolis, which is filled to the brim with gangs, warring factions and villainous looking characters. The second appears whenever Cyrus teleports, and is filled with fantastical creatures and magical floating islands. They both do a great job and keep players engaged SCIENCE's struggle to make things even better.

VED combat can be challenging fun

The combat here is exceptional, which is good because players will be fighting a lot of things during their adventure. When they arrive in the mysterious world of floating islands, they must first equip themselves with powerful abilities that are unlocked by upgrading the cute troglodyte village. Once they are satisfied with their cargo, they must set out to uncover the many secrets of this land. To do this, they teleport between different islands, each with a new threat or scenario to take part in.

Some islands have friendly NPCs to encounter, while others have random events that require players to roll a D20. Depending on what they do, they often gain buffs or debuffs as they move through the magical land. Then, if they're brave enough, they can take on one of the many enemies that litter these islands. If they are unable to defeat the threat, they return to the village and have to do it all over again. But luckily the islands they've already cleared remain free.

At the start of each combat encounter, players can choose one of three buffs or debuffs to apply to an enemy. Depending on what the buff is, they will be rewarded with more energy that works as SCIENCEcurrency's. If they think it will be too challenging, they can also skip them as they are completely optional. They will lose the bonus energy, but will still be rewarded with the standard amount if they win.

The combat itself is turn-based, but with a few twists. Players must choose their attack, choose where they want to hit the creature, and hope that the creature doesn't destroy them first. However, instead of just 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 divided into four sections, each section representing a different location on the battlefield. Some attacks will move the player, others will keep them still and it's up to them how they plan it.

VED's story and writing leave a lot to be desired

In any story RPG, the actual story has to be exciting. Players don't want to sit through a bland or uninteresting story, they want dialogue to feel natural, and they want the narrative to make sense. WITH SCIENCEKaraclan seems to be trying to deliver on almost all of these fronts. So instead of being enthralled by a fantastic adventure, the player mostly falls flat.

The story follows a young boy named Cyrus who has the ability to teleport. When he teleports, he is brought to a magical world of floating islands. Outside of this world, he must traverse the city of Micropolis and juggle its many factions trying to make their mark on his world. Because of this, every decision the players make matters, with the end of each chapter showing what they chose and what they missed.

This should make for an interesting story, but none of it feels natural. The dialogue seems to flow strangely, it doesn't sound like anyone is speaking. Characters speak in run-on sentences, conversations end abruptly, there's a lot of window dressing, and the script looks like it's in desperate need of editing. Karaclan said the whole thing was translated into English, and while that probably made for some awkward dialogue, the fact that the entire story is like that dampens the overall experience.

along with SCIENCEThe voice acting is a bit harsh. The dialogues probably don't help, but many times it feels like reading the script rather than the words. This can really hinder the immersion of the game and can often be a little annoying to listen to. Of course, not every game needs award-winning voice acting, but it would be nice if these characters were a little stronger.

SCIENCE it's far from a perfect game, but it does have some positives. The hand drawn art style is amazing to look at and shows how powerful this game can be. Additionally, the combat is often tense, as things can quickly fall apart if players aren't careful. However, the story and dialogues greatly hamper the experience. And in the end, it makes for a pretty lackluster experience overall.

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