For a long while now, indie devs have tried to capture that nostalgia energy in a bottle. Few accomplish this, as nostalgia is less a visual or musical style and more a feelingâa feeling frequently attributed to a personâs situation, developmental age, and artistic needs at that time. Still, a gameâs presentation can trigger those feelings, even if only a bit. What I find more appealing is the creativity and tight design that can come from demakes. Colorgrave‘s latest work, Veritus, admirably scratches these itches, though not to the point of satiety.
We are a normal blacksmith granted powers beyond those of a typical human. As such, we are responsible for retrieving the blade of Veritus, the god of shadow. To do so, we have an entourage with various skills, such as cooking and mercantilism. Every character in the bunchâsix or soâhas a distinct personality clearly communicated through dialogue. They donât travel with you through dungeons, but they can aid at camp. For example, eating provides a buff depending on the three ingredients used, while mashing together materials can upgrade boots (armor) or pickaxe (weapon). Others change out accessories that influence special abilities, change songs that provide passive buffs, or play a simple game of cards for easy money.
In classic dungeon-diving fashion, our hero has to battle in small, grid-based rooms, though movement is not restricted to the grid. From top-down, we move bricks, rope across chasms, and press switches, similar to traditional Legend of Zelda games. Throughout the dungeon, players may discover cracked walls that lead to secret rooms, encounter new characters that have their own desires or motives, and attempt to open large doors that speak about a certain trial a player must meet in order to unlock them, such as showing up with critical health or on an empty stomach. Each section of the dungeon sticks to a reasonable size, keeping the game from growing tired and feeding us story without becoming too detached.
Frequently, players discover books sitting around in rooms written like a diary, providing flavor and context. Unfortunately, these books are hard to follow without knowing who the author is or when in their life the writing occurred. The narrative throws around so many names without faces that I frequently got lost and my eyes glazed over. The attempt to hide lore here and there is creative and appreciated for its novelty, but the execution left me disinterested. I figured if I couldnât follow it the first dozen times I found a book, then I wouldn’t grasp the story at all. Maybe Iâm an idiot, though.
Whatâs more, after defeating a sectionâs boss, we get thrown into a flashback, though even whatâs happening in these flashbacks is vague. As I saw more and more, I found some continuity, but I wasnât certain how they related to the central plot or who the characters were. Secret rooms often contain ghosts that appear at the end of the flashbacks without any interactions, appearing more as collectibles than anything substantially connected to the lore.
Regarding action, if youâve ever played one of these top-down action RPGs, Veritus should feel familiar. Controls are crisp, responses, and the hitboxes are mostly intuitive. At times, I was over a gap without realizing it and took a point of damage; this isnât a huge deal, but the unfortunate surprise grew tiresome, especially during sections with tight maneuvering. Enemies, for the most part, are diverse with teleportation, projectiles, hopping movement, shields, and dash attacks that add zest to the routine. Puzzles frequently require tools to get from point A to B, though I hesitate to call most of these puzzles. Players will likely solve most of them with little issue, especially if they choose to use available tools to cheat the puzzle, such as charging up a leaping attack to cross giant gaps in the floor. I decided to go back and solve puzzles as intended, though the âintendedâ method of completing the puzzle didnât require much work and was tedious rather than providing that wonderful âahaâ feeling.
Players can buff themselves by finding heart pieces or orbs of light in secret rooms. Other than that, the only way to improve is by mindlessly guessing at crafting materials. Fortunately, most resources can be found easily or bought at your merchant companionâs shop to ease the stress of running out of goods. Food functions similarly. As referenced earlier, finding certain items or spells can change a passive buff or skill, but there is only room to equip one. Aside from these tools, our hero doesnât level up or inherit skills from a skill tree.
Nevertheless, the lack of complexity is appreciated, and adding too much to a game clearly designed with tradition in mind would muddy the waters. Similarly, combat is pretty simple for most of the game. At times, players may beg for a way to heal, but most of the dungeons and bosses donât pose too much of a threat until the end game. At seven hours, I found my journey reasonably long without Veritus outstaying its welcome.
Visually, I love the pixel art and personality baked into each character portrait in Veritus. Every floor of this dungeon has a distinct look, and each enemy is easily recognizable from its cohort. The only visuals that didnât work for me were the items because there were so many and only so much space to work with. Tablets, keys, necklaces, clothes, and food start blending together with the limited color palette and space for detail. I commend the creators for what they were able to put together, but Iâd be remiss if I didnât mention this small issue. The music enhances the experience, though frequently falls into the background. At the end of the game, we enjoy a lyrical piece beautifully delivered, but the music is not a stand-out, overall.
Entertaining for what it is, I donât think Veritus is going to knock anyone over, but it doesnât have to. The world was built for sevens, and if you want an old-school game that is reasonably fun, thatâs what you get here. I love that the team made such an attempt to change up the formula from most games we see, but I wish more of it felt fun or engrossing. Storytellingâs tricky because going through the motions and delivering a ham-fisted story certainly feels tired, but if it lacks clarity, itâs going to be hard for earnest individuals to buy into your world. Still, Veritus charms, and those chasing nostalgia may actually be met with a tight, creative adventure.
