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The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing - All News

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Saturday - January 18, 2014
Tuesday - January 14, 2014
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Sunday - December 08, 2013
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Wednesday - November 06, 2013
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Box Art

Saturday - January 18, 2014

Van Helsing - Meet the Bonus Kit

by Couchpotato, 01:30

Neocore Games has information on their development blog about a free bonus for those that pre-ordered of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it Superman? Nope. It's the Bonus Kit, a token of our appreciation.

We surprised every Hunter who pre-ordered the game with this little gem, that consists of an aura and a special item. The Bonus Kit also accompanies every Support Pack.

Missed the pre-order? No worries, you can still get the Bonus Kit by ordering any of the above displayed Support Packs.

Tuesday - January 14, 2014

Van Helsing - Review @ PixelGate

by Couchpotato, 05:45

PixelGate has a late review for The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing, and gives the game a final score of 6/10.

If you enjoy games like Torchlight, and Diablo then you’ll probably still have a good time with Van Helsing if you can overlook some of the minor issues present with the game. Should you pick it up? Why not, it’s only about $10 on Steam right now due to the Winter sale and for that price I can definitely recommend the game. Plus, it is based on a licensed property and most games that are don’t really live up to standards, but Van Helsing is at-least still playable, and can be still enjoyed from time to time.

Sunday - December 22, 2013

Van Helsing - Review @ PixelGate

by Couchpotato, 04:31

PixelGate has a new review for The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing.

Is the game bad? No, but there’s some issues floating around in the game such as it feeling unpolished and at times quite boring, and meh during the campaign experience. I also never really got the chance to check-out the co-operative aspect due to connection issues, but it’s definitely still a fun game to romp through and at-least spend a little bit of time with.

If you enjoy games like Torchlight, and Diablo then you’ll probably still have a good time with Van Helsing if you can overlook some of the minor issues present with the game. Should you pick it up? Why not, it’s only about $10 on Steam right now due to the Winter sale and for that price I can definitely recommend the game. Plus, it is based on a licensed property and most games that are don’t really live up to standards, but Van Helsing is at-least still playable, and can be still enjoyed from time to time.

Sunday - December 08, 2013

Van Helsing - Interview @ SegmentNext

by Couchpotato, 04:32

Segment Next interviewed Orsolya Toth the Community Manager for Neocore games about the development of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, and it's sequel.

Van Helsing is a slight break from the real-time strategy games (RTS) like King Arthur you’ve previously worked on. What are the things you could take from that into the new project and what elements were surprising or unforeseen challenges that you didn’t anticipate, going into Van Helsing?

Orsolya: Although our previous strategy titles had some RPG elements too, they were quite different in terms of gameplay and development, so the biggest challenge was definitely the new genre.

Developing levels for a game with isometric top down view was a bit strange for us at first as we were not used to it, so we had to design the game maps in a different way to present the environment.

Creating the animations was tricky too: we used to rely a lot more on motion capturing for our strategy games but now with the rather willingly exaggerated movements in Van Helsing we had to use more hand-drawn animations for the game – although we could rework some mocap basics for the main character, for the running animations or a few fighting moves.

Another big challenge was the enemy [artificial intelligence] AI.

With our strong ties to the RTS genre, at first we tried to force an advanced enemy AI into Van Helsing and create monsters that used tactics, evaded attacks with good dynamics, stepped out of the range of [area of effect] AoE spells or went around the zone of damage. It was simply not fun that way, so we had to reorganize our thoughts and remind ourselves that this is a different genre with different fun factors.

We decided to stick to the traditional monster groups of the genre for now but I must admit that we did not give up entirely on the thought yet: in the sequel we’d rather think of the AI as an advanced unit ability.

We plan to add some monster groups who will have the special “ability” of being cleverer than others – combining their skills, for example. In the first game we only used this for some boss fights but in the sequel we’ll see this more often.

When it launched, how was criticism for Van Helsing? What parts did you feel were its strongest selling points and how did that work for critics?

Orsolya: The most praised features were definitely Lady Katarina, the game’s witty humour and unique setting, the Rage and PowerUp system, the graphics, all the pop-cultural references, the monster design and the tower defense sequences of the game.

Most critics spoke very highly of these features and they really enjoyed the game, although we got some remarks about the multiplayer issues after release and the lack of replayability and no endgame content.

Now the game has a new netcode so finally we could expand the multiplayer features and add [player versus player] PvP mode beside the co-op and we added monster respawn, 30+ level scenarios and the Never-ending Story to fulfill the need for the endgame content.

Thursday - November 28, 2013

Van Helsing - Complete Edition Review

by Couchpotato, 02:30

ZTGD has a new review of the recently released Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Complete Pack, and gives the game a final score of 8.9/10.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was a fantastic game and the Complete Pack adds all the extras that were released. Aside from the three pieces of DLC, everything else is patched into the original game so if you already own the game, you have the patches. All you need now are the DLC classes and Lady Katarina skill tree. If you don’t already own the game itself, pick up the complete pack and get it all in one fell swoop. You won’t be sorry. The game was and still is great and the new additions make it even better. For $20, you get a game that is right up there with Torchlight II.

Thursday - November 21, 2013

Van Helsing - Complete Pack Out Now

by Couchpotato, 06:33

Neocore has news from a new press releases that Van Helsing I: Complete Pack is now available for purchase. Here is a new video. and details.

Van Helsing I: Complete Pack Out Now

Christmas is coming early this year with the Van Helsing I: Complete Pack, a complete version of the first part in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series. The pack includes the base game and everything that has been introduced to the gameplay since the launch of the original. After paying close attention to the requests of the community, this package comes with three unique classes, PVP and co-op multiplayer mode, new netcode, PC controller support, monster respawn system, and the long awaited endgame content. In An Open Letter to our Fellow Hunters we explain the changes the game has gone through since its release and talk about the newly introduced features of the pack.

"With The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing we wanted to leave the doors open for community feedback since the first stages of development." said Zoltán "Pozs" Pozsonyi, producer of the game. "Thanks to our community we could improve the game in every possible way and we definitely count on their help in the future too."

The Van Helsing I: Complete Pack is out now on Steam for $19.99 along with a Free Demo for those who want to try the game first before spending their hard-earned gold.

Limited time offer: The pack releases with 50% OFF and lasts for two days after release.

Download the  Van Helsing I: Complete Pack screenshots and watch the Launch Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyNC1vOkUk

The Van Helsing I: Complete Pack key features:

  • Three playable classes – To embark on this gothic-noir adventure, players can choose from three very different classes: the classic Hunter with shooting and melee skills, the magic-wielding Thaumaturge, or the Arcane Mechanic, the master of deadly devices.
  • Detailed level-up system – Players are able to spend points on hit points, mana, damage, and much more as they traverse through skill trees to mold Van Helsing to their liking.
  • Hunter’s Lair – A central hub for players to stash collected loot, trade with non-playable characters, accept new quests from allies who join the resistance against the scientific scourge, teleport between locations, forge new items, and utilize the alchemy lab.
  • Tower-defense mini-game – When the Hunter’s Lair is attacked by enemies, players have the opportunity to defend their HQ with deployable traps and several upgradable functions to ward off evil.
  • Rage system – Enabling players to have up to three active skill modifiers called PowerUps, players have the ability to charge their PowerUps by way of spending Rage points collected from impressive feats.
  • Unique companion system – Lady Katarina, a ghost with snappy wit, comes to the support of Van Helsing with her own set of abilities, behaviors, and two skill trees.
  • Multiplayer – Allowing players to test their skills against each other via the PVP mode (16 players) or join their forces and complete the story in the co-operative campaign (4 players).
  • Endgame content – Based on the community’s demands, the complete pack now includes various scenario levels, the Neverending Story, and respawning monsters.

Wednesday - November 06, 2013

Van Helsing - Complete Pack

by Couchpotato, 03:50

NeoCore released a new trailer announcing a Complete Pack for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing with a release date of November 20th on Steam.

Van Helsing I: Complete Pack Coming November 20th to Steam!

Play the game with three different classes and use Katarina's deadly skills to decimate your enemies. All wrapped together in one complete pack.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a real-time Action RPG filled with fierce and demonic battles, memorable characters, and a refreshingly unique story loosely based on Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula.

Wednesday - October 30, 2013

Van Helsing - Content Overload @ Gamebanshee

by Couchpotato, 04:12

Gamebanshee has gathered a bunch of information including  a walkthrough, and item database for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

We've been really impressed with Neocore Games' The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, and that's driven us to make it the focus of our latest dedicated subsite. In addition to a full review of all the post-release content Neocore has dished out since the action RPG's release, we have fully annotated walkthroughs for both the original game and all DLC, a searchable equipment database, detailed location information, lists of all Hunter, Thaumaturge, Arcane Mechanic, and Katarina skills, and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

 

Thursday - October 17, 2013

Van Helsing - Arcane Mechanic DLC Released

by Couchpotato, 00:38

Well seems the tease from yesterday was correct as Neocore has officially announced the release of the Arcane Mechanic.

Arcane Mechanic DLC Releases Today for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Did you think that Weird Science was your enemy in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing? You were right! But you can always fight fire with fire, as the saying goes. The Van Helsing: Arcane Mechanic DLC now allows you to play a specialist class, the master of weird devices, deadly gadgets and arcane machinery: engulf those monsters with poisonous fumes, scorch them with deadly tongues of flame and rip them apart with powerful explosives or simply deploy mechanical allies and traps and let them do the rest. When you can rely neither on swords nor magic, show them the power of SCIENCE!

The Van Helsing: Arcane Mechanic DLC releases today on Steam at 10am PDT for $3.99.

The Van Helsing: Arcane Mechanic DLC features:

  • a new character class, the Arcane Mechanic

  • new, class-specific gear

  • new skills and unique perks

  • new tactics and game mechanics: traps and deployed mechanical creatures

  • 3 class-specific quests with 2 brand new maps in single player campaign

Wednesday - October 16, 2013

Van Helsing - New Class DLC Teased

by Couchpotato, 00:49

Lightning Gaming News has information about a new class based DLC for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Neocore Games have issued the following singular screenshot showcasing a new class in action in their hit action-RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The developers have promised that the new class DLC should be expected soon, which is good news for those who have finished the main game and are itching for an excuse to get back into it, but with a little more variety this time. The previous class downloadable content was the magic-based Thaumaturge, so this one is likely the previously teased Arcane Mechanic (you can check out some footage of that engineer-like class in action right here).

 

Friday - October 11, 2013

Van Helsing - Interview @ Spawnfirst

by Couchpotato, 00:37

Spawnfirst has a new interview and contest with the PR Manager of Neocore on their site for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Did you originally conceive the idea for the game with Van Helsing in mind or did you decide that the lore surrounding Van Helsing would best fit the type of game you were creating?

From the very beginning we had Van Helsing in mind as our main character. We envisioned a story about his incredible adventures and only then did we start creating the game, exactly in that order. Years ago, our content designer, Viktor Juhász, broke his ankle and the injury forced him into bed for weeks. During this forced, but creatively fulfilling rest, he started to work on four game design plans and one of them was The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. Our team loved the idea so much that we all agreed that the game needed to be made. We found Van Helsing a good choice since the name brings up very strong associations with literature and history, and we could easily twist the well-known elements of the background into an enjoyable experience for our potential fans.

Was adding in Katarina also planned from the beginning, or was it decided on at a later time?

At the very beginning, Van Helsing was the only character that we knew would be in the game for sure, but the idea of a charming ghostly companion presented itself quite early. Katarina’s concept, like many other things in the game, went through many changes during the development. Fortunately, as it turned out, our fans love this witty and beautiful ghost almost as much as we do. She’s a great help to our young hero and I think Van Helsing sometimes needs a cheeky woman to criticize every single step he takes!

I see that you let the fans decide between 3 looks for Van Helsing; The Chevalier, The Mysterious Stranger and The Veteran. What was the reason behind this?

We always try to create our games to appease and entertain our players, so we always want to hear their feedback from the fans at any stage of development. Earlier in the development cycle, after the first teaser trailer was released, it turned out that the fans wanted much more from us than a manga-looking Van Helsing with big, glowing eyes and white hair. So, as promised, we took their feedback seriously and decided to change the look and feel of our main character. We created three different Van Helsing variations and let them choose which one would be the best fit for the game. Finally, the Mysterious Stranger received 72% of the total number of votes, so it was quite obvious what our community wanted.

What made you decide to have the story focus on Borgova?

Since our studio is located in Hungary, right in the neighborhood of the amazing region of Transylvania, and our office is smack in the heart of Budapest, the beautiful historical European city, we had quite a few sources of inspiration around us. In this game, we wanted to create a dark, fictional gothic-noir kingdom, which resembles a historical European country from the 19th century. It’s like a scary, but beautiful metropolis from a dark tale. Although the city of Borgova is a fictional place, a couple of real buildings and streets from Budapest show up in the game. So what made us decide to have the story focus on Borgova? Simply because we love it. :)

Thursday - October 10, 2013

Van Helsing - Thaumaturge DLC Review

by Couchpotato, 00:15

Gaming Trend takes a look at the Thaumaturge DLC for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

The character itself seems a little like a glass cannon, and I’m not sure that the ghostly sidekick, Katarina, is up to being a full tank. She does well enough with hordes of weaker enemies, but when a named monster appears she doesn’t last too long. In my limited time, I found a surprising multi-class built in – Thauma-jogger. Facing off against weaker enemies, the otherwise-named wizard can more than stand his ground - rage enhancements help take down enemies faster but I found myself running a lot more than I’d expected when larger swarms of enemies appeared.

All in all, the entire skill tree is powerful, and if you’re looking to revisit the game after having beaten it (as I now have), the Thaumaturge DLC is worthwhile. Playing around with the spells is cool, and I get where they couldn’t just tack this on as a third alternative to the hunter class. Also, if you haven’t played Van Helsing, then I’d also recommend getting it, though it is by no means a must-have. If you do pick it up, don’t expect the DLC to fix anything of any significance (that I noticed) from the original game, and you can be sure your wizard will be getting a healthy cardio workout.

I really hope that NeocoreGames puts more polish into the already announced sequel, and looks to allow us to move between classes and reuse existing characters. There is something truly endearing about the world and characters they’ve created. A full retread isn’t going to happen here, but it’s nice to see that they’re expanding the character classes to include magic, and with some fantastic in-game combat visuals, it’s easy enough to lose track of time playing it.

 

Monday - September 30, 2013

Van Helsing - Patch 1.1.2 Released

by Couchpotato, 00:28

NeocoreGames announces that patch 1.1.2 is now available for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. Here is the changelog,

The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing V1.1.2

The new DLC contains a new playable class, the Thaumaturge. However, if you did not buy the DLC, these changes will still affect your game client:

 

Function changes:

  • Tricks and Auras are no longer learned from masters. They are either automatically known from the beginning or you can learn them in the story. 
  • The achievements related to learning Tricks and Auras have been removed.
  • Tricks and Auras have expertise and mastery additions, like regular skills.
  • Tricks are also not limited to two slots any longer, but Auras still have that limitation.
  • There are four freely customizable secondary skill slots besides the two main ones. These new slots accept both Tricks and regular skills.
  • Health and Mana potions have been moved to new positions on the GUI.

Balance changes:

  • Many item enchantments have been rebalanced. The changes apply to existing items as well as to the new ones.
  • At the enchanter you can’t put the same type of enchantment that already exist on an epic item any more. Duplicates on existing items have been removed.

Friday - September 27, 2013

Van Helsing - Thaumaturge DLC Released

by Couchpotato, 01:08

The Thaumaturge DLC for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing that I mentioned last week is now available on Steam.

You must be familiar with the traditional approach to monster hunting: grab a melee weapon, take a firearm (just to make sure), prepare your tricks and witness those creatures flee in terror! But there are other, somewhat unusual methods that rely on a quite different source – which is called magic.

What if you could turn the esteemed Van Helsing into a totally different kind of monster hunter? Van Helsing: Thaumaturge DLC now allows you to play a specialist class that will surely spice up your gaming experience. The Thaumaturge is the master of the occult hunting traditions, an expert on the rare mystical arts. Forget the steel blades and those rude guns, and use purely your stunning arcane abilities.

Key features
• a brand new character class, the magic-wielding Thaumaturge
• a new skill tree, new equipment and unique traits
• brand new tactics and game mechanics to support the new class
• 3 new quest lines in the single player campaign
• 2 brand new maps

Friday - September 20, 2013

Van Helsing - Thaumaturge DLC

by Couchpotato, 00:57

NeocoreGames has announced a new class dlc for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The new DLC will cost you $3.99, and you can purchase it starting September 26th. Here is the official trailer to go along with the announcement.

New Class DLC on the way for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Have you ever wondered how awesome it would be to take out your enemies with a wide range of destructive spells... as the great monsters hunter Van Helsing? You wanted it and we decided to make it possible! In the new Van Helsing: Thaumaturge DLC you can play the Thaumaturge (try saying that fast three times in a row; or just once), a brand new class for the indie action RPG title, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (visit the Steam page for more information).

The Thaumaturge is a rare type of hunter, specialising in the magical arts, with some stunning arcane abilities. Stab your foes with ice shards, force them into a fire ring (or a square, triangle, or whatever shape you can imagine for your firewall) and once they’re nicely rounded up, blind them, boil their blood and hurl thunderbolts into their faces. It sounds like fun, doesn't it? Then recharge your Mana and jump into the battle next week when the new DLC comes out on Steam!

Tuesday - September 17, 2013

Van Helsing - Review @ Press2Reset

by Couchpotato, 00:26

Press2Reset has a late review for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing giving the game a 8.5/10.

Despite my high praise for this game, the bugs encountered during co-op play sessions were particularly annoying. My partner struggled to join my game if we got disconnected for even a second. His game crashed a few times when he tried to join after getting booted from the game. At one point he was getting an error prompt about the Steam Cloud not being able to sync properly due to the crashes. Luckily we were able to reconnect by rebooting our computers, but if we hadn’t been able to figure that out, my partner would have wasted his 10+ hours of co-op with me. By joining someone else’s co-op game, you don’t have your own save file to play single player.

But if you aren’t playing this game in co-op, the only major issue I had was the incredibly long loading times the first four to five hours of gameplay. I was unsure if my game was frozen; it also crashed once while trying to load. I did not have this problem after the first few hours of gameplay, but unnecessarily long load times seems to be a problem for many besides myself.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was entertaining and fun. While it didn’t break any new ground in the action RPG genre, I thought it was a great representation of how this type of gameplay could continue to be interesting and not end up being repetitive after five hours.

Tuesday - September 03, 2013

Van Helsing II - Preview @ Save Continue

by Couchpotato, 00:41

Save Continue has a short preview of the second part of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing from Pax Prime.

After a brief hands-on period with Van Helsing II, it should come as no surprise that the core of the game is left untouched. Using the same engine as its predecessor, VHII is more left to being a touch-up versus a full-fledged sequel, as there will be expanded skill trees, familiar faces, and all-too obvious adventuring.

Saturday - August 10, 2013

Van Helsing - 50% off on Steam

by Couchpotato, 00:41

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is now 50% off on Steam. The deal ends August 12th and is peferct for those that still haven't played the game.

 

Thursday - August 08, 2013

Van Helsing - Interview @ Capsule Computers

by Couchpotato, 00:48

Capsule Computers is the next site to interview PR Manager Orsolya Tóth, and Community Manager Mátyás Csikós. The topic of discussion is The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Being a Hungarian based game developer, what was the motivation to get the company running?

Orsolya:
Our goal was the ultimate dream of all gamers, which is to create great games. Certainly we had our own ideas about how we should do this, and the only way to achieve our goal was to gain control and do it ourselves. There’s nothing better than seeing your project finally becoming the GAME you’ve always dreamed of.

Your previous titles such as King Arthur and The Kings’ Crusade encompass a mixture of RTS and RPG elements. How did the action RPG genre come into play? Was this an easy transition?

Orsolya:
Everyone in the team loves RPGs, and we’ve already been toying with the idea of creating one for a very long time. We even wanted our King Arthur game to be an RPG in the beginning, and while we had to admit that RTS was a more fitting style for the King Arthur storyline, still we couldn’t help but add quite a few RPG elements to the King Arthur series. With Van Helsing, we basically just carried on with the original plan of creating RPGs :)

Why Van Helsing? What was the reasoning in deciding on the Bram Stoker theme? Was there a team gathering where members started yelling out personal interests (TOOTSIE ROLLS! ECTOPLASM! VAN HELSING!)?

 Mátyás:
The idea was born in 2009 as one of the four possible drafts for future games. Van Helsing was a good choice because many people are familiar with the name and they can instantly tie the person to the monster-hunting profession. But Bram Stoker’s Dracula was just a starting point for us. The story takes place in an alternative Europe similar to Stoker’s world and it focuses on Professor Van Helsing’s son who needs to face new trials if he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps. And yes, there were many great individual ideas, but sadly enough we ruled out Darth Vader and the fighter jets at the very beginning :)

Sunday - August 04, 2013

Van Helsing - Interview @ True PC Gaming

by Couchpotato, 00:53

True PC Gaming has interviewed Orsolya Toth the PR & Community Manager at NeocoreGames.

What are some of the successes and failures you learned from in developing The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing?

There were quite a few ideas that didn’t make it into the game after all. For example we thought other classes would not fit into the game world so well, and a deeper questing system would impact the fluency of the gameplay. So we went for a single but bigger and branching monster-hunter class with various different skills and a simpler story and quest system. Looking back now, these might not have been the wisest decisions as a lot of fans were missing these features from the game, but this is something we can learn from and we really want to listen to the feedback of our fans while creating the sequel.

We wanted The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing to be a fast-paced hack ‘n’ slash but at the same time we also wanted to spice it up a bit so we implemented a lot of humorous conversations and quotes and put more emphasis on the role of Lady Katarina, your companion. Based on fan feedback, this addition turned out to be very successful.

How do you feel about DLC and its current implementation in the PC gaming industry?

DLCs can be great if they really add value to the game. For example, they are great to keep the attention of players while a sequel arrives, and this is the case with Van Helsing. We always liked working on a project even after it was released, so we also tend to create extra content for our games, in many cases we use the feedback of the community and the critics to find out what they missed from the game and if we can, we add it. Van Helsing is no exception either, it has both free and paid DLCs available, and more of them are on their way already.

How do you feel about the online modding community in general and specifically if mods were created for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing?

Our games usually do not support modding, because most of the time they are made with tools developed by NeocoreGames. For example, the entirety of Van Helsing’s graphic engine was developed by our team. While we understand that mods are very important to extend a gamer community or to keep the current one close, we couldn’t establish a modding support for our system yet.

Monday - July 29, 2013

Van Helsing - Interview @ Gamingbolt

by Couchpotato, 12:55

Gamingbolt has an interview with Orsolya Toth the Community Manager at Neocore games.

Ravi Sinha: Firstly, regarding the critical success of the game, did you expect it to be appreciated so much? Especially considering the amount of AAA hack and slash titles coming out on a yearly basis.

To be honest, the game’s success surpassed all of our expectations, and of course we are extremely happy about the amount of positive reviews the game received. It’s always nice to see that players enjoy our game, especially if we take the heavy competition into consideration. With so many ARPGs released frequently, we are very happy to see that a lot of people chose Van Helsing.

Ravi Sinha: Where did the inspiration come from for the gothic-noir tone of the game, and the fictional setting of Borgova?

There were plenty of literary pieces and movies that affected our content designer, the most important sources are: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the movie and the novel), Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hide, all sorts of classical gothic stories, The Brotherhood of the Wolf (French movie) and Vampire Hunter D (the anime). To create the gothic world of Borgova, we drew a lot from Budapest; we were inspired by a lot of buildings and places that represent the capital’s style. Just to mention a few: the Heroes’ Square, the St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Royal Palace were all notable sources of inspiration.

 

Monday - July 15, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup #6

by Couchpotato, 00:41

Here are a few more reviews for The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing. Enjoy the lastest review roundup for a game I recommend.

Hit-Rest - 6/10     

Gorgeous artwork, and a fitting score featuring tracks that feel very Eastern European help to give the solid, enjoyable single player campaign real depth. However, the failure and/or inability to address many of the glaring bugs in multiplayer really bring the game down, much as I wish this wasn’t the case

ComboCaster - 7.5/10

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing may not be the game that we stay playing for months on end, and we are eager to play the perfect outfit, but will certainly entertain fans of the genre, especially if they bring friends aboard the adventure.

KumaKreations - No Score

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a BUY! It is an addicting classic thrill ride with hilarious moments and unique situations.If you want an awesome adventure filled with dark humor and great combat, then give this title a look into which is available right now.

GamingNexus - 8.5/10

It's not often that games are released containing such an extensive amount of content in addition to being highly-polished for such a low price. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing offers players both a satisfying and addictive experience over the course of its lengthy adventure. The game might not be overly large in scope as other titles, yet it's difficult to complain as the game is highly-entertaining and contains a great deal of content for a low price. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a must-buy for fans of slaying monsters and acquiring masses of loot.


 

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a BUY! It is an addicting classic thrill ride with hilarious moments and unique situations. The one thing I forgot to mention is the choice system in certain situations; in one example where I had the choice of keeping the werewolf pack leader alive or not, however when going online my co-op partner didn’t leave much choice and just killed the monster. Thankfully the online and offline feature are two separate entities, which is a good and bad thing when you think about it. I can’t import my offline character to the online feature, so that means you have to start all over again, but the upside is playing differently, which grows the replay value. This title is also available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace, but this feels more comfortable as a keyboard/mouse kind of title. The price point at $14.99 and right now on the Steam Summer sale it is going for $11.24, not bad at all and there is already DLC available right now. If you want an awesome adventure filled with dark humor and great combat, then give this title a look into which is available right now. All right hunters Katarina and I have to head to the swamps and deal with some bog demons, but I hope you enjoyed this review. Stay frosty gamers! - See more at: http://www.kumakreations.com/reviews/review-of-the-incredible-adventures-of-van-helsing-pc/#sthash.VVdhw8jt.dpuf

Friday - July 05, 2013

Van Helsing - Q&A and Sequel Details

by Couchpotato, 02:36

Incgamers interviews the Community Manager, Narrative Designer, and Lead Writer about NeocoreGames The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 1 & 2.

IG: So, where did the inspiration come from to make The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing? From the film(s)?

V: There are plenty of literary works and movies that affected us, but the most important sources are Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the movie and the novel), Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde and all sorts of classical gothic stories. I particularly liked the atmosphere of The Brotherhood of the Wolf (which is a great French movie) so there might be glimpses of that too somewhere.

IG: Did you think about using Kickstarter to fund The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing?

O: It did cross our minds, yes. But we decided not to take that route because a Kickstarter campaign would have taken up too much time in the beginning from the actual development and we didn’t feel we were known enough in the industry to easily draw people in. We couldn’t really find the game’s place in the so popular stretch goal system either when Kickstarter reached its true potential and the game already started to shape up nicely anyway. To be honest, we never really thought it through as a real option.

Although a crowd funding might have made things easier for us of course, we didn’t really need it. Fortunately, we were able to fund the development on our own so we wanted to keep it that way. However, around the game’s beta stage we launched a pre-order page with different support packs where our fans could support us in the last stages of development and it truly helped a lot. We might consider crowd funding in the future though if we’ll have a project we can’t start on our own.

IG: How did you come up with all those witty and funny moments like the Domovoy Baggins, the two-headed cow or the epic chicken egg drop etc?

V: Fortunately the dark humour in Van Helsing made it a perfect playground for us to include all sorts of popcultural references from games, movies, books and turn them into secret and funny easter eggs that we love so much.

 

 

Saturday - June 29, 2013

Van Helsing - Blue Blood DLC Released

by Couchpotato, 03:02

Neocore has released a DLC called Blue Blood for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. It's available on Steam for $1.99.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Blue Blood DLC Now Available on PC

Budapest, Hungary – June 27, 2013 – Esteemed indie developer NeocoreGames today announced that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing’s second DLC, Blue Blood, is now available worldwide for $1.99 on Windows® PC via Steam. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a gothic-noir steampunk action-RPG that offers dynamic single-player and cooperative play.

Blue Blood enables players to turn their female ghost companion Lady Katarina into a more efficient monster hunter by introducing a new accessory that opens up a new skill tree. Eight brand new skills are now available to Katarina including Wraith Frenzy that boosts her attack rate and Chillwave, which creates an aura that will decrease enemy movement, attack, and casting speeds. She also has new abilities such as summoning two ghost mirages of herself to fight alongside Van Helsing and the chance for Katarina to earn hit points for each Rage point spent. Please note that Blue Blood requires a Steam version of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

In the meantime, the development team rolled out new expansions to Scenario Mode as well, including a new system of rewards for killing monsters and two new scenarios within the Croakwood and The Rookery. The new reward system allows players to gain Glory points for killing monsters, which then can be spent on bonuses in several areas among all in-game characters a player has created.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, released May 22, pits players in fierce battles against familiar supernatural foes in a one-of-a-kind action-RPG. Following the journey of Van Helsing, son of the famed vampire hunter, players can partake in an immersive cooperative multiplayer or single player campaign to watch the engrossing dark storyline unfold. A tale wrought with wry humor and snappy dialogue, the dark adventure presents larger-than-life obstacles to overcome yet delivers a romantic charm of the fantastical 19th century Europe.

 

Sunday - June 16, 2013

Van Helsing - Review @ Gamebanshee

by Couchpotato, 00:11

Gamebanshee has posted their review for the The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Conclusion

Overall, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a pretty entertaining game, especially for a $15 budget title.  There are some parts of the game that could work better, but the setting and the dialogue make it worthwhile.  In fact, about the worst things I can say about Van Helsing is that it's too short.  The campaign only takes 20 hours to complete, and once you defeat the final boss, that's it.  There isn't really anything more for a character to do.  All you can do if you like the game is create a new character and play the campaign again.

I played through Van Helsing twice, once with a "normal" ranged character and then once with a "heroic" melee character.  Those two games were more than enough for me to say that Van Helsing is worth the price of admission, but for others you might be happy to hear that the game also comes with a cooperative multiplayer mode, where you can play the game with your friends -- or random strangers.  In other words, if you enjoy action RPGs at all, then Van Helsing is an easy game to recommend.

Thursday - June 13, 2013

Van Helsing II - Announced

by Couchpotato, 00:05

Neocore announces The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II. You'll be able to import your character from the first game to continue playing.

Budapest, Hungary – June 12, 2013 – Esteemed indie developer NeocoreGames announced today The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II for PC, bringing players the follow-up to the popular gothic-noir steampunk action-RPG influenced by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Returning fans will be able to import their characters from the first adventure, while new hunters will have the opportunity to create their own legendary monster-hunter.

"In the first game it all seemed so simple," said Viktor Juhász, narrative designer at Neocore Games, "defeat the mad scientist, free the land and ride into the sunset, but sometimes the fall of a villain only opens the way to more sinister foes.”

The incredible adventures continue, and Van Helsing, the famous monster-hunter returns to save the day again with the help of his charming, ghostly companion, Lady Katarina. The gothic metropolis of weird science is on the brink of destruction as chaos rules the streets and a new enemy plots revenge. It’s time to enter the dark side of Borgova and the forbidden wilderness, but beware: you are not the only one behind a mask.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, currently available worldwide $14.99 via Steam on Windows® PC, is a one-of-a-kind action-RPG that pits players in fierce battles against familiar supernatural foes and enables players to partake in a tower-defense mini-game within Van Helsing’s upgradable lair to ward off evil that attempt to overrun the base by way of force.

Thursday - June 06, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup #5

by Myrthos, 12:47

Here are a few more reviews for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Destructoid, 5,5 / 10

The game looks really good on high settings, and some of the enemy design is terrifically horrible. After all, this is a game about slaying monsters, so these monsters better have some good designs. Granted, they're not all winners, but the "abominations" in particular are great. The voice work is okay, which is all you could really ask for here, considering the story is completely forgettable. As a colorblindie, I did have some troubles seeing some of the greenish-brown enemies from the greenish-brown environments, but mindlessly clicking my way around ended up working just fine.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a little more uninteresting than the title may lead some to believe. Power-ups add a bit of activity to the otherwise boring combat, though the game prefers piling up the sheer number of enemies instead of providing interesting ones. A forgetful story, performance issues, and an unexplained tower defense element hold Van Helsing back from living up to its true potential, and what's left meanders the line between standard and boring.

Capsule Computers, 8

Lacking in the game at the moment are a couple aspects. Currently there are a few bugs that may leave the game feeling unpolished, but future updates over Steam can help cure this issue. In addition, the story seems to simmer in the background while the action is piping hot. If the team were to balance this ratio a little bit more or add alternate story paths, a greater replay value could be accomplished.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing delivers a quality title for a fraction of the cost. The game provides a great foundation for gameplay which mimics successful competitors. During development NeocoreGames must have kept the player’s needs before their own to make an understandable interface as well as providing heavily desired RPG elements. How often can you pay $15 for what seems like a retail game?

Digitally Downloaded, 2/5

While remaining reasonable for the first few hours, the difficulty of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing ramps up quickly. This partially has to do with the somewhat unreasonable groups of monsters that easily swarm the player. Most enemies come in their own gangs of sorts and attacking any one of them alerting the rest of the enemies to your location. Another issue is that there are no real enemies which could be considered, cannon fodder; many of them take a surprising amount of hits to kill and can do significant damage to the player. This, combined with the swarm behaviour, makes dying in the game very easy. Groups of champion monsters are the worst, as they can be frequent and take several dozen hits while dishing out lots of damage. And all of the experiences I am describing to you were all on playing the normal difficulty; I cannot begin to imagine what perseverance it takes to get through the higher difficulties.

Gamestar (German), 8

Google-translated:
Where other action RPGs starting out but really after the first playthrough, long-term adventurers do not come at their expense in Van Helsing. A second passage offers little new, namely the areas have not generated randomly and the hero always the same. Also for our high level character, there is little to do: Once emptied levels do not fill up with new monsters and a second start at a higher difficulty level is not possible. Only a few extra-heavy scenario, we can tackle that, the developers have released as free DLC. Currently still deplete quite quickly - constant replenishment is promised, if anything comes of it, we will have to see. But even if it stays on the first play through, which still offers despite the quirks of the game fifteen hours entertaining adventure - for fifteen euros since you can even now not go far wrong.

Horrible Night


TIAVH is a solid ARPG, though not one that’s going to overtake the genre. The multiplayer is pretty weak currently (as in it struggles to work and there aren’t that many people online) and while Neocore did add some additional content in the form of a free patch, there’s  sn’t as much there to make you want to dive back into the game. I liked the tower defense aspect that came into play later on, but would have liked to see it fleshed out a bit more and feel more important. I hate to keep making indirect comparisons to the ARPG powerhouses that are currently vying for the throne, but it’s going to take a lot for TIAVH to go toe to toe with them.

Brutal Gamer, 7

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, is a great PC game that varies it up from the usual Action and RPG games that have been overdone to death. The Imaginative setting gives the world a truly unique feel and will please your inner steampunk. The combat while responsive and meaty, could benefit from more use of magic.

Katarina is a great companion and helps keep the story from feeling drawn out and boring though. And The Co-op could use some work before you attempt to play the entire game with friends. Still, for only 15 dollars, this 12-15 hour experience should not be passed up. A truly enjoyable experience.

Blog Critics, 4/5

I had a blast with this title. I found the settings, the cheesy storyline and repartee’ to be most entertaining. So much was I enthralled by it all that I had to put a timer on myself since I didn’t end up staying up until the wee hours playing it.

 

Tuesday - June 04, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup #4

by Myrthos, 17:49

Here are a couple more reviews for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Coin-Op.TV

The ultimate question you have to ask yourself before navigating the dark noir world of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is whether you’re willing to exchange the few ounces of polish the game lacks in favor of a fun and cost-effective hack-n-slash click-tacular gaming experience. Van Helsing does manage to build up a story with some depth, where “monsters” aren’t necessarily sporting sharp fangs and those who do can become great allies. Where the game unfortunately lacks though is its often troubling multiplayer connectivity. Even if you manage to connect with others for 2-4 player co-op, the niche audience for this indie title might make it difficult to find others to fight by your side. That’s why, as with all indie games, the best way to show your support is to encourage others to join you.

Dealspwn, 8

It's high time, however, that we discussed what will likely be Van Helsing's most controversial sticking point. There's no easy way to write this, so here goes in the least tactful way possible:

Enemies do not respawn, and there's no end-game content whatsoever. Not even a New Game + mode. Once you're done, you're done.

SaveContinue, 9

If I had to get nit-picky, there are really only two issues I’d say that the game could have used work on. The first is wider array of enemy types, and the other is the few minor instances of backtracking that you are forced do in the game. These are niggling ‘complaints’ at best, and I certainly don’t believe that they detract from the overall experience. The backtracking is well laid-out within the story of the game, and it doesn’t feel like you’re doing it just to do it. The missions have legitimate reasons; it would just have been nice to do them somewhere else I hadn’t already seen.

Gameranx

For 15 dollars, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a large package. I enjoyed the playful dialog between Van Helsing and Katarina, the search for secrets across a grim fantasy setting with strange beasts and dangerous machines. But while some may enjoy standing amongst several dozen enemies, trying to find the right distribution of attributes, abilities and equipment in order to survive, I found the lack of nuance and strategy tiresome. Van Helsing's incredible adventures simply became incredibly tedious.

Venturebeat

Helsing has some clever writing, especially the banter between its main character and Katarina, but the story was practically non-existent. Van Helsing travels to Borgovia to help out a resistance who’s trying to stop a mad scientist from doing all his evil stuff, and this plot plays out with few surprises or complications. It serves only to send you to the next monster-infested area rather than to provide any compelling reason for Helsing to get involved (other than the fact that he’s a hunter, and this is just what he does).

The Bitbag

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is witty, charming and is just fun to play but doesn’t do anything spectacular or different to separate itself that much. But I just can’t keep myself from playing it. I keep going back to it, something I didn’t do with Torchlight or Diablo but I just can’t explain why. I seriously recommend it to all ARPG aficionados out there and for only $15, you get a lot in return. I didn’t even play the multiplayer portion yet and I’m sure it will prolong the experience even more. If you’re not all that crazy about ARPG, wait for a price drop but its launch price makes it a very good deal as it is. Did I mention about the free DLC? Just get this game at this price, it’s totally worth it.

Godisageek, 8

Multiplayer is always going to be a big part of an Action-RPG too, and The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is no different in that respect either: the entire game can be played co-operatively with up the four players in total. It’s a little strange with four Van Helsings running around the same screen, but once you’ve picked up a few different items of clothing, you should be able to differentiate between players. Another thing which helps differentiate is the fact that each person can create a unique first name for their character. Each character needs to be called “Van Helsing” – that’s what he’s referred to throughout the game – but the first name is never mentioned at all and can be anything. I personally had a little bit of trouble finding a game to play in multiplayer, as there only seemed to be a couple of games to join at any one time, and those didn’t last long before the host decided to stop playing, but I’m sure that if you get a few friends together you won’t have any problems at all. There’s only one thing better than one Van Helsing, and that’s four of them!

Video games uncovered, 78%

Overall the game is an amazing experience to behold as you travel the fantasy steampunk world and combat against many different creatures to get o your final goal. Challenge can spike and heavily lower at times which can be inconsistent, but overall the game does make itself more enjoyable with the addition of fully voiced characters and a series of events that will literally have you on your toes.

So what do you guys think of the Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing? Do you think it is the dominant game in the genre or do you reckon it will get hunted down like a beast? Let us know what you think about the game in the comments and be sure to pick it up today on Steam.

RPGamer, 4/5

The game can be completed in less than fifteen hours, during which players will likely have vanquished around ten thousand foes, but there are a number of sidequests and post-game scenarios to help satisfy players' desires to explore Borgova and spray monster parts all over. The most replayability likely comes from starting again at a higher difficulty. Multiplayer is implemented, although this first time around it feels to be more of an afterthought. Up to four Van Helsings can meet in a multiplayer room to adventure together, while players can also select the "Go Online" option from the menu at any point, which seems to result in the sudden appearance of a random fellow Van Helsing nearby, who more often than not disappears equally as quickly without much interaction. The lack of multiplayer focus doesn't really take anything away from the game, and it can be assumed that this aspect will be improved in future games, but those hoping to find a particularly substantial multiplayer offering may struggle to find it here.

Rock Paper Shotgun

For its flaws, and there are many (including some dreadful load times), playing Van Helsing single player is an absorbing time. It drip-feeds you just enough to feel that sense of continuous progress, and the combat really does become more than frantic clicking (in reality you can just hold the left mouse button down, but that never feels right).

The £12 price tag makes it a lot more compelling. While never stunningly original, and mostly extremely familiar, if you’re somehow craving another ARPG between Grim Dawn, Path Of Exile, and Torchlight 2, then this ought to tick a good few boxes.

Van Helsing - Scenario DLC Now Available

by Couchpotato, 02:03

Neocore Games has announced that the free Scenario downloadable content is now available for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The DLC adds two cryptic levels that are playable in single-player and cooperative play.

The Scenario DLC enables players to fight high-level monsters that are above the level 30 threshold throughout the new levels reachable from the Secret Lair. Additional levels will be added to the Scenario DLC throughout the year along with unique in-game items and spectacular boss fights. After future updates, players will earn ’’Heroic Deeds” to boost their character to an even more legendary status as they slay the mysterious threats to the world of Borgovia."

The DLC is free as part of the new update so Steam should automatic update the game. Happy gaming.

 

Monday - June 03, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup #3

by Couchpotato, 00:05

Here we are with what we will be my final posting of reviews for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.


GameSpot - 7.5/10

Lack of community aside, Van Helsing's only real problem is that it doesn't go the extra mile. Nothing is particularly spectacular, but Neocore's latest game is a tight adventure with a few blemishes here and there, and it will keep fans of the genre enthralled for quite a while, especially if they can rustle up some friends to come along for the ride.


IncGamers - 7/10

In single player, Van Helsing is a part-traditional, part-peculiar action-RPG with an endearingly silly plot and just enough vocal flair to carry it off. The restriction of a lone melee/ranged class (and the current lack of a ‘new game plus’) means that there probably isn’t a great deal of replay value for those who like to obsess about endless character builds, but for around $15 USD you’ll get 12-15 click-filled hours of substantive looting.


Games.on.net - No Score

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing has its issues, but they feel comparable to those of most developers after their first attempt at making an Action-RPG. It is great to look at, fun to play, but lacking in a few minor areas such as core replayability and a balanced skill system. The game has a lot of potential, and it is very possible that this is the start of something beautiful… something you might want to be a part of.


The Digital Fix - 7/10

Being a budget indie game, at under half the price of a standard release, we can certainly give The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing far more slack than is possible to give to those cold giants at Blizzard, however that being said it is a shame that Neocore have not used their indie freedom to create a game with a touch more originality. With all things considered we can say at the very least that the game is beautifully presented, with a vibrant and stylised world to explore, all of which runs on surprisingly low-spec machines. The characters are intriguing, particularly the role of the ghost Katerina, and the action is challenging if rather repetitive. So, if you are disconnected from Diablo III, destroyed Dungeon Siege III, trounced your way through Torchlight (including its sequel) and are still craving more bloodshed then The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will provide at least a dozen hours of extra entertainment for a relatively small investment. Sadly however in no way does it redefine the genre.


Hardcore Gamer - 4/5

The Adventures of Van Helsing is an excellent game that deserves to be played by those looking for an extremely well written experience and for fans of old school RPGs everywhere. With a game length that puts many AAA developers to shame, NeoCore Games punched well above their weight and succeeded where so many indie games have failed in the past.


Quarter to Three's Tom Chick - 2/5

Van Helsing also has a set of perks he can pick among because, well, it was pretty cool in Fallout so there’s no reason it shouldn’t be here. I mostly admire that Neocore is willing to mix some Fallout and Orcs Must Die into my Diablo. If they’d gotten more Diablo in there, I might still be playing.

Saturday - June 01, 2013

Van Helsing - Free Scenario DLC

by Couchpotato, 00:15

In a new press release  it looks like The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is going to receive a new free Scenario DLC  for existing players, and new buyers.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Receives Free Scenario DLC

Budapest, Hungary – May 31, 2013 – Esteemed indie developer NeocoreGames today announced that the Scenario DLC is now available for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, a gothic-noir steampunk action-RPG available worldwide on Windows® PC via Steam for $14.99. The Scenario DLC is a free downloadable content that introduces two cryptic levels that are playable in single-player and cooperative play.

The Scenario DLC enables players to fight high-level monsters that are above the level 30 threshold throughout the new levels reachable from the Secret Lair. Additional levels will be added to the Scenario DLC throughout the year along with unique in-game items and spectacular boss fights. After future updates, players will earn ’’Heroic Deeds” to boost their character to an even more legendary status as they slay the mysterious threats to the world of Borgovia.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing pits players in fierce battles against familiar supernatural foes in a one-of-a-kind action-RPG. Following the journey of Van Helsing, son of the famed vampire hunter, players can partake in an immersive cooperative multiplayer or single player campaign to watch the engrossing dark storyline unfold. A tale wrought with wry humor and snappy dialogue, the dark adventure presents larger-than-life obstacles to overcome yet delivers a romantic charm of the fantastical 19th century Europe.

Source: GameBanshee

Tuesday - May 28, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup #2

by Couchpotato, 01:19

Well it's time for more reviews from sites you never heard of for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. I also found some time to play the game, and can say to everyone buy the game. You wont be disappointed.

Gameover.gr - No Score

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a hack n 'slash adventure that will surely give you many hours of fun, especially if you experience the experience with three other friends. Those concerned with action hack n 'slash RPG titles, is almost certain to sink very fast in the world of Van Helsing, especially for those who like high challenge. Many described it as "Diablo-poor", but eventually the Neocore Games has denied them. More than 10 hours duration, quadruple co-op mode, rich design world, a variety of enemies and Rage system are some of the things that make us think that the € 10,99 make The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing as one of the most comprehensive proposals to indie Steam.

XGN- 8/10

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is therefore pleasant to play. You do not bother you with the graphic quality and the ability to adjust a lot to play the way you want, makes the game a lot of fun to make. It is therefore a pity that we still encountered plenty of bugs. The worst even made sure that a mission could not be completed and we no longer could continue playing. NeocoreGames developer has promised that this will not happen after installing the update via Steam. Then do this safely, so you do not have to start after a while again.

Newbreview- 4/5

If you’re a fan of dungeon crawlers then this is certainly one you should check out, and if you’re not it would also server as an excellent introduction to the genre… particularly at what ends up as a bargain price considering the variety of game-play available! Everyone wins!

The Good: Combines much of the best of Diablo and Torchlight, refining their formula if anything, and adds a bunch of variety into the mix.

The Bad: Not the longest game in the world, but that’s definitely reflected in the price. Certainly some room for DLC?

Bagofgames- 8/10

At the end of it all, I must say that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a solid action RPG. I cannot say whether the game is better or worse than Diablo 3 or Torchlight 2, but what I can say is that it comprises of features from both these games. In some aspects, such as gameplay, this game definitely succeeds, however, in other aspects, such as storytelling, there is room for improvement.

If you are in the market for some loot collecting and looking for a solid action RPG experience, then The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is the game for you. With a current price point of only $13.49, this game is more than worth it.

Saturday - May 25, 2013

Van Helsing - Review Roundup

by Couchpotato, 00:10

Here we have a few reviews for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.


Hooked Gamers- 9/10

Neocore are stepping out of their comfort zone creating an ARPG, but if this is indicative of the care they take in every facet of game development, I look forward to seeing what the future brings for the company. I’ve been playing this game for over 10 hours and according to the narrative designer, I am at about 70% of the main plot line. I haven’t spent too much time exploring or searching for Easter eggs, but judging from the list of hidden goodies within the game I can well imagine the game lasting at least 20 hours for those that do (on hard, that is). For a 15$ indie game, that is a lot of content. The game is very well done and interesting to play and with the option of four player co-op, which means four Van Helsings and four Lady Katarinas, I cannot but give the game my highest recommendation for any Action RPG fan looking for a thrilling experience. Get this game, dear reader. You will not be disappointed.

StrategyInformer- 8/10

What The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing may lack in replayability it makes up for in competence, enthusiasm and easy charm. The moment to moment slaughter, the deceptively deep levelling and abundance of powerful loot mean it's a difficult game to put down. If you're sick of Path of Exile's grind, or tired of poring over auction house entries in Diablo III, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing offers you a more immediate option – to step into the shoes (and hat) of the roguish monster hunter and get down to the timeless pursuit of killing many monsters.

6aming- 4/5

There have been a few bugs and crashes I have come across in my time playing the game. The developers have been quick to jump on these issues and fixed the majority with an update. Since then I have yet to come across a crash and everything is running smoothly.

So, will I return to The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing? For the foreseeable future, yes I will. I will recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the action-RPG genre or just anyone looking for a fun time. Neocore Games did an amazing job bringing this world to our eyes and thrusting us into the life of a monster hunter. I will eagerly await the next entry in the Van Helsing tale.


The Controller Online- 5/10

If you really enjoy top-down, hack-and-slash, RPG’s then I think you’ll like The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The setting, environments, and characters are quite charming and manage to stay fresh throughout. Unfortunately, the severe technical issues the co-op mode shipped with are going to mar the release of an otherwise decent game.

Canadian Online Gamers- 84/100:

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a very enjoyable game that I had a fantastic time playing. It really gives some recent Action RPG’s like Diablo III a run for their money, at a fraction of the cost. It truly felt like I was playing a full retail title. That being said, I did find the combat to be a bit repetitive at times, and the build I played suffered from a few bugs, but considering that this is an indie title this is somewhat excusable and Neocore is fully committed to support and updates as needed. This is the first in a trilogy of games and I am a nxiously looking forward to playing the next installment. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing has so much content to offer including a rich and interesting narrative, spectacular graphics, a beautiful soundtrack and an extensive level system, and even with some of the issues I noted I still consider it a must play and an experience that should not be missed.

Friday - May 24, 2013

Van Helsing - Update Released on Steam

by Couchpotato, 07:07

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing received it's first update on Steam. You know the drill already Steam should automatically update the game.

Major changes include:

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing v1.0.01

Known issues:
- The multiplayer game still has some issues. Please use it with a character created for the multiplayer only because data loss may occur sometimes.

Balance changes:
- The Blood Rabbit is a lot stronger now.
- The monsters in the Sewers around the Secret Lair are weaker now.
- The final wave of attackers in the Siege of the Secret Lair has been reduced in numbers.
- The price of some epic items has been modified.
- The shooting range of the Dreadknechts has been decreased

Fixed bugs:
- Multiplayer
- Fixed an issue at "Online character" saving.
- A lot of crash/disconnect issues have been fixed.
- The ping column has been removed from the game list.

- Fixed an issue with the audio volumes.
- Fixed an issue with Veteran Domovoys AI.
- Fixed an issue with the scrollbar in the Ink Gate window.
- The final boss will talk your head off - like he should do.
- The outro movie is played when the final boss has collapsed - not when he gets the killing blow.
- You could only select from the first 10 skills you've learned even though there are 11 active skills. This has been fixed.
- Fixed crash on the Artifact Forge window.
- Fixed an issue with conversations in different resolutions.
- Localisation issues have been fixed in the German, Spanish, Hungarian and Portuguese language versions.
- Cloak appears properly on Van Helsing when the equipped item is changed.
- The area of the bridge detonation cutscene has been adjusted (it could be avoided)
- Fixed a bug with the customize button. (It didn't save your settings if you used online character.)

New features:
- 2560x1080 and 6052x1200 resolutions are supported.

Van Helsing - Review @ Softpedia

by Couchpotato, 00:13

As promised from the last gameplay post Softpedia has posted their review of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

I'm a huge RPG fan, but when it comes to hack and slash games, I'm a bit picky. I was profoundly disappointed by Diablo III, though I greatly enjoyed the previous installments in the series.

Fortunately, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing restored my faith in the ARPG genre and proved once again that small studios like Neocore can create amazing games even if they do not get too much exposure.

There are some things that still need to be ironed out by developers, but, overall, I can guarantee that every RPG fan will enjoy Van Helsing's adventure in Borgovia. And for the price you have to pay, it would be a mistake to miss such a game.

I sincerely believe The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is one of the best RPG titles released this year and I can't wait for the second installment in the series, which is expected to arrive in about six months.


The good:
- Immersive steampunk setting
- Deep character development and customization
- Brilliant voice acting
- Refreshing gameplay
- Art work and music perfectly fit the dark gothic environment

The bad:
- Broken multiplayer
- No monster respawn in single player
- Limited replayability 

Thursday - May 23, 2013

Van Helsing - Now Avaiable On the PC

by Couchpotato, 00:37

Neocore Games announces that The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing has officially launched on PC exclusively on Steam. The game is available for $13.49 due to being 10% off on Steam till May 29th.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a real-time Action RPG filled with fierce and demonic battles, memorable characters, and a refreshingly unique story loosely based on Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula.

Set in a gothic-noir universe resembling a fantastical 19th century Europe filled with monsters, magic, and weird technology, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will follow the son of the famed hunter, known in-game as Van Helsing, in a tale wrought with wry humor and snappy dialogue. Van Helsing, a larger-than-life hero possessing a dark yet romantic charm, will follow his path to the dismal land of Borgovia where former supernatural foes have enlisted his help to defeat a new scourge terrorizing the ravaged city.

Wednesday - May 22, 2013

Van Helsing - Gameplay Video @ Softpedia

by Couchpotato, 00:08

Softpedia has a quick look at the The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and includes a gameplay video also.

The story is set in 19th century in Eastern Europe in a world full of magic, monsters and weird technology.

As a RPG fan, I found this steampunk universe intricately depicted by Neocore, starting from monsters that freely roam the fictional kingdom of Borgovia and continuing with the plethora of weapons, armors, skills and perks including in the game.

I cannot refrain from comparing Van Helsing with Diablo III and Torchlight II. Even though the former borrows lots of RPG elements from the other two, it takes all those features to a whole new level.

The main protagonists, Van Helsing and his ghost(ly) companion Katarina, will make use of a wide range of weapons, including revolvers, swords, muskets and rifles.

There are all sorts of actions that you can predefine for your companion, like allowing her to collect all loot that drops from monsters.

You can set Katarina's behavior or how exactly you want her to fight: melee, ranged or ghost. The latter only provides buffs to your character, but it's extremely useful in boss fights.

Your character's skill tree is huge and it's split in three categories: Mystic Warrior (melee), Occult Hunter (ranged) and Auras. There are no classes in this game, so you can choose the skills that define your play style.

The good news is that you can level up your companion as well. Although Katarina's skill tree is not that big, I found most of the abilities extremely powerful.

Friday - May 17, 2013

Van Helsing - Hunter's Lair Trailer

by Couchpotato, 00:13

Just a few days before release of The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing Neocore has posted a new video simply called "Hunter's Lair."

Monday - May 13, 2013

Van Helsing - More Previews

by Couchpotato, 08:06

Here are a few more previews of the soon to be released ARPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

GGS Gamer

Almost every skill circle has three abilities linked to it that can also be unlocked – for example, your first skill is a basic melee attack, and linked to it are a stun attack, heavy attack and precise attack. Each of these can be activated in combat in exchange for Rage Points, which are accumulated by being in combat. You can have two active skills that can be activated by left and right clicking, and each sub-skill can have more than one Rage Point attached to it to power it up. Different combinations are subject to different effects, so it’s a system that lends well to extensive experimentation.

That’s probably good because combat quickly seems to come down to Van Helsing being surrounded by a mass of enemies and hacking away at them while Katarina chips in, with no real capacity for diversity. Your ghostly companion can be set to dive into melee combat while Van Helsing holds back picking enemies off with his ranged weapon, or Van Helsing leads the charge while Katarina supports from a distance. There doesn’t seem to be much movement on variations between the two.

Gamercast

It's not just the enemies that are bursting with atmosphere, the land of Borgovia is absolutely full of character, walking through the village of Markovna you can hone in on snippets of conversations, meet strange and interesting npcs and just soak in all the little intricacies that the developers have lovingly added into the game.

Atmospherics and character aside, what makes The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing so appealing is that whilst the main quest of the game is very absorbing, there is a wealth of side quests and exploration to reward those that want to uncover that last bit of fog on the map, and we aren't talking grinding missions where you must talk to some guy, go and kill a bunch of things and bring him back the stuff that is dropped, oh no, we're talking taking down mini-bosses, solving puzzles, locating runestones, convoying merchants and even reuniting a dead man with hi

Source: GameBanshee

Friday - May 10, 2013

GameBanshee - Hands-On Preview of Van Helsing

by Couchpotato, 05:42

GameBanshee has posted a preview of the soon to be released The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.


The interface for Van Helsing is about what you would expect for an action role-playing game. The camera gives you an isometric view of your surroundings, and the left mouse button does the bulk of the work, allowing you to move, attack, and pick up loot. You can also use the right mouse button for a secondary skill, press the Q key to quaff a healing potion (all of the healing potions are the same, so a single key is enough), press the R key to switch between melee and ranged attacks, and press the shift key to attack without moving.

What you do in Van Helsing, for the most part, is kill stuff. During the early part of the campaign, you encounter bandits, werewolves, mechanical men (who look a lot like British redcoats), harpies, and more. You also talk to people to pick up quests and purchase equipment, which sometimes requires you to make decisions. For example, at the end of one quest, I had to make a choice about killing or freeing a werewolf. I decided to let him go, and later I got a reward because of it. I also saw some places where I had to choose what to do with quest items, where different actions give different rewards.


So far I'd say that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing looks pretty good.  I liked the theme of the game, with fighting evil creatures in dark caves and forests, and I also enjoyed the rapport between Van Helsing and Katarina, who have amusing conversations with each other.  I didn't see much of the main storyline (you receive a plea for help from somebody in Borgova, but I was still on my way there when the preview build ended), and so your ultimate goal in the game is still a mystery, but I'm optimistic that it will be fun and surprising based on the writing samples I've seen so far.  Look for Van Helsing to be released at the end of this month

Thursday - May 09, 2013

Van Helsing - Livestream Tonight at 9:00 EST

by Couchpotato, 22:48

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing launches on Steam on May 22, 2013, and GamingNexus has a two hour gameplay session of the game live on Twich.tv. Keep in my mind were I live it's still May 9th for at least 8 more hrs.

Beginning at 9:00 EST tonight, we’ll be streaming a two hour gameplay session of the game live on Twich.tv. I am going to build a new character, from scratch and give you some insight on the first couple hours of the game. We’ll be fielding questions in the chat section of the feed as well and will do our best to answer them. Come check it out tonight!

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - May 08, 2013

Van Helsing - Steam Release Date

by Couchpotato, 00:57

Neocore Games announces that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will be released on May 22 exclusively on the PC on Steam.

DevBlog: http://www.devblog.neocoregames.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VanHelsingThe...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanHelsingGame

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is a real-time Action RPG filled with fierce and demonic battles, memorable characters, and a refreshingly unique story loosely based on Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula.

Set in a gothic-noir universe resembling a fantastical 19th century Europe filled with monsters, magic, and weird technology, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will follow the son of the famed hunter, known in-game as Van Helsing, in a tale wrought with wry humor and snappy dialogue. Van Helsing, a larger-than-life hero possessing a dark yet romantic charm, will follow his path to the dismal land of Borgovia where former supernatural foes have enlisted his help to defeat a new scourge terrorizing the ravaged city.

Sunday - April 28, 2013

Van Helsing - IncGamers Preview

by Couchpotato, 01:22

IncGamers has a preview for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

Van Helsing is a title that’s quite happy appropriating the successful parts of other aRPGs and mixing them up with a few ideas of its own.

Those ideas tend to lean in the direction of providing interesting distractions between the click-click-clicking, such as mid-map quests with varying outcomes. The aforementioned Professor Frog was happy to purchase old bone artifacts from me for historical purposes, but it was also possible to feed them to an ancient idol for some additional experience points. In another location, the decision to lead a confused ghost to the site of his hanging provoked an angry response (fair enough, really.)

These sub-quests boil down to simple dialogue tree choices or re-visiting certain areas of the map with newfound items, but NeoCore’s light, banter-tinged writing style, the developer’s flair for otherworldly encounters and the sometimes amusing over-pronunciation of words by voice actors for whom English may well be a second language keeps the diversions entertaining.

Saturday - April 27, 2013

Van Helsing - Lady Katarina Trailer

by Couchpotato, 05:15

NeocoreGames released a new trailer to introduce Lady Katarina.

Lady Katarina is a ghost with snappy wit that comes to the support of Van Helsing on his supernatural hunt to uncover the mystery of a new scientific scourge in the land of Borgovia. Katarina is of great aid to Van Helsing as she comes with her own abilities and behaviors to boost the hunter's hit points, mana, damage, and much more. Having her own skill tree, three different forms, magical tricks, and the capability to travel to the nearest town to buy and sell items, Katarina is essential for Van Helsing's adventure. Whether it is freezing enemies in place or summoning a brutal bolt of energy, her assistance is highly valued when it comes to ferocious battles in the wilderness.

Monday - April 22, 2013

Van Helsing - Yet Another Preview

by Couchpotato, 04:19

411mania has another preview from among many this week for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

The first time I played The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, I was given a brief hands-off demo by Linda Bozoradi and Orsolya Toth from Neocore. They both emphasized the Slavic Mythology-inspired world & creatures, with werewolves and ghouls being the most prominent enemies in that particular section of the game, though I wouldn't be surprised if vampires and other creatures of the night appear later in the game. Linda also shed some light on the relationship between Lady Katerina and Van Helsing. Katerina was a ghost who was saved by Abraham Van Helsing and is now bound to his legacy, and so she accompanies the junior Van Helsing in his travels.

"Snappy dialogue is key", Linda mentioned to me during a fairly amusing scene with Katerina and Van Helsing riffing off one another, Katerina mentioning that they could fly over a broken bridge with ease, before realizing that Helsing was but a mortal being without supernatural powers like flight. Katerina is a pretty stellar foil for the grim, slightly cocky Van Helsing, making pithy remarks when sent off to town to sell items ("But I'll miss all the fun!") or when seeing a man hanging from a noose ("You should take one home for your collection"). It'll be interesting to see how this relationship continues to play out in the actual game.

I was a bit blase towards the preview build of Van Helsing after the demo with Linda and Orsolya, if only because I felt like I saw what I had needed to see and was unwilling to get into one of those types of games again. And of course, some 3 ½ hours later, I reached the end of the preview build, waiting for more. I'm still a bit confused as to why this game in particular grabbed me. It doesn't have the AAA production values of a Diablo or Torchlight and it doesn't seem to completely reinvent the genre (from what I've seen). But something about the devotion to the mythology, the character interactions, the easter eggs and the highly polished core mechanics kept me going and I'm totally thrilled about that. You should already know if you want to play The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing or not, and if you do, you will not be disappointed. Even if you don't, you should probably give it a shot. It's got werewolves, man.

Friday - April 19, 2013

Van Helsing - Available for Pre-order

by Couchpotato, 18:32

Indie developer NeocoreGames announced today that The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, is now available for pre-order on PC. To pre-purchase the game and get access to the closed beta, check out their website. The game is set to release late may for $14.99

 

                                            Welcome fellow Hunters!

After more than one year of hard work - and right before we begin the next long and exciting phase – we finally hit a new milestone in the development of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, a real-time Action RPG created by NeocoreGames.

Who we are: Dedicated indie developers and huge video game fans and yes, we are Hungarians, you know, folks from the small country in the heart of Europe, who can boast of their extraordinarily strong spirit called Palinka and fortunately the attractive Hungarian women as well.

Being indie is a great challenge and a very exciting experience with incredibly long working hours and plenty of difficulties, but it’s worth it! We consider it a gift that we can create something permanent and fun.

Independence allowed us to keep you up to date during every phase of the development. Thanks to you, now we already have a very supportive and active community who are eagerly looking forward to the launch of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

And here we are: we are so glad to announce you that the game will be released this May and in these final, hectic moments we really appreciate your support. So let’s go Hunters, Veterans, Elites, Champions and Bosses, get ready for the finale!

Van Helsing - Hands-On Preview

by Couchpotato, 01:41

PCGamer has a new preview of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

The game is set in a darkly romanticized version of 19th Century Europe that’s moody enough to stand beside the likes of Diablo II and Path of Exile. You take control of the titular Van Helsing some time after his legendary father rid the world of an era when creatures of the night ruled the world. Now, however, a new darkness is rising that has something to do with the weird, unstable technology that has risen to prominence. That’s not to say that the traditional beasties of Gothic literature won’t make an appearance. There were more werewolves than you could shake a bag of Beggin’ Strips at in the 45-minute demo I played, and any Van Helsing game without vampires would be like a Blizzard story where one of the main characters doesn’t turn evil at some point.

Van Helsing is accompanied in his familiar ARPG questing, slaying, and looting by Lady Katarina. A unique story companion, Katarina is a female spectre who can help you in combat, store loot, and sell things in town while you continue to mow through the legions of darkness. She has her own equipment slots, attributes, and skill trees as well. You can build her to be a sturdy melee combatant if you’re more of a “hang back and pick things off with my crossbow” sort of player, or invest in more support-driven abilities if you’d rather remain in the thick of things.

As a sucker for dark, Victorian fantasy, I’m looking forward to The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the most polished ARPG, or the most fun in moment-to-moment combat, the story presentation is already hitting the mark enough to almost guarantee I’ll finish it once. That’s just fine. I’m not a “grind for the best gear for months” ARPG player—I’m perfectly content to see the campaign to the end if the characters and plot are interesting

 

 

Information about

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Developer: Neocore

SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Technofantasy
Genre: Hack & Slash
Combat: Real-time
Play-time: 10-20 hours
Voice-acting: Full

Regions & platforms
World
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2013-05-22
· Publisher: Unknown