Story
Of course, the game starts off exactly where the previous one left off. The civil war is over, but the future isn’t as impressive as you would expect, because the city of science is in ruins, the criminals and factions are battling for power and there is chaos all around. This is a situation where Van Helsing has to, once again, wield his sword and kill the enemies that stand in his path. The great thing for me when it comes to the story is that it builds up quite nicely as you play, since it does give you hints but doesn’t spoil anything until the very end. Also, since this is the last installment in the trilogy, you do get some sort of closure in the end, which, without spoiling anything, I consider partially satisfying.
Gameplay
As you would expect, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III has a gameplay that’s roughly the same when compared to the previous version. Even the interface is roughly the same here, but rest assured that the title does a great job in showcasing some of the new additions, so I do feel that the gameplay benefits from them.
Leveling up feel natural, which for me is a major plus in this regard. Also, there are so many skills to be had here, and the way you progress through them is also natural, something that does make the gameplay very appealing. I have to be honest and say that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III has less character players than the previous installment, which of course comes as a disappointment, and these are not the only thing that were removed, instead numerous other features, including the massiveness of the maps are absent here.
However, we still have Katarina, the trusty ghost sidekick which is always here for us. Thankfully, she is great in combat and manages to bring us even more insight into her past and a ton of other cool stuff. Personally, I think that she is a great part of the game, and the dialogs that Van Helsing has with her are very good all the time.
Combat-wise, the game is good, and depending on the class you choose, it will differ greatly. I played with an elementalist, which means that the gameplay is focused most on visual effects and spells that can be acquired once you level up. You can also upgrade the spells or any skills depending on the class. Another class I played was the melee based one, which I found quite good especially with the upgrades, since it transforms the character into a true experience well worth your time. Being able to invest in skill without unlocking them is a great plus for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, and I commend that. As a side note, Katarina also has her own inventory and skills so you can focus on that as well.
Combining skills is crucial if you want to acquire great results as you play, and thankfully there are many variations to be had. The game map is solid and not confusing like most similar games tend to be, and it manages to guide you wherever you want to go without a problem.
Multiplayer
There is multiplayer in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, and you can either play cooperative or PVP. For me, the PVP is very good although I did lose a few times, but most of the small player base you can find right now is in the cooperative stuff. It’s nice to engage massive enemies with others and I have to say that the fun comes from experiencing new gameplay opportunities. Raiding and playing as a whole is insanely fun, and I enjoy it a lot.
Graphics
From a graphical standpoint The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is pretty much the same as the second title in the series, but there are a few things that I like a lot. One is the stellar set of visual effects such as distortion or the great spells included here. Not only that, but the game world is solid, nicely done, as well as the characters, some of which do have a gruesome design which fits the story quite well.
Conclusion
While I approached The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III with a massive set of expectations, I have to say that there are a few which remain unfulfilled. The game reuses numerous assets from the previous title in the series, specifically the interface, item models and many creatures, so there are regions in which you feel that the game was copy pasted.
Not only that, but there’s another problem, which comes from the fact that you can finish this in around 6-7 hours. Combine that with the fact that the game doesn’t have the New Game Plus feature and you can clearly see that the title seems like a downgrade from the second installment, or maybe an expansion to it rather than a fully-fledged game.
Is The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III worth your money? If you never played the previous ones, this is a good action RPG, but for the fans of the series the features removed from the previous ones are a problem. This doesn’t mean that the game is bad, but it could have been better! Still, considering the very low price, you do get your money’s worth!
Reviewed for PC
Pros
- Great visuals
- Revamped skill tree
Cons
- Too much copy paste from the previous installment
- Lower level cap
- Can’t carry over characters from the previous games