The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Developer: NeocoreGames
Steam Release: May 2013
Usual Price: £10.99
Hours Played: 31.2
Similar To: Grim Dawn / Path of Exile / Victor Vran
Rating: 4/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

TIAOVH may be an action RPG designed in the Diablo mould but mainly resembles Path of Exile or Grim Dawn in its execution. Initially set in the swamplands of eastern Europe, you play the role of Van Helsing as he hacks, slashes and shoots his way through enemies who mainly come at you in groups. Accompanied by sidekick Lady Katarina, a spirit who acts as your guardian, protector and companion, you'll be entertained by plenty of banter along the way making the experience less lonely than other games of this type. Your main attack will be melee or ranged but other abilities including spells can be equipped as you level up. The safe area of Markovia acts as your hub where you can sell items at shops, apply essences to weapons and armour, pick up and hand in quests and stash surplus loot etc. 
  

BALANCE & PACE

This game is all about cutting through clumps of hostile creatures in typical isometric view while uncovering the fog of war on the local map. Like Path of Exile and Torchlight II, these areas are separated from the home-town by entrance points accompanied by load screens. You may teleport back to offload the piles of junk you'll collect but that doesn't take away from the fact that those load screens can become a tad tedious. Despite this and a few long slogs in parts, developers have done a decent job in gradually opening up the world as you explore and the desire to see what is around the next corner remains strong. Additionally, like those games mentioned, the world isn't procedurally generated so you know it will be the same on subsequent playthroughs and visits. 
 
   

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

Much like Victor Vran the game is shrouded in lore of a supernatural and vampiric nature, and presented in a gothic-noir gloss. Unlike most action RPGs there are no respawns so once an area is cleared of enemies, it stays clear of enemies. Likewise, damage meters on bosses are not reset so if you take a decent chunk of health off a boss in battle as you succumb to a nasty death, it will still be suffering from its injuries when you go back and face it again. On a negative note, graphics are not as fluid or as polished as the aforementioned acclaimed titles. The animation of the enemies, for one, seem a little juddery and quick while the swamplands of the first areas can sometimes appear a tad repetitive as you ramble through. A controller should also be plugged in on start up as it will mess with the game completely if plugged in afterwards.
      
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

You'll begin the game in a tutorial-style woodland area as you battle through wolves and bandits of various kinds. You'll then soon reach Markovia which offers that safety and respite. You'll then branch out from this point uncovering areas as you level up. During this process you'll receive points to strengthen your character via quite a complicated upgrade system. As well as pondering where to put ability, skill and glory points you'll also need to think about which perks to choose from and whether to boost the mystic warrior or the occult hunter skill tree. On top of that you have auras and tricks. Thankfully, you do have the option to reset skills and abilities by visiting and interacting with the appropriate NPC. Obviously, with no respawn mechanic in place, you cannot go over old ground and farm loot.

CONCLUSION

While TIAOVH remains a definite no-brainer in the action RPG category, it doesn't really come close to toppling the giant Path of Exile or the popular Grim Dawn in the gameplay department. Destroying clumps of foes is not as satisfying as the many ways offered in the former and the environments are not nearly as dynamic and varied as the latter. Furthermore, I'd personally reach for the more accessible Torchlight II and the variety behind Victor Vran as well. In saying that, while Deathspank may also get my vote over this, I'd say that TIAOVH gets enough right for it to be worth a spin. It unravels itself well by opening up the world in bite-sized chunks, its atmosphere is absorbing enough to get the player engrossed and there are many ineresting ways to upgrade. Finally for those who like to play with controllers, it's got you covered as well.