VELEV, developed and published by Chaf, recently had its first Alpha play test over four days, showcasing the current state of the game. An interesting combination of MOBA PvPvE x Battle Royale x Extraction genres, this game has huge potential to be great.

Inspired by Dark and Darker, League of Legends, and V Rising, VELEV is set in a world where a mysterious hole called Below opened in the land without warning. As one of four classes, you’re tasked to explore Below, defeat monsters, loot and mine what you can, and extract from the cavity before the boundary closes in on you.

Starting with character creation, you can choose to be a wizard, a warrior, a rogue, or a ranger with continued character growth based on what you mine in the Below, what treasures you can find, and what you can successfully extract with. Each class has different starting stats and abilities that change how you play the game.

Although VELEVs description boasts to be challenging and playable solo, it also explains that team dynamics and class combinations can be crucial. Playing this on my own as a solo warrior was very very difficult. The mobs are strong as a starting character, everything hurts more than I feel it should, especially if you’re stuck fighting against more than 1 enemy. I’m not sure if the developer meant it to be this difficult intentionally or if it was to test how the player base would adapt to the situation.

Still, I found myself seriously wishing I had another person in the game with me. Strategic planning of how to approach the enemies and even the timing of your abilities in a fight is crucial to making it out alive.

After getting the hang of the controls and how the abilities work, I survived a little longer and looted some goodies to extract. Across the map, you can find breakable boxes, treasure chests, and mineable resources you can get loot from to upgrade your gear and make your character stronger. With health being such a precious resource in VELEV, there are campfires scattered throughout the map where you can rest to replenish your health and mana.

The graphics are well established, with the game being pleasing to look at. My only gripe with it so far is the strange angle you spawn in with, sometimes making it difficult to realise how to open the door to get out of the starting area. Doors need to be more visible and stand out from their surrounding walls.

With no backing track (yet), the sound is crisp, much of it being environmental. Footsteps in the grass, your weapon hitting boxes or enemies, the occasional grunt of your character, and if enemies can shoot spells at you, you’ll hear the familiar “woosh” of one being cast. It’s well-designed for a game in this state.

VELEV has massive potential, but I’m hoping I’m not the only one who found it as difficult as I did. I’m not necessarily new to the MOBA or PvPvE genres, but this game felt unnecessarily hard. In saying that, I can see how working in a team would have an advantage in comparison to playing solo. The mobs shred you with only starting gear, and once they see you it’s difficult to get away sometimes. In saying that though, once I adjusted to the difficulty and got used to the controls, I had fun with it and I’m excited for the next playtest forecasted for September.

Written by: Emily France