Victor Vran Review

​V is for Victor
​By Brett Wolfe
​Reviewed on Xbox One
​Released on May 30th, 2017 on Xbox One, PC, and PS4
​Developer: Haemimont Games
Publisher: ​Wired Productions

Fancy yourself a hero? Are you the do-gooder type that just needs to do the right thing? Defeat the bad guy, save the city, all that mumbo jumbo. Do you fit that bill? Well, what if there was nothing in the city worth saving and all of your predecessors died a tragic death trying to right the wrongs of the malevolent evil doers? Would you still want that responsibility? Can you find it in your soul to will through the stages of hell to save the world? Well, I hope so because we need a miracle and that miracle is you!
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Victor Vran is a top-down action role-playing game developed by Haemimont Games and published by Wired Productions. The game tells the story of Victor Vran, a demon hunter traveling to the land of Zagarovia during a plight of destruction and despair. The town is overran by monsters, ghouls, and demons alike, plagued with the deaths of multiple hunters following the same goal as Victor. Equipped with the knowledge he gained as a demon hunter and following the words of his friend Adrian, the last known demon hunter to enter Zagarovia, Victor must save the cursed city or join the graveyard of unsuccessful souls.

When it comes to gameplay mechanics, this game is very similar to the Diablo series or most dungeon crawlers these days. You play as a hero with divine powers and the mastery of any weapon that you come along. Loot drops in rarities and the higher the rarity, the more unique the hammer or sword is. It will do more damage, have a better chance to perform a critical hit, or do some cool effect like freeze the enemies or set them ablaze. In Victor Vran, Victor has the ability to equip two weapons at the same time and switch between them whenever you feel fit. The transition is seamless and allows for cool combos throughout battles or boss fight. In addition, Victor can use two different Demon Powers to deal extra damage or heal himself depending on which style you like best. Most of the weapons are pretty standard to a medievally inspired dungeon crawler, like your average hammer or sword, but there are a few that are a little over the top. My personal favorite weapon class is the lightning gun, a rifle that shoots out electric charges that chain between enemies.

However, there is some uniqueness to this game that isn’t found in most other popular dungeon crawlers. Each stage has a star system for completing five different side objectives to achieve better loot or more gold. The objectives task the player with using a specific weapon to kill a certain number of enemies, do something in a time limit or get kills with special modifiers known as Hexes. These modifiers provide more loot and experience in exchange for making the enemies harder or spawning more elite tiered opponents.
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The visuals and soundtrack of this title were rather stellar. The graphics gave that Diablo vibe and it lived up to the style that it was trying to put off. The character and enemy models were on point and the gothic-themed landscape tied it all together. The landscapes provided a variety that is sometimes lost throughout this genre. Whether it was traveling throughout a dilapidated city or crawling throughout a nasty underground cave system, there wasn’t a moment that I felt ‘Oh I’ve wish this area was over’. The soundtrack was no different in the amazement that it gave off. The epic score paired perfectly with the sounds of battle as you mowed down waves and waves of monsters and demons. Victor Vran provided aspects that pleasured both the eyes and the ears.
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Personally, I am a fan of Diablo and it was intriguing to play a game of the same caliber. First things first, Victor Vran is a Diablo clone, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. The first game in the Saints Row series was a GTA clone and it was commonly referred to as such, but Saints Row eventually came into its own and now has a following all its own. I feel that Victor Vran has the same potential. While at the moment, it is nowhere near the popularity of a juggernaut like Diablo, but it has not had the time to grow like its inspiration. Victor Vran has an amazing story, great character design, and is just overall a fun experience that I feel should be checked out whether you are a fan of the genre or not. The witty banter between Victor and the quest givers and shop owners are priceless and make for some light-hearted moment in the hell that faces Victor and his colleagues at every moment. It gives them their own personality and shows that they are not just some Joe Shmo that tells you to go here, then kill some bad dudes, then come back and do it again. The only aspect that I felt removed the impressiveness of this title is when playing in co-op, every character plays as Victor. I don’t know what would have been better, but it just looks strange from time to time when there are just two different Victors standing side by side like some strange demon hunting twins. Nonetheless, that is not a deal breaker, just something that I feel adding another player model and having the party leader play as Victor (I don’t know, it just a thought).

Victor Vran is priced at $20 USD and I feel that it is well worth the money for a game of this caliber. If you are a fan of this genre, it is a no brainer to pick this title up. Supporting up to four player co-op, both online and offline, making it an amazing game to pick up and play with your friends.
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*Note: A copy of this game was provided for the purpose of the review
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Final Score: 9/10

+Fun Gameplay

+Amazing Landscapes

+Very Engrossing Gameplay Mechanics