The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 617 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 456 out of 617
  2. Mixed: 113 out of 617
  3. Negative: 48 out of 617

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  1. gregor-e
    Dec 8, 2013
    4
    If the game weren't so bugged, I would have given it 8/10. Unfortunately, I have hit three separate circumstances where I was unable to continue the game because triggers had failed. The first such case was early in the game. Five bosses guard an inkgate in Gallowsbog. To continue, you have to defeat them and then use the inkgate they're guarding. In my case, the bosses wereIf the game weren't so bugged, I would have given it 8/10. Unfortunately, I have hit three separate circumstances where I was unable to continue the game because triggers had failed. The first such case was early in the game. Five bosses guard an inkgate in Gallowsbog. To continue, you have to defeat them and then use the inkgate they're guarding. In my case, the bosses were unresponsive, and just stood there. They could not be targeted, and the inkgate itself was inactive. Fortunately, Neocore offered a hack that activated the inkgate and got me past the problem, but I never did get to fight the bosses that were guarding the Gallowsbog inkgate. The second time I got stuck, I read on the Neocore forum that they don't have a hack to get around it yet. So I cannot finish the game. Okay, I decided to spend some time playing the high-level scenarios until Neocore comes out with a hack. Alas, the second scenario I tried was again bugged and unfinishable. Too bad Neocore didn't invest in more comprehensive testing. It could be a pretty good game.

    Which is worse spending money on a game that turns out to be not worth playing, or spending money on a game that is worth playing, but so broken that you cannot finish it?    … Expand
  2. evild4ve
    Jun 14, 2013
    3
    It's addictive, but almost nothing about the game is well-balanced, impressive, or that fun. With a ranged character, all of the mobs are always stronger than you, meaning the gameplay reduces to running round in circles letting off area effect rounds from a blunderbuss. The loot is mind-boggling, it's impossible to tell whether a drop is better than your current equipment without lookingIt's addictive, but almost nothing about the game is well-balanced, impressive, or that fun. With a ranged character, all of the mobs are always stronger than you, meaning the gameplay reduces to running round in circles letting off area effect rounds from a blunderbuss. The loot is mind-boggling, it's impossible to tell whether a drop is better than your current equipment without looking through the stats, and even then it's too complex to decide if the critical hit bonus or the elemental damage bonus or the attack speed is more useful. For a game with so many inter-related stats it works surprisingly well, and the mobs somehow manage to continue being exactly as much tougher than you all the way through the game, without getting noticeably easier or impossible to beat. I'm tempted to think there is a much simpler system behind it all and the game just gives the impression you're tinkering with dozens of little plus and minus buttons on the character sheet that do stuff.

    The enjoyable futility of the gameplay and gear progression is a lot like Deathspank. But unlike that game, none of the monsters involve any particular tactic. Diablo is a much better piece of work than Van Helsing, and I think the positive comments here are probably due to the game giving an excellent first impression for a budget title it is extremely well-polished and professional looking. It just has a crummy gameplay mechanic. A lot of reviewers seem to like the witty dialogue too, but I think the constant subtle references to other games like Skyrim, Dishonored, Orcs Must Die and probably some others I can't put my finger on are more fun.    … Expand
  3. motocrtc
    Feb 5, 2014
    4
    Van Helsing is basically a Diablo 2 clone with clumsier controls, duller scenery and fewer options for character customization. The story is reasonably interesting and many of the boss encounters are remarkably well designed, but the frustrating controls taint the experience and the limited character customization options - you basically get to choose between "Van Helsing with a sword" andVan Helsing is basically a Diablo 2 clone with clumsier controls, duller scenery and fewer options for character customization. The story is reasonably interesting and many of the boss encounters are remarkably well designed, but the frustrating controls taint the experience and the limited character customization options - you basically get to choose between "Van Helsing with a sword" and "van Helsing with a gun" - ruin the replayability.… Expand
  4. Indrigis
    Feb 1, 2014
    3
    Even now after all the updates and patches (assuming there were any, of course) the game suffers from atrocious technical issues.

    Like the mouse cursor not showing if you have a gamepad connected. And I have one. And no, I do not feel like giving my PC a reacharound every time I want to play a particular game. So, assuming you decide to grin and bear it. The interface is optimized    Even now after all the updates and patches (assuming there were any, of course) the game suffers from atrocious technical issues.

    Like the mouse cursor not showing if you have a gamepad connected. And I have one. And no, I do not feel like giving my PC a reacharound every time I want to play a particular game.

    So, assuming you decide to grin and bear it. The interface is optimized for the mouse and optimized badly at that. The highlighting of menu items is nonexistent and managing inventory is quite hard due to no paperdoll being present and the actual inventory slots being switched with an ultra-precise tilt of a thumbstick. The top tier menu actually has many more items than are shown on screen. How many? Well, you'll just have to scroll through them and see, young man.

    Assuming you have managed to equip items and learn skills somehow... Moving with the thumbstick will also lock you in place for no reason occasionally. The character gets unstuck after 3-5 seconds on his own, though. Binding skills to buttons is done by going into the skill's menu and pressing Y. Press anything else - you've upgraded something. Pressed Y? Good, no way to exit the binding interface. B(ack) will replace your B binding, obviously.

    The loading times are three to four times that of any other game, too.

    As for the gameplay stuff such as mechanics, item variety and skills... This has nothing on Torchlight or Diablo. Those two are way more fun and way more player-friendly.

    The only reason to buy this would be the price tag and the latter levels which are rumored to be good. But suffering through the rest isn't worth much.    … Expand
  5. Mike99
    Jul 22, 2013
    1
    i don't understand this games high score. its a painfully repetitive hack'n'slash with little to no replayability. if you haven't already, go buy torchlight 2 instead, its a much better game than this.
  6. reb0014
    Aug 26, 2013
    0
    this game was glitchy garbage. repetitive gameplay and combat, with endless swarms of monsters this game left little to be desired. it felt like a long, boring, exhaustive grind with the only bright side being momentary flashes of new loot. unfortunately it isnt enough to save this diablo 1 clone albiet without the moving story or challenging boss battles. they try and make it slightlythis game was glitchy garbage. repetitive gameplay and combat, with endless swarms of monsters this game left little to be desired. it felt like a long, boring, exhaustive grind with the only bright side being momentary flashes of new loot. unfortunately it isnt enough to save this diablo 1 clone albiet without the moving story or challenging boss battles. they try and make it slightly complex with some nonsense about mixing rage in with skills, however it just falls flat on its face in execution.

    despite all its faults i was determined to bite my teeth and grind through the last few levels only to come upon a game ending glitch in the form of a 2nd defense mission, where u fight off 3 waves of nearly unending monsters. when the last monster on the third wave is killed the game instantly crashes to desktop every time, despite being uninstalled and reinstalled. Honestly im glad to be able to uninstall it, as its a joke that this badly producted of a game takes up nearly 20 gigs.

    the only people who can enjoy this are those who glorify the low budget and production levels of the indie games, those who can overlook glaring faults and disgustingly repetitive gameplay. dont excuse a game for its low price point and long grinding battles full of mashing the attack button over and over, which since it doubles as a movement button a la diablo (but not as well done) will force you to continually run up to monsters that youd rather stay away from simply because the first one finally managed to die thus leaving a void where ur character decides to suicide himself into.

    had this game actually worked throughout i might have given it a 3-4 rating however since i was spent 24 levels causing myself carpal tunnel syndrome with the exhaustive clicking only to reach a bug/glitch that made the rest of the game unplayable (since theres no way to save or go back to the prior quest) this game well deserves its rating of 0    … Expand
  7. Tricks
    Jun 23, 2013
    3
    A cheap remake of diablo 3, which was already a bad game. Good for those who have nothing better to do during the day and want to spend a few hours enjoying a game that seems to have been done in 2003.
  8. Mitchlol86
    Jun 20, 2013
    0
    This game is absolute trash. The single-player aspect was 'ok' at best for all of the two hours it took to finish it. The multi-player aspect... well, there isn't one. The game was marketed to have one, but it was released without one, and still doesn't have one. The game doesn't run through Steam correctly, so any character you use will not work online (assuming it's developed).
  9. theNILE
    Dec 12, 2015
    0
    Stat system is simple, not necessarily bad. Skill balance is awful, and being able to buff a skill eternally doesn't help this. "powerup" skills and rage - what were they thinking. You can only use 2 skills with powerups, unless you want to bother tabbing. Managing rage is easy, but ultimately a pointless mechanic. Visually, the game is a pain, and this wouldn't be so bad if it's easy toStat system is simple, not necessarily bad. Skill balance is awful, and being able to buff a skill eternally doesn't help this. "powerup" skills and rage - what were they thinking. You can only use 2 skills with powerups, unless you want to bother tabbing. Managing rage is easy, but ultimately a pointless mechanic. Visually, the game is a pain, and this wouldn't be so bad if it's easy to read your hp and mana... seriously, i have good peripheral vision but for the **** life of me this game is such a **** chore just because it's horrible visually. Game isn't optimized... your gpu will get raped if you don't play thaumaterge. Certain mobs mana drain... wtf this isn't path of exile where you want to avoid certain content. Random loot forging is **** terrible. Throw 5 rares together, even though you choose the type, it can be an item FOR A DIFFERENT CLASS... such a **** waste of time. poe is better, it has better depth, better to chill and essentially mostly has the same skills with better effects, performance and gameplay.… Expand
  10. AthanasiosT
    Jun 25, 2013
    4
    Bo-bo-boring and repetitive game. Good at the beginning, but pretty soon you realize it is more or less the same enemies and items, with different descriptions. Also, it's really hardware demanding so if you have a slightly aged PC, best leave it be.
  11. DM7
    Mar 11, 2014
    2
    i bought this when it was on 75% off steam on 2013 (can't remember the exact date or month).

    Pros : 1. voice actor/actress is surprisingly above average. 2. graphics is good, but not awesome. cons : 1. Long loading time 2. DLCs doesn't work, until workaround is used. 3. Level cap is too low for an ARPG, the level cap is 30. 4. the speeches scripts is idiotic / lame.    i bought this when it was on 75% off steam on 2013 (can't remember the exact date or month).

    Pros :
    1. voice actor/actress is surprisingly above average.

    2. graphics is good, but not awesome.

    cons :
    1. Long loading time

    2. DLCs doesn't work, until workaround is used.

    3. Level cap is too low for an ARPG, the level cap is 30.

    4. the speeches scripts is idiotic / lame.

    5. game size is too big, i know its not max payne 3 big, but its big compared with other ARPG,

    6. Complete Pack is not complete, 3 DLCs are missing.

    7. The dev expected us to buy the game again, to get the rest of the DLCs, by naming it Support Package, the point is, by buying the complete pack on steam = the dev doesn't acknowledge it as supporting them, unless we buy the ridiculously expensive pack on their site.

    8. Game got too much bugs.

    9. Patches are still coming, at a snail rate, and when it comes there are chances that it might broke the game even more instead of fixing it for some.

    10. a lot of quest is kinda broken, so it depends on your luck, if a quest is broken or not. (broken = unable to be completed).

    11. i owned it since 2013, but even now the game still got too many bugs.

    12. the game got DLC screen, and i don't know why the dev feels the need to let us know that we doesn't have all the DLC, even thought on steam its sold as complete version, and the only way to get those DLCs, is what i described earlier, i felt that its some kinda fraud, because buying complete version while it doesn't give us all DLCs = a fraud.

    overall : 0/10

    but because the devs are still trying to patch the game, i gave them a 2/10.

    but if they stopped patching it, and the game is still broken, then score is gonna be back to 0/10

    ps : this is only from my point of view, so i don't care if you guys love it or not.    … Expand
  12. Iranon090
    Dec 30, 2015
    1
    I write this review too late, but do not buy this scam. This mess of a game.
    I guess many people fell into the trap of this game already and can't get a refund (since it was not possible before).
    Sequels of this title might be more "polished", but currently this game is still a patchwork of a defective product. I have not run through any crash yet but everything is so clunky.    I write this review too late, but do not buy this scam. This mess of a game.
    I guess many people fell into the trap of this game already and can't get a refund (since it was not possible before).
    Sequels of this title might be more "polished", but currently this game is still a patchwork of a defective product.

    I have not run through any crash yet but everything is so clunky.
    Everything begins quite well but ends VERY BAD.

    So let's start :

    - Levels !
    They are VERY short (excepted at the very beginning of the game). Therefore, to allow your character to level up, they are OVERFILLED. YES overfilled with packs of monsters that all come to you as a single one once triggered (I'll speak about this later).
    There is no random generation of these environments, which mean you'll play the same levels again, and again, again and again (thanks Comodus).
    It starts quite well with quite good levels at the very beginning, but it's clear that they ran out of time, money, that they realized that their game was a mess or whatever you prefer. Mid point through the game, only remain generic level with very little level design. They are juste big square of layout pack VERY tightly with monsters.

    - Levelling your hero
    You might think that 3 classes archetypes are good, but the way your leveling is handled is very poor.
    Dexterity : add distance damage (guns, rifles, ...)
    Intelligence : add magic damage
    Strenght : add melee damage AND Healh.
    I guess you have already realized what was the problem. If you want to damage your enemies as a ranger, you have to points in dexterity, meaning you'll have a very low health pool. On the other side, melee is so frustrating because you WILL AGGRO ALL the monsters on the tightly packed map (and remember IT IS OVERFILLED by enemies).
    Feats for each branch (melee, magic, guns, ...) could be good, but falls short when you realize that the only useful spell / feat) is the one which does AOE damage over damage to a single enemy.

    - Enemies :
    Levels are OVERFILLED with OVERPOWERED PACKS OF DOOM. Yes quite much. You can't realize that at the begining, because they have planned their work quite toroughfully.
    At the begining, maps are quite large, and there is space between packs. Later they are all tightly filled. Starting middle of the game, you are fighting against augmented enemys (like electrical-beating werewolves on steroids). They run at you very fast, are very tough, doing insane damage to your poor health pool (remember when you had to choice between a bit more damage and health).
    Further more, there are a lot of enemies in each pack (YES A LOT).
    At this point, if you are a ranged character is to try to do kitting through the little empty parts of the map to avoid being SHRED by the RAMPAGING PACKS OF DOOM, while using all the stockpile of potions available to survive.
    You rince and repeat until the end of this... GAME.

    - Bosses and FINAL BOSS :
    As well, first bosses are quite OK. No special problems about them (most of them are glorified enemies).
    HOWEVER. The last boss is a BAD JOKE. A VERY BAD JOKE. Look at those walkthroughs on youtube. You have to spend 20 min or 40 min to beat him, constantly followed by a RESPAWNING MURDERING MASS OF ELECTRICAL BADASS WERWOLVES that can almost ONE SHOT you if you let them hit you (you have to be on the run constantly).
    If you managed to survive these 40 minutes, CONGRATZ you have finised the game !

    BEWARE : do not buy ! Or if you have already purchased it, try to ask for a refund !
    I have asked STEAM to remove it from my game list since i was so disgusted of it, so you won't see how much hours I had wasted on ... this.    … Expand
  13. UCA
    May 15, 2014
    2
    It's a diffcult game. But I think this game is too simple because you really only can be two skills, dodge an attack and attack with your weapon or magic.
  14. crashCourse
    May 27, 2014
    3
    I bought this game hoping to play with my friends but the game kept on crashing and the skills are bugged. I have be trying to get this game to work for a week and no luck.

    I had high hope for this game because it reminds me of Diablo, which I loved. Wait a few months for the developers to fix the game before you consider buying it. If it is not fixed, I suggest you spend your money    I bought this game hoping to play with my friends but the game kept on crashing and the skills are bugged. I have be trying to get this game to work for a week and no luck.

    I had high hope for this game because it reminds me of Diablo, which I loved.

    Wait a few months for the developers to fix the game before you consider buying it. If it is not fixed, I suggest you spend your money else where.

    Pro: The tutorial level worked find. Friends can spawn Lady Katarina like Star Craft's zergs (bugged)
    Con: Bugged and Crashes.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
30
#30 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 52 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 52
  3. Negative: 1 out of 52
  1. Level7.nu
    Sep 10, 2013
    60
    The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing does in no way tread new ground in the action genre. But it is still atmospheric and sucks you in with it’s combat and loot system. The online mode suffers from many bugs and the adventure does never reach the heights of games like Diablo 3 or Torchlight 2.
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  2. PC Gamer
    Aug 16, 2013
    68
    Van Helsing is long and unwieldy, but its schlocky tone prevents it becoming too frustrating of a grind. [Oct 2013, p.65]
  3. Gamers' Temple
    Aug 4, 2013
    80
    Overall, I had fun with Van Helsing and it provides a lot of gameplay for a title that can be had for under $20. If Diablo style games aren't your thing, you'll want to give it a pass, but otherwise it's worth adding to your game library.
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