This review may contains very subjective opinion on latest update (1st Oct), the game might improve and adds new content by the time you read this review. Ved: Recure is fast-paced rougelite action game developed by indie team, SummerClip. It has anime aesthetic with vibrant world. From the urban-punk character design to stylish UI, it establishes its own identity especially art direction and theme. Adventure Away from Reality First, the story is pretty much you can expect in common anime tropes, very straightforward and easy to digest. You somehow get transferred into another digital world and involve the conflict with bunch of attractive companions to fight along with you. Some people would care less about plot in roguelite game. But once I get to the very end, I personally enjoy the plot they made. As full-time job grown-up man, the ending feels quite bittersweet and really relate to me. My grips about story are some boss jokes doesn’t land on me (again it’s just my preference). And I wish late-game casts has more screen time to fresh out characters even though they are ‘that kind’ of character. Common problem in short game with many playable characters. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3813072360 Enhancing and Embracing Power Now, the combat starts with basic attack and finisher, then it adds extra layer of mechanics such as parry, dodge, special/extra attack which becomes the core element of combat flow in order to trigger counters to which is best way to deal damage or deplete boss shield. Reading every enemy moveset is part of challenge as most bosses are very aggressive and long combo enjoyer. So, expect many failed runs because that’s point of rougelite formula. Fortunately, the parry and dodge window are pretty generous and players are allowed to cancel animation in most non-wind-up attacks, not to mention spammable parry/dodge without worrying about stamina. Cycle of Experiment The rougelite element centers around player experiment and buff chain as main advertisement. You choose route, gain random buffs, assign buffs into combo chart, and repeat the cycle. You may encounter shop or convert buff to another and you can manually modify your buff chain anytime via pause menu. Everything is up to players how they approach and adapt their abilities to maximize potential. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3813075225 Moreover, players also unlock more characters by progressing story chapters. Featuring total seven characters. Each character has completely different attack movesets, windup delay, distance, and minor detail in animation that I really appreciate amount of work developers put into. It’s fun to execute and satisfying to watch. At the end of each run, player will be sent back to rooftop served as main hub, interact with other characters, permanent upgrade skill, and use currency to trade for equipment. Yes, there are equipment set system (1 weapon slot + 4 accessory slots) which provide extra layer of buff that can pair with certain buff or playstyle. I also appreciate that items are reflected visually which you don’t see much in indie anime games. Players will unlock extra mode and shop stuff once you clear the game first time. Allow you to just into the fight with full access of buff chain and your own preset. Freedom is nice! All the element and design I mentioned oddly work well in practice and establish a strong foundation of core combat that encourage player experiment and different synergies that ultimately lead to broken / funny builds. For example: slow down time in parrying causes the boss gets locked out by his rapid attacks. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3813076058 Conflict in Formula While the game offers various build and tool to play around. Most of the buff, skill, and equipment bonus are just stacking more damage in general. Nothing wrong with it, I personally just feel bit uninteresting as few of them actually change the gameplay or how enemies react differently. Because on the higher difficulty, it just increases enemy HP and damage which I’m not fan of artificial difficulty instead of something more creative. It just makes each fight longer and more slog while offering less build to play around because all you do is stacking damage output in parrying/dodge counter along with survivability buffs. The environment is beautifully crafted and allows player to roam around while enemies spawn based on your location especially in first three chapters. The problem is there’s nothing to explore or interact with environment. The 3D level design could benefit from rougelite randomness such as environmental hazard, positioning fight, random curse, hidden buff/coin, or even different level based on route player chooses. Some bosses are also designed to severely punish players they refuse to play parrying/dodge build because there’s a little to no room to breathe (yes, I’m looking at you. Mantis). You can’t avoid specific fight because you will face the same bosses in every run. I understand it designs to serve the plot and new character introduction, but it also ruins the purpose of rougelite design which is randomness. I would prefer less frequent boss battle while focus on better pacing and more aggressive mob fight, give player the room to experiment around buff/combo and surprise them with major fight. Audio / Soundtrack The overall sound design is pretty good, could be bit punchier for weapon sound effect. They are still satisfied and visually appealing. The soundtracks fit very well to the theme as heavy rhythms and electronics ramp up to boost your adrenaline. I also appreciate they put VA talents to every dialogue which add layer of immersive (I choose familiar JP voice because I’m weeb what did you expect!?). Performance The game runs on Unity engine (thank god) and execute flawlessly. During 20 hrs. of playtime, I never encounter any game-breaking bugs or frame drop which is impressive on technical level. Decent graphical options and some key binding for mouse/keyboard. Not a big deal and control overall feels responsive. Closing Ved: Recure is a game that has strong foundation of combat design, setting, and quality characters, but need more ingredients to spice thing up when it comes to rougelite element to enhance replayability. I might nitpicking and malding in many things, but I genuinely enjoy the game (revisit for reflex test and combat feel). I could sense the passion developers put hard work into this project. I hope it doesn’t discourage the team but pushing them forward. Whether it’s sequel or future project. Thank you! 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