ASTRA: Knights of Veda is an upcoming 2.5D gacha RPG with a captivating dark narrative and visually captivating art. It is set to release on PC, with a demo already available for players to try, and a mobile version is also in development. The gameplay in ASTRA shares similarities with titles such as Dragon Blaze and Astlibra Revision, offering a hack and slash RPG experience.

The game starts slowly, requiring over an hour to complete the tutorial level and delve into gacha mechanics and the adventure mode. While the storyline is compelling with its dark and unsettling themes, the cutscenes tend to be overly lengthy, leading to pacing issues and excessive dialogue. Fortunately, you can fast forward through them while still comfortably grasping the story’s essence, or you can outright skip the cutscenes if you prefer.

Except for the 2.5D style hack and slash combat, in terms of gameplay and gacha mechanics, the rest of the game will feel right at home for Genshin Impact players. ASTRA allows players to control multiple characters one at a time, with seamless switching between them. Each Knight, obtained via the gacha mechanic, possesses unique skills and abilities, categorized into melee, ranged, and magic.

The demo allowed players to explore the adventure mode for progression the story, the separate “nightmare” mode for idle gameplay, and the village where you can talk with NPCs and roam around in. You can also partake in other side missions or activities such as cooking.

Overall, the demo didn’t quite impress me in terms of gameplay, and the game still needs a lot of work in terms of combat fluidity and general quality of life improvements, such as better camera work and improved performance. However, the story — while flawed in its pacing — is intriguing enough to maintain my interest throughout the demo.

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Originally posted on TapTap.