Ved: Recure offers solid roguelite runs and an incredibly flashy anime combat that is marred by performance issues, making it a tough recommendation as is.
Roguelikes are a prime example of human ingenuity. A genius concept, the whole idea of going through the same levels with minor permutations could, on paper, mean either boredom or insanity. But developers have made it work. From Greek gods to third-person shooters, there has never been a genre more ripe for exploration. With plenty of conceptual fuel in the tank, arrives Ved: Recure. An anime action roguelite, it brings new ideas to the table while fully committing to flashy combat that characterizes a certain style of games. If only it did not crash as much.
Breaking the fourth wall in the first cutscene, Ved: Recure begins with a young man arriving to his dingy apartment exhausted from work. Texting his unresponsive friend to hop on the new game that’s all the craze, his Steam-like library is waiting. A melancholic atmosphere seeps in as he realizes he has lost his passion for video games. All of a sudden, he is absorbed into the computer screen. A variant of the isekai truck, it fits within the anime aesthetic. Suddenly assaulted by frenzy robots in an abandoned city, a woman sporting a short skirt saves him.
Anime Girls In Battle
At a distance, a futuristic tower looms over the ravaged wasteland. The woman, named Chillo, explains to the startled protagonist how an unnamed mastermind is pulling the strings, corrupting the once peaceful robots. The goal in Ved: Recure then becomes clear: reach the top of the tower and save the land. Throughout the journey, you’ll find 7 other female fighters, each with their unique moveset and personalities. What’s even more interesting is that the bosses and subbosses do share a few quirky lines of dialogue before being decimated. A robot obsessed with going to the gym reveals he actually hates it. Relatable.
Now, what makes or breaks an action game is precisely how it feels. I hate using this as an example, but as they launched quite recently, Kernel Hearts is another anime-inspired action game that had great promise, but the combat did not feel impactful to me. In turn, Ved: Recure’s combat is engaging. It’s fast-paced. It will keep you on your toes at all times. The massive problem in games that rely on flashy combat is the fact that it does not actually feel weighty. Leaning too much on fast moves might betray the game’s actual focus on reacting and retaliating properly.
Ved: Recure’s levels are straightforward, with no exploration to speak of. In small areas like overgrown streets, arid mountains, or a frozen theme park, slicing a few clankers will then move you to the next wave. A dodge, a parry, and a normal and special attack are the standard moveset of every character, with variations regarding their particular weapons. Guns, hammers, katanas—these women are not to be trifled with. The moment-to-moment combat relies on well-telegraphed attacks to invoke the ever-present perfect dodge or perfect parry. Where it sets itself apart is in its buffs.
Mix And Match
Arguably the most important aspect of a roguelike, there are a varied amount of buffs usually attainable at the end of each wave. Elemental-based attacks such as a meteor, a poison swamp and a freezing tornado are some abilities on offer. To trigger them, though, is where Ved: Recure opens itself up to overpowered builds. See, every active buff needs to be activated by doing a special move. This can be by using a special attack, doing a parry, or finishing a combo. But also, it can be activated by using a perfect dodge. One of my favorite activities in a roguelite is finding that perfect game-breaking build. And I finally found it, until I did not.
Late into Chapter 3 after obtaining 6 of the 8 possible roster of warrior ladies, my game crashed. By that point, I had a build that melted the enemies simply by performing a perfect dodge, which with practice is not difficult. Consulting the Steam page of Ved: Recure, the developers are active and aware of the crash suffered in the current version. I have no doubt it will be in a better state in due time, but for that reason I will not give a score until I am able to complete a run. Ignoring the game’s overreliance on Gundam-style enemies, it is incredibly fun to either parry or dodge multiple enemy moves only to fight back and break their stance. Unfortunately, as it stands, I cannot fully recommend Ved: Recure.
Verdict – Ved: Recure
The roguelite formula still has so much more ground to cover. Games applying the anime aesthetic and flashy combat were just the natural next step. Ved: Recure nails that ecstatic moment-to-moment gameplay, with a build variety and character progression that understands what makes you want to go back to a roguelite. Sadly, performance issues dampened my experience to the point that I would speak highly of this experience with a big asterisk. I only hope that the game will be fixed soon enough to spend dozens of hours with its engaging combat system.
