Quick Summary: Victor Vran is a “simplified” action RPG in the same vein as Diablo, Torchlight, and Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. In terms of art and level design the game is extremely similar to Van Helsing, fighting spooky monsters in a sort of steampunk world. The game does have some different mechanics though, that will take some getting used to if you’ve only played the previously mentioned ARPGs:

*You can Jump. This is actually not as big a deal as you might think since jumping doesn’t really dodge enemy attacks very well. It’s mostly used to cancel your channeling spells and wall jump into secret areas.

*There are no character “attributes” or “skill tree.” You don’t get points to distribute on level-up to customize your character. Instead, each level-up gives you a predetermined bonus, such as +100 life and a random loot item. Combat skills are either associated with the weapon you’re using, or “demon powers” (spells) which are found and equipped like items. They don’t level up, you just find better versions of them.

*There is no “mana” in the game. Instead you build up “overdrive” by hitting enemies, and when it reaches a certain threshold you can use your equipped demon powers, kind of like super meters in some modern fighting games. This can be changed however by equipping certain outfits (kind of like character classes). For example one outfit might make you generate overdrive passively, but you no longer gain it by hitting enemies. An outfit like this is good for “spellcasters” since you can just wait for overdrive to fill up before jumping into battle.

*The randomly generated weapons you find don’t really get that much stronger throughout the game. In Diablo or Torchlight, a high level weapon could be 100x more powerful than a level 1 weapon of the same type, but in Victor Vran, an end game weapon may be less than 2x as powerful. Weapons in Victor Vran don’t have levels or stat requirements (because you have no stats). Because of this, and the predetermined level-up bonuses, every character is generally the same at each level (except for the equipment you’re using). That means there’s more player skill needed in this game than in other ARPGs.

*One of the loot types that you accumulate is “destiny cards” which are like mix and match bonuses. There are about 25 different card types (and multiple levels of each type), each with a bonus such as +armor, +life steal, +range damage, etc. You can have up to 6 cards equipped at a time and can customize your bonuses to each combat situation.

*You can increase the game’s difficulty using “hexes” that are given to you at a certain level, and stored in your inventory. At any time you can turn on one of these five hexes for a predetermined boost to difficulty. For example one of the hexes might make enemies move faster or hit harder. Another hex might make more “champion” monsters spawn. Turn on all 5 hexes simultaneously to make even the starting areas of the game a challenge. Of course, you’re not doing this just to make life harder for yourself, the hexes also give noticeable bonuses. Each active hex gives you +10% experience and +5% magic find (better loot).

As for the game’s story, you play the title character Victor Vran, a demon hunter with a mysterious past. Your current quest is to free the kingdom of Zagarovia from demonic infestation after many of your fellow hunters have failed. The game has a central city hub from which you can access any area in the game as “missions.” This means that unlike a lot of other ARPGs you don’t actually need to run through the entire map looking for the next area, most of time you can jump to the next main quest from the main city hub (optional areas may still need to be found though). Also, since each area is a standalone mission, they all have “challenges” that can be completed for additional loot or exp. For example in one area there could be challenges for “find all secrets” or “kill 30 spiders without taking damage” etc. You can replay each area as many times as you want to get all the challenges, they don’t need to be done all at once (many of them require more than one play through anyway).

I mentioned earlier that skills are bound to your weapons, and what I mean is that each weapon “type” (for example sword, hammer, sabre, etc.) has 3 skills that you can use when it is equipped. The first skill is the basic attack, possibly with some small random effect. The other 2 skills have cooldown timers, but may be significantly more useful. For example swords have a skill for high damage to a single target, and a daze skill for stunning an enemy. Shotguns have a skill for high damage to a single target (instant cooldown when you kill any enemy) and an area effect blast skill. The game pauses (in single player) when you open your inventory, so feel free to swap weapons as needed to adapt to enemy types. You may find though, that most of the time you’re just smacking enemies to build up enough overdrive to unleash an awesome demon power on the hordes. There are some truly powerful damage per second demon powers that can clear entire rooms (sunray, boomerang, etc).

Pros:
+Interesting game mechanics that rely more on skill than on having godly equipment.
+Co-op multiplayer, though there aren’t that many people playing nowadays.
+There is a transmutation system to build/upgrade your weapons, but unfortunately I didn’t really know to keep my old loot until near the end (apparently inventory space is infinite in this game). You need to sacrifice weapons/items for transmutation, and I had already sold all the stuff I thought was trash. Transmuted weapons can be more powerful than “legendary weapons” because of the ability to boost specific traits.

Cons:
-The story is kind of lackluster, possibly because the game seems to be adapted from another language. Maybe it’s just bad voice acting though. The voice acting from the main antagonist is pretty good though.
-The ability to jump around can be a little annoying because it’s not always clear whether or not you should be able to jump a gap. There are a lot of “invisible walls” that block your progress when you’re trying to jump.

I was kind of hoping to come back after beating the game and just breeze through all the areas again, completing all challenges and getting Steam achievements, but because of the way the game works (you’re not that much stronger in the end) I wasn’t able to do it. I guess I’m not patient enough to replay levels over and over trying to meet specific criteria. Overall, the game is fun and worth the 16 hours or so that it takes to beat every level at least once, especially if you enjoy action RPGs. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do much multiplayer, due to the low online player base.

Quick Summary: Victor Vran is a “simplified” action RPG in the same vein as Diablo, Torchlight, and Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. In terms of art and level design the game is extremely similar to Van Helsing, fighting spooky monsters in a sort of steampunk world. The game does have some different mechanics though, that will take some getting used to if you’ve only played the previously mentioned ARPGs: *You can Jump. This is actually not as big a deal as you might think since jumping doesn’t really dodge enemy attacks very well. It’s mostly used to cancel your channeling spells and wall jump into secret areas. *There are no character “attributes” or “skill tree.” You don’t get points to distribute on level-up to customize your character. Instead, each level-up gives you a predetermined bonus, such as +100 life and a random loot item. Combat skills are either associated with the weapon you’re using, or “demon powers” (spells) which are found and equipped like items. They don’t level up, you just find better versions of them. *There is no “mana” in the game. Instead you build up “overdrive” by hitting enemies, and when it reaches a certain threshold you can use your equipped demon powers, kind of like super meters in some modern fighting games. This can be changed however by equipping certain outfits (kind of like character classes). For example one outfit might make you generate overdrive passively, but you no longer gain it by hitting enemies. An outfit like this is good for “spellcasters” since you can just wait for overdrive to fill up before jumping into battle. *The randomly generated weapons you find don’t really get that much stronger throughout the game. In Diablo or Torchlight, a high level weapon could be 100x more powerful than a level 1 weapon of the same type, but in Victor Vran, an end game weapon may be less than 2x as powerful. Weapons in Victor Vran don’t have levels or stat requirements (because you have no stats). Because of this, and the predetermined level-up bonuses, every character is generally the same at each level (except for the equipment you’re using). That means there’s more player skill needed in this game than in other ARPGs. *One of the loot types that you accumulate is “destiny cards” which are like mix and match bonuses. There are about 25 different card types (and multiple levels of each type), each with a bonus such as +armor, +life steal, +range damage, etc. You can have up to 6 cards equipped at a time and can customize your bonuses to each combat situation. *You can increase the game’s difficulty using “hexes” that are given to you at a certain level, and stored in your inventory. At any time you can turn on one of these five hexes for a predetermined boost to difficulty. For example one of the hexes might make enemies move faster or hit harder. Another hex might make more “champion” monsters spawn. Turn on all 5 hexes simultaneously to make even the starting areas of the game a challenge. Of course, you’re not doing this just to make life harder for yourself, the hexes also give noticeable bonuses. Each active hex gives you +10% experience and +5% magic find (better loot). As for the game’s story, you play the title character Victor Vran, a demon hunter with a mysterious past. Your current quest is to free the kingdom of Zagarovia from demonic infestation after many of your fellow hunters have failed. The game has a central city hub from which you can access any area in the game as “missions.” This means that unlike a lot of other ARPGs you don’t actually need to run through the entire map looking for the next area, most of time you can jump to the next main quest from the main city hub (optional areas may still need to be found though). Also, since each area is a standalone mission, they all have “challenges” that can be completed for additional loot or exp. For example in one area there could be challenges for “find all secrets” or “kill 30 spiders without taking damage” etc. You can replay each area as many times as you want to get all the challenges, they don’t need to be done all at once (many of them require more than one play through anyway). I mentioned earlier that skills are bound to your weapons, and what I mean is that each weapon “type” (for example sword, hammer, sabre, etc.) has 3 skills that you can use when it is equipped. The first skill is the basic attack, possibly with some small random effect. The other 2 skills have cooldown timers, but may be significantly more useful. For example swords have a skill for high damage to a single target, and a daze skill for stunning an enemy. Shotguns have a skill for high damage to a single target (instant cooldown when you kill any enemy) and an area effect blast skill. The game pauses (in single player) when you open your inventory, so feel free to swap weapons as needed to adapt to enemy types. You may find though, that most of the time you’re just smacking enemies to build up enough overdrive to unleash an awesome demon power on the hordes. There are some truly powerful damage per second demon powers that can clear entire rooms (sunray, boomerang, etc). Pros: +Interesting game mechanics that rely more on skill than on having godly equipment. +Co-op multiplayer, though there aren’t that many people playing nowadays. +There is a transmutation system to build/upgrade your weapons, but unfortunately I didn’t really know to keep my old loot until near the end (apparently inventory space is infinite in this game). You need to sacrifice weapons/items for transmutation, and I had already sold all the stuff I thought was trash. Transmuted weapons can be more powerful than “legendary weapons” because of the ability to boost specific traits. Cons: -The story is kind of lackluster, possibly because the game seems to be adapted from another language. Maybe it’s just bad voice acting though. The voice acting from the main antagonist is pretty good though. -The ability to jump around can be a little annoying because it’s not always clear whether or not you should be able to jump a gap. There are a lot of “invisible walls” that block your progress when you’re trying to jump. I was kind of hoping to come back after beating the game and just breeze through all the areas again, completing all challenges and getting Steam achievements, but because of the way the game works (you’re not that much stronger in the end) I wasn’t able to do it. I guess I’m not patient enough to replay levels over and over trying to meet specific criteria. Overall, the game is fun and worth the 16 hours or so that it takes to beat every level at least once, especially if you enjoy action RPGs. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do much multiplayer, due to the low online player base.