The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II

This feels like a complete experience, one that is a natural and smart evolution of the first game's mechanics.

With this sequel Neocore Games proves that the studio has tons of talent and understands quite well what it takes to create a great Action RPG. Either you're a fan of Diablo or not - don't miss the continuing adventures of Abraham.

Van Helsing II eclipses its predecessor in almost every way.

TIAOVH2 is hands down the best single-player action-RPG out there, with engaging gameplay full of discrete doses of witty humour. It shines for catering for the casual player while offering exhaustively deep gameplay elements for the hardcore player at the same time. A few optimization hiccups deprive the game of an almost perfect grade, yet I cannot wait to see the third installment of the series.

Not just another Diablo clone.

Neocore hasn’t strayed too far from what made the first game so amazing, but it has managed to add a layer of refinement by improving the some of the game mechanics, UI and visuals.

For all intents and purposes, Van Helsing II is more of the same. It just so happens that “same” is really, really good.

Part two of the Van Helsing game is a great sequel in every aspect. There are more options for you to choose from and the expansion of the skill tree is another plus. All of this comes with a relatively low price.

A technically correct game, with many hours of fun for less than 15 €, but it fails to achieve the balance in combat, which is essential in this genre.

As expected the sequel is massively improved and expanded (e.g. with two more character classes) in comparison to the original game. If it weren’t for Path of Exile and Reaper of Souls that got me my fix of hack’n’slash, I would be playing Van Helsing II till the third part appears. [08/2014, p.54]

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is a much better showing than the original. It's what a sequel should be; it improves on nearly everything while adding brand new ideas to the pile.

The Little Engine that Could of action RPGs. [Issue#250, p.56]

If you love games like Torchlight and Diablo there is surely something here that will keep you going, be it more loot than you can carry, more monsters than you can kill or more intelligent jokes and easter eggs that you will recognize. Unfortunately balancing hardware specs and the story proves costly.

Neocore hasn't changed the formula much since the surprise hit that was the first The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and why should they? Part 2 offers loads of low-priced fun for the hack 'n' slash fan who has (played) everything else. It doesn't offer the addicting loot runs of Torchlight 2 or Diablo 3, but Van Helsing 2 is a well crafted monster slaying experience in its own right with some fun ideas like the tower defense bits and the chimera pet.

If you didn't play the first game, you may be a little confused in terms of the story, but it's an incredibly fun game.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was a treat, and hopefully, we’ll be able to have more in the future.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is a great action RPG, a sequel that eclipses to the original in almost every way.

It solves many of the problems of the original game, and even though it's not perfect, it's a good choice if you're looking for a game of this genre.

Just like the first one, but with a different villain, more skills, more crafting and more mini games.

It is stellar in spite of a few big missteps and the fact that, with the exception of the world itself, none of the experience feels cohesive.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is not a chimera, wisely expanding the solid action RPG features of the first episode, from deeper skill trees to... a new chimera pet, indeed.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II takes the original formula and build a sequel fun and rich in contents, even if technically imperfect and a bit poor of new core gameplay mechanics.

NeocoreGames ultimately delivers more of what we fell in love with in the first Van Helsing title.

To be honest The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II rather looks like a decent add-on than a sequel. But is this so important given that the game is still interesting just enough to keep us entertained till final credits? [September 2014, p. 60]

There is no question that Van Helsing II is head and shoulders above its predecessor in terms of game play and in the replayability factor that the additional two classes bring to the game. It's a solid entry into the aRPG market and one that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. It's a fantastic bargain and quite a lot of fun to play.

Balance issues and multiplayer bugs remain, but there's enough variety found in its tower defense scenarios and three classes to warrant donning the legendary monster hunter's hat either again or for the very first time.

Fans of the genre should fully enjoy what is on offer here, and newcomers who are looking for a few days of cooperative fun - problems with pacing and small glitches aside – should gather some friends and sit back and enjoy a few evenings of Victorian dungeon crawling – it’s finger clicking good.

Old school hack 'n slash lovers, get ready, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 is a game made exactly for you. Lots of action, profound skill system and a good story makes this Neocore Games production perfect for any fan of the genre. Technically there's a lot of room for improvement, but the game content seems right given the price point.

Van Helsing 2 is a charming and solid piece of hack and slash, spiced with interesting gimmicks and a good dose of humor.

However, for what it is, Van Helsing II provides another very fun way to spend some evenings reducing numerous monstrous creations to their component giblets.

“I have this strange feeling of déjà vu…”, utters Van Helsing 5 minutes into the story campaign. Don’t look at the number in the title – this is an expansion pack, not a full-fledged sequel.

Successful continuation of the original Diablo clone.

Some flaws present in the first installment disappeared, three characters offer three unique style of gameplay, and this is still absurdly funny entertainment. However, unbalanced enemies and the absence of any crucial novelties whatsoever that would push the game anywhere further, harm the game experience. It is more of the same, but without the moment of surprise. Nonetheless, fans of the original title have nothing to think about – for them there is a fair amount of entertainment lasting for several afternoons.

Van Helsing 2 is a near-complete title that NeoCore are clearly racing to finish in time for release day. It’ll end up a better game than the first, but will almost certainly retain some deadline-crunch bugs until a couple of patches are out of the way.