Things are not going well in the kingdom of Planis. Once a thriving, bustling place, it’s now teetering on the edge of destruction as a lethal plague devastates its populace and its mad king Magnus watches the destruction unfold. You’re chosen by the goddess Veda to save this world, and alongside the other Knights of Veda you must set things right, battling against the forces of evil in order to restore Planis and set its people free.
We have to talk about the visuals when discussing Astra: Knights of Veda. This is a beautiful 2D RPG, and one that brings to mind the decade old Dragon’s Crown with its bold, hand-painted style and hack and slash gameplay. It feels as though you’re watching paintings come to life, and that extends from the central characters up to the bosses that you’ll face. During our hands-on at this year’s Gamescom, I asked developer FLINT how they created such impressive visuals: “the best artists of Seoul in Korea came together, that’s why the artwork is so brilliant,” they replied.
We were able to experience the opening of the story mode, with animated cutscenes setting the tale in motion. These look fantastic, mixing artwork and motion in an evocative way. You’re sailing into battle, setting landfall with the army host.
You’re dropped straight into the midst of this brutal battle, with the defenders decimating your attacking forces. Still, you’re able to make your way to the castle walls and climb the battlements, even when many of your fellow soldiers are cowering behind the walls. You’re then put straight to work, and here the feeling of Dragon’s Crown becomes even stronger, with hack and slash action the order of the day. Alongside your standard attack you have a series of skills which are on cool-down. Alongside your regular combos there’s a parry and shield effect which creates spinning shields around your character, and a powerful charge attack which does a serious amount of damage.
You wade through enemy soldiers until you come across Frederick, a giant, gladiator helmeted enemy with a huge hammer who is intent on putting an end to you. There’s a focus here on dodging, and it feels as though there’s a hint of Dark Souls energy about both the combatant and the way you need to take him down. Things seem to be going well, but then he slams you to the floor with a heavy blow that looks as though it’ll mean your end. At the end of this section you’re saved in the nick of time by the enigmatic Edward, who gives you a nonchalant nod having just impaled someone. He seems pretty strong.
You don’t last all that much longer though, with your quest seemingly cut short at the very outset with your death. However, it’s here that Veda, the Goddess of War, steps in and calls you into her service, giving you a new life as you attempt to save Planis. As an RPG you can choose your role, so players can opt to be a tank, DPS or support depending on their personal tastes and the needs of your team. FLINT told us, “You can choose whichever character you want in the game, and like Genshin Impact there’s a Gacha system to give you a wide variety of choice.”
The first series of Astra: Knights of Veda will start out with about fifty hours of story content, with plans for many months of ongoing expansions that will expand the storyline further, and it’s clear that this is a team that’s dedicated to its fan base, and to this world they’ve created.
Astra: Knights of Veda is a sequel to FLINT’s original title, Dragon Blades, which was a huge hit on mobile. With the decision to target both mobile and PC, one of the biggest differences for FLINT was the expansion of the team, with over 120 people now working on the title. What was the most important thing they needed to have in place as a sequel? “Dragon Blade has been a service for 10 years, so the whole story was very large. It needed organising. For the sequel the main thing was to have a satisfying ending for our players.”
During our hands-on I found myself immediately swept up in this brutal world, and I was intrigued by how well everything came together. Alongside the visuals and involving storytelling – there will be over three hours of cutscenes in the opening series – the epic accompanying soundtrack heightened the drama even further, with bombastic themes that could rouse even the most pacifistic player.
Astra: Knights of Veda is bringing 2D hack and slash action to life in a visually stunning way, and for fans of Dragon’s Crown, The Vagrant or Code of Princess this is one game you need to keep an eye on.
