Ever since I played Prodigal I was completely fascinated with the world, the characters, and the setting that Color Grave had created, and I was left wanting to delve a little deeper into their universe. Fortunately, they chose to tie their games together, and that's why I was eagerly awaiting Veritus. It’s a continuation of the story, but set a long time later. We will enter the mystical and mysterious castle of Veritus, accompanied by a particular cast of characters that will help us navigate the corridors of the structure, and thus uncover the secrets it holds inside. Adding to that new tools and mechanics that will be at our disposal, Veritus feels like a very well thought out and entertaining sequel.

The story places us in the middle of a journey. Oran, our protagonist, was chosen to be part of a special group; his mission: to enter the castle of the god of shadows, and put an end to a night without stars. Not much of the plot can be mentioned without falling into spoiler territory, but I must say that it's a tangle of secrets that you have to unravel a little at a time. This is the strongest section, as its lore is vast and feels constantly growing, and I adore how they approach it.

From the beginning you can glimpse mechanics known to those who have played Prodigal, and innovative additions that pleasantly surprised me. Starting with the basics, we have a variety of equipment, such as our trusty pickaxe to blast our way through enemies and the environment alike; boots with their different functions; a secondary tool that can range from a bracelet to a sword; and amulets that change the way our charged attack works.

The pickaxe can be replaced with more powerful versions, from the basic how to do more base damage, to having modifiers that increase its strength as we lose life points. Boots change their function depending on the material they are made of, providing effects such as not slipping on ice for example.

Secondary weapons and amulets are one of the most interesting additions in Veritus. The first varies from a gauntlet that lets you throw punches left and right, with a jump attack included, to a bracelet that allows you to pick up enemies and throw them against their own comrades. The amulets, on the other hand, give us different charged attacks, from the classic spinning movement, to one that directly teleports us to the enemy!

In addition to this, some of our companions can support us with additional mechanics. This group was not chosen blindly, as each one fulfills their own role. Yoru, a blue and somewhat strange girl (I promise I can fix her), can craft equipment, both picks and boots, for our protagonist, granting him different modifiers to the tools.

In addition, she can give us passive bonuses in the form of enchantment songs that vary from being able to get more money, to having a chance to heal us after defeating an enemy.

Veritus' crafting system is a bit cumbersome at first, as we choose three materials and give them to Yoru to create something. But there are no blueprints or anything that can give us any clue as to what she will create. Fortunately, we have a merchant: Zaegul, a character who returns from Prodigal to help us supply our materials. This solves the item issue a bit, since if we create something we don't like we can collect money and buy materials to make something else.

Another of our comrades is Sonny: an affable cook that can prepare food with the ingredients that we find in the castle, and improve our passive skills depending on the dish.

With all this combination of systems, combat and exploration feel great. The boss fights, in particular, have their own mechanics and add an additional challenge. Although I must say that the difficulty curve takes a hit when we create something that's a bit over-leveled in regards to the current area, or when we inadvertently replace our mighty pickaxe with an inferior one... yes, it happened to me. Still, I really enjoyed these sections.

Delving a little deeper into exploration, I dare say it's one of the strongest aspects of Veritus and the other Color Grave games. There are secret rooms in abundance, puzzles and riddles, doors that only open by fulfilling specific requirements, and lore hidden behind dusty books or conversations, both with castle residents and with our companions. The addition of the latter is very welcome, as they can lend us their help in combat, getting ingredients, or helping us progress; all in certain particular moments, of course.

While I feel Veritus leaves out some frills, such as Prodigal's romance system (which I miss!), it balances it out by focusing more on the story and combat, its rich lore, and world building. The artwork is improved, especially the sprites and portraits which have a higher level of detail, and the music is still as amazing as in previous titles, plus it has voice acting! Reduced to grunts and single words, it should be noted, but it adds a very nice touch to the game.

Color Grave has once again captivated me with a mysterious but entertaining adventure, a modernized retro vibe, intriguing characters, and fun gameplay. But again I'm left wanting more, to continue exploring Prodigal's ever-growing universe. Veritus fascinated me as much as its other installments, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store. Undoubtedly, a highly recommended game saga!

Ever since I played Prodigal I was completely fascinated with the world, the characters, and the setting that Color Grave had created, and I was left wanting to delve a little deeper into their universe. Fortunately, they chose to tie their games together, and that's why I was eagerly awaiting Veritus. It’s a continuation of the story, but set a long time later. We will enter the mystical and mysterious castle of Veritus, accompanied by a particular cast of characters that will help us navigate the corridors of the structure, and thus uncover the secrets it holds inside. Adding to that new tools and mechanics that will be at our disposal, Veritus feels like a very well thought out and entertaining sequel. The story places us in the middle of a journey. Oran, our protagonist, was chosen to be part of a special group; his mission: to enter the castle of the god of shadows, and put an end to a night without stars. Not much of the plot can be mentioned without falling into spoiler territory, but I must say that it's a tangle of secrets that you have to unravel a little at a time. This is the strongest section, as its lore is vast and feels constantly growing, and I adore how they approach it. From the beginning you can glimpse mechanics known to those who have played Prodigal, and innovative additions that pleasantly surprised me. Starting with the basics, we have a variety of equipment, such as our trusty pickaxe to blast our way through enemies and the environment alike; boots with their different functions; a secondary tool that can range from a bracelet to a sword; and amulets that change the way our charged attack works. The pickaxe can be replaced with more powerful versions, from the basic how to do more base damage, to having modifiers that increase its strength as we lose life points. Boots change their function depending on the material they are made of, providing effects such as not slipping on ice for example. Secondary weapons and amulets are one of the most interesting additions in Veritus. The first varies from a gauntlet that lets you throw punches left and right, with a jump attack included, to a bracelet that allows you to pick up enemies and throw them against their own comrades. The amulets, on the other hand, give us different charged attacks, from the classic spinning movement, to one that directly teleports us to the enemy! In addition to this, some of our companions can support us with additional mechanics. This group was not chosen blindly, as each one fulfills their own role. Yoru, a blue and somewhat strange girl (I promise I can fix her), can craft equipment, both picks and boots, for our protagonist, granting him different modifiers to the tools. In addition, she can give us passive bonuses in the form of enchantment songs that vary from being able to get more money, to having a chance to heal us after defeating an enemy. Veritus' crafting system is a bit cumbersome at first, as we choose three materials and give them to Yoru to create something. But there are no blueprints or anything that can give us any clue as to what she will create. Fortunately, we have a merchant: Zaegul, a character who returns from Prodigal to help us supply our materials. This solves the item issue a bit, since if we create something we don't like we can collect money and buy materials to make something else. Another of our comrades is Sonny: an affable cook that can prepare food with the ingredients that we find in the castle, and improve our passive skills depending on the dish. With all this combination of systems, combat and exploration feel great. The boss fights, in particular, have their own mechanics and add an additional challenge. Although I must say that the difficulty curve takes a hit when we create something that's a bit over-leveled in regards to the current area, or when we inadvertently replace our mighty pickaxe with an inferior one... yes, it happened to me. Still, I really enjoyed these sections. Delving a little deeper into exploration, I dare say it's one of the strongest aspects of Veritus and the other Color Grave games. There are secret rooms in abundance, puzzles and riddles, doors that only open by fulfilling specific requirements, and lore hidden behind dusty books or conversations, both with castle residents and with our companions. The addition of the latter is very welcome, as they can lend us their help in combat, getting ingredients, or helping us progress; all in certain particular moments, of course. While I feel Veritus leaves out some frills, such as Prodigal's romance system (which I miss!), it balances it out by focusing more on the story and combat, its rich lore, and world building. The artwork is improved, especially the sprites and portraits which have a higher level of detail, and the music is still as amazing as in previous titles, plus it has voice acting! Reduced to grunts and single words, it should be noted, but it adds a very nice touch to the game. Color Grave has once again captivated me with a mysterious but entertaining adventure, a modernized retro vibe, intriguing characters, and fun gameplay. But again I'm left wanting more, to continue exploring Prodigal's ever-growing universe. Veritus fascinated me as much as its other installments, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store. Undoubtedly, a highly recommended game saga!