In all honesty I am not sure where to start with Victor Vran. Back in July 2015 Pierre-Yves scored it well and said quite a bit that remains true nearly two years later. Victor Vran is an excellent hack-and-slash action RPG set in a Van Helsing-esque Victorian-era fictional world that has you playing the role of a Hunter and carries you through a number of sprawling dungeons full of spiders, skeletons, specters, and everything in between. Even two years after the original launch the magic of Victor Vran, while familiar, is still present.
I do have to say that I am utterly mystified by the quality of RPG ports in the past few years. I honestly believe it has something to do with Diablo III coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that set the bar so high. Along with Blizzard's Diablo III you have Larian Studios' Divinity: Original Sin (Extended Version) and even n-Space's Sword Coast Legend are all incredibly well done. Haemimont Games port to consoles is flawless (and couch co-op!) and is more than capable of giving juggernauts like Blizzard and Larian a run for their money.
I originally played Victor Vran on PC with keyboard and mouse while Pierre-Yves played primarily using a gamepad so this go around for me was a bit different. Minus the fact that Sony partying tech is still light-years behind Microsoft's implementation (seriously, Sony needs to up their game here), hopping into a co-op game with him was incredibly easy. Just open the co-op option, send the invite, and viola; you are ready for some wall-jumping hack-and-slashing (and guitar riffs with the Motorhead expansion) through a dozen or so engines of unique design.
Though my aging memory may be a bit unreliable these days, I do recall that the PC version of Victor Vran was a might bit easier than the console port and I welcome the increased difficulty; too often in hack-and-slash games (or really any games) can you go hours without ever actually using a health potion/health pack. I was spamming mine constantly as I was easily getting chewed up (even managed to die in an early dungeon before I started to really take notice). Along with the possible increase in difficulty, back are all of the super excellent weapons (mmmm them hammers and shotguns) and the crazy awesome lazer-beam-of-death-like spells, and even cooler, is the whole introduction of verticality to the genre. Both Pierre-Yves and I were utterly thrilled to experience jumping in a hack-and-slash, and with the added benefit of wall-jumping! Even two years later it is still awesome.
Speaking of Pierre-Yves, here is a word or three from him:
PY's Impressions
Robert and I originally played Victor Vran from the very beginning back on the PC and loved it. Then as it reached its final stages I threw a whopping 9.75/10 onto it and I still stand by it being my King of Hack & Slash. So how does the PS4 version fair in my opinion? I would say pretty damned well.
For me the release of the PS4 version simply meant that I swapped an Xbox One controller that I use for the PC for a PS4 one. I played through the entire original PC edition with a controller and I can say that after hours and hours already, the new console version is just as smooth as it was designed for a controller just as much as a mouse and keyboard.
The other nice thing about the launch of the console version is the DLC that comes packaged with it. Who would have ever though that Electric Guitars would make for epic Hack & Slash weapons. I'm not counting the Jack Black game Brutal Legend though Robert did ask me if it was named the Pick of Destiny the first time I can into a horde he was fighting while knee sliding a solo. So awesome.
I just want to take a quick moment and thank the teams behind this console version for providing us with codes so that we could once again dive into Zagoravia coop styled!
Aaaand back to our regularly scheduled Robert
All in all Victor Vran: Overkill Edition is a spectacular port of a stunning game. Though much of the initial "first experience" is past, revisiting it again after two years is still a thrilling ride. The only real downside to the title is far less a downside, and more just the fact that it is near impossible for me to accept that the utterly spectacular Doug Cockle could in any way be anyone other than the Butcher of Blaviken himself, Geralt of Rivia (Doug impressively voices Victor and gives an excellent performance). If my biggest "issue" is the fact that a superstar voice actor is the voice of Victor Vran then it is really no issue at all.Game Information
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Haemimont Games
Publisher(s):
Wired Productions
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
Hack & Slash
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Local Coop
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
PC
Source:
Provided by Publisher
Article by Robert
Opinion by Pierre-Yves
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