Astra: Knights of Veda Review

ign.com:

You died. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. I could have done with less of Belle screaming over my shoulder and stating the obvious, like that I’m low on HP, though.

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 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