The Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut, a review

The Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut, a review

The Story

You know it by now, I like my aRPGs and I'm always keen on trying new ones in case they are as good as Diablo 2.
I did play the very first Van Helsing game and quite enjoyed it (never finished it, was doing a multi-player run)
When the Final cut version was released I wishlisted it and waited patiently: I knew I like the game enough to want to play the sequels as well.

The review

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Final Cut,
NeocoreGames

To give you the best review possible, I record the first 20 minutes of gameplay and give you my first impressions, then play the game for a few more hours of camera (in this case 12) and finally record my final verdict.

From the game description

Embark on an adventure in a gothic-noir world, where mad science threatens the peace between monsters and mortals. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut is definitive edition of the trilogy with six playable classes and a new endgame mode with a huge variety of open missions!

My views

  • Atmosphere delivered, eerie music gruesome creatures...
  • Humour: the dialogues, especially the banter between you and Katrina are very funny.
  • Lots to do when levelling up: attributes, skills, skill powers up, skill passives, auras, perks: I feel there's plenty to customize your character.
  • You ghost companion is funny and kicks a**. She has her own skill trees (3 of them) and can be customise to complement your skills.
  • I found drops balanced: every once in a while, I found a better piece of equipment
  • The level up animation smack in the middle of my screen leaves me blind in battle for a few seconds.
  • The dialogues (and voiceovers are funny but may feel corny at times
  • The story is neither bad nor ground-breaking

? I've only played 12 hours and was pleased with character progression but I can only assume it slows down quite a bit towards the end. Maybe? 12 hours in, level 20 and no grinding or farming necessary but I cannot speak but later levels or higher difficulty.
? I felt I had an awful lot of money, again, I assume enchants, forging, skill reset... will cost a pretty penny later on during the game.

To conclude

I found this game a more than decent Diablo Clone, a few people complained about the class system, no having played the original game, I was happy with my skills and abilities. I understand that people prefer the first game of the 3, so it could be that I’ve played the best part of the game.
Running the game on Windows 10 offline, I’ve had no issues, bugs or lags but I cannot speak for the multiplayer game.
I’ll be playing this some more, if only to get to the end of the story.

Addendum:
I have indeed played some more and tried the tower defense mini-game and enjoyed it. It is challenging and totally optional.

patreon