The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (PC) review "It's quite credible, really..."

I don't have many demands when it comes to Diablo-style action-RPGs. I anticipate a healthy supply of foes to defeat, simple mechanics, fairly in-depth character customization, loads of quests and plenty of loot to pick up, exchange, and sell. Lore and gripping storytelling help bolster these experiences all the more, but neither of them are absolute musts. Really, I just want click things to death and nab ridiculously-named pieces of equipment while satisfying NPCs. Plenty of games exist that tick all of these boxes, but so many of them fall somewhere in the middle in regards to quality. That's part of the genre's curse because it's difficult to find a basic blend of action and roleplaying that doesn't eventually prove tiresome or repetitive.

Case in point: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing...

I'm not compelled to bash this title overmuch because it mostly provides the kind of content a Diablo clone should. However, it makes one early misstep in only giving you one class and locking the other two behind paywalls. Once you're past the early junk, you move onto pretty much what you would expect: mythological monsters and undead enemies everywhere, which you eliminate through constant clicking. Each felled beast rewards you with cash and experience, while "champion" monsters also boost your reputation. As you gain levels and reputation, you earn points to allocate to your stats, learn new skills (which manifest as either fresh attacks or passive boosts), and acquire perks that grant permanent bonuses.

You know, standard stuff...

Of course, modern "click everything to death" games like this one include companions that serve as both secondary offense and pack mules, and Van Helsing is no different in that respect. This one provides you with Katarina, a snarky ghost who either brawls the opposition or gives you support, all depending on how you set her up. She also receives her own statistic increases and new skills with each level, though a lot of her offerings tend to act as a secondary group of perks for Van Helsing himself.



For the first two-thirds of the campaign, the experience wonderfully scratches the Diablo itch. You cut through hordes of werewolves, harpies and satyr-like beings for ages, eventually figuring out a decent enough build for your character as you go. Fallen adversaries drop generous gifts that strengthen your monster hunter, or at very least provide you with enough merchant fodder that you never hurt for cash. You also seldom want for healing items or mana potions with your adequate wealth.

Hell, the game sticks so rigidly to its own sense of simplicity that it doesn't bog you down with an immense world to explore, and that's just fine. Its maps aren't entirely linear, sporting a few side routes, hidden places for special prises, and side quests to activate. You know, pretty much what you would expect from a game of this nature...

And that's both Van Helsing's strength and nearly its undoing. This product doesn't really try to be more than it is, effectively satisfying its target audience. However, its lack of standout material leaves it teetering between "merely average" and "terrific" for a good portion of its campaign. It's unfortunate, too, because the affair eventually sours during the its last third, and it could've softened the blow with stronger, more original content.



The last few stages prove daunting, where you slog through numerous battalions of mechanical menaces, Frankenstein-ish creations and vengeful specters. You'll run afoul of your share of damage sponges that require way too much time and attention to topple, not to mention massive contingents of ranged attackers. And some of the latter groups can take you out with a single, concentrated round of bullets. When you perish, you can choose to either respawn at the hub for no cost at all, revive at a checkpoint for small portion of your money, or raise where your body currently lies for a hefty chunk. That last selection pretty much becomes your sole effective strategy against some of the late-game menaces, where you try to dish out as much damage as possible before you croak, pay a hefty fee and start killing again.

Because of the above factors I listed, some of the final regions can take hours to get through individually. I nearly gave up a couple of times before reaching the finish line, once while battling through an old town and again while securing a port, because I was growing bored of slowly filling in the map, taking on practical moshpits of enemies and cheesing the expensive respawn option.

Thankfully, I never ran out of dough because I constantly earned equipment to sell. However, I always had merchant fodder because I reached a point where none of the goods I found provided even decent increases to my stats. Part of the problem I encountered was that equipment in this title tends to modify too many different stats at once, and I ended up securing a lot of pieces that graciously strengthened one or two statistics while tremendously weakening two to four others. Eventually, nothing was worth using and looting became significantly less enjoyable as a result.



At last, I was able to push through the annoying port stage, and the campaign at least ended on a few high notes by hitting me with levels that weren't overlong and a final boss that required some observation and strategy. Never mind that the guy wouldn't stop spouting pop culture references while I hacked away monster-generating contraptions or destroyed minions that could heal him, because the last little shebang somewhat pulled the staling experience together.

Honestly, Van Helsing hits its mark, but doesn't accomplish much more than that. It gives you plenty of things to repeatedly click on and exchangeable armor and weapons, but it never steps out of the safety of that formula. I don't want to say that it would have totally rocked if it had, because sometimes going against the grain produces rotten works that would've been better if they had adhered to established standards. At the same time, I won't accuse this one of being bold or "incredible." Really, it's a mildly enjoyable RPG, albeit occasionally a tedious one.

Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (October 13, 2025) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.