Victor Vran finally came to consoles and and the console edition includes all the DLCs previously released to the game. I’ve always liked the game since it was released on PC but I feel like its home is definitely in the consoles. Let’s take a look at how this game performs on the PS4.
Platform Reviewed: PS4
Platforms Available: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Haemimont Games
Publisher: Eurovideo Medien
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Price: $39.99
This review is based on a review copy provided by the Eurovideo Medien.
Victor Vran is really made out for consoles. The controls are just very fluid and feels right at home. You use the analog sticks to move Victor around and each button corresponds to a skill. It plays a lot like Diablo III except that your character here can jump and scale walls.
The skills are tied to the weapons that you get in the game. Each weapon has three distinct skills that will help you fight the horde of enemies that you meet in the game. There are different weapons which makes for a variety of gameplay styles. Each of which offers a unique experience every time. My go-to weapons are the Sword and the Lightning Gun.
The sword is your simple hack-and-slash type of weapon. It’s perfect for close-combat fights as you can effectively defeat multiple enemies with just a few slashes. It also has a stun skill which gives you room to hack away at the enemies. The other sword skill knocks back enemies which is great if you feel like escaping a swarm of enemies.
The lightning gun I think is the best ranged weapon in the game. It has a long reach and because it is elemental there are enemies that are weak to it. One of its skills is that it releases a ball of lightning that will repeatedly attack an enemy for a period of time. This is great especially if you want to keep out of reach from the enemies. The other skill releases a chain of lightning in an area that can effectively kill multiple enemies at once.
I didn’t like the hammer weapon because it has a slow attack speed but it compensates by delivering massive damage when it hits. It is a good weapon of choice if you really want to kill enemies with one blow. The only downside is that it really puts you in a vulnerable state during the time when you are swinging the hammer.
These weapons are more effective though if you are using the Hunter class. There are three classes in the game and they amplify a certain weapon’s damage and skills because of their passive abilities. Classes in this game are defined by the outfit you wear. There are 8 outfits all in all plus an additional three which you can access through the DLC.
Another feature of the game is the demon power. Demon powers are useful spells that you can utilize whenever you gain a pool of energy that is called Overdrive. Overdrive gets filled every time you attack an enemy. Passives and other attributes from weapons and cards can make the Overdrive gauge fill up faster. The one demon power I find useful if you are a melee type of player is the Sanguine Aura. The Sanguine Aura heals you over time which is very useful if you are running out of health pots.
Another useful demon power is the Time Bubble. Casting the Time Bubble releases an area of effect dome that slows down the enemies that goes into it. Very useful if you are facing hordes of enemies.
Another feature I’d like to highlight are the destiny cards. The cards have attributes that helps Victor in battle. For example, equipping the Vampire card gives you life steal which enables you to gain health everytime you attack the enemies. There are even cards that are most effective when you use a certain weapon as they improve the attributes of them.
There are several areas that you can explore in the game including the castle which serves as the hub of the game. The castle is where you can dye your outfits or buy and sell weapons and destiny cards. You can even store up items that you’d like to save for future uses in their storage area. Each area of the game offers a challenge which upon completion provides rewards like extra experience or extra gold and sometimes a rare weapon.
I’m not really sure what the difference is between the PC version and the console version but I guess graphics wise they would really be far better on a high-end PC. The console version does make good use of the controller as I believe it is best suited for playing with controllers.
I guess one interesting part of the game is that the protagonist Victor Vran is voiced by the same voice actor as Geralt of the Witcher series. Victor Vran is also accompanied by this demon that is possessing him by a curse in which drives our protagonist to find a way to vanquish him.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Victor Vran but I feel like it doesn’t really give way for replayability unless of course you’re a completionist who wants to get all the achievements that the game has to offer. Other than that, the game is not as memorable but it does provide a lot of fun gameplay and mechanics. I can recall how enjoyable it was to play through the final boss of the game as it is not a pure hack and slash kind of boss fight. If you are looking for a game that is similar to Diablo III but is tired of the Diablo III gameplay then this game is something you should check out.
