Preview: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (PC)

NeoCoreGames impressive looking The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is set to stalk the creatures of the night and any and all ‘things that go bump’ this month on the PC. Is this an action/RPG you can sink your teeth into? We took a look at the beta to find out.

“We’re excited to introduce our fans to the supernatural and mysterious world of Van Helsing,” said NeocoreGames Public Relations Manager Orsolya Toth. “The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a unique and dark story told within a complex action-RPG that provides thrilling cooperative gameplay.”

I’ve been playing the beta version of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and anyone who’s used to games like Diablo or the various isometric Dungeons & Dragons titles to emerge over the years should definitely feel right at home in Van Helsing’s hat. Though it absolutely is an action/RPG like those titles (with skill trees and leveling and everything you’d expect), it’s a surprisingly fast paced one that’s loaded with enemies who’ll rush you and be on you and your AI partner in a second.

Fortunately, the son of the famed vampire hunter is no slouch in combat and you have a number of really cool offensive options at your disposal. You can tailor Van Helsing to your particular play style and get up close and personal if you like, or keep a decent distance from your enemies. When they do get in your face, Katerina (the spectral AI companion) is a surprisingly big help. Even if sometimes it’s just to distract foes so you can blast them without worry, she’s quite effective and a genuine bonus to have at times.

As you can see from the trailer too, the graphics are very nice indeed and well detailed. Both the outdoor and interior locations look good and have a ‘hand-crafted’ feel to them that comes across beautifully. The steam-punky, gothic vibe works to great effect as well and feels pretty unique- especially for a game of this type. Likewise the audio is sound (…sorry) and the banter between Van Helsing and his ghostly assistant is actually both fun to listen to and well written for the most part.

Controls are as easy as you’d expect them to be from an iso action/RPG, which is another good thing. As I said, fans of Diablo will feel more than at home with Van Helsing, even down to the screen layout which actually looks a bit like the iconic (can a HUD be iconic?) layout from the demonically-flavored hack-a-thons. And lest you think it is one, that’s not a knock. In fact, if it’s anything, it’s a huge plus.

If you’d like to take up the stake and pistol and hunt some monsters for yourself, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will be releasing on the PC (Steam) on May 22nd, it’ll cost you $14.99 USD. Oh, and if you preorder now and select a backing option here, you’ll get instant access to the Beta, which is still going on.