Turns out one exploding lava spider sets off all the others. As soon as I encountered exploding lava spiders, however - and I believe I am paraphrasing Austen here - I needed to rethink things, opting for a shotgun to keep attackers at range, and an Overdrive attack that sent out a staggered, seismic ripple, knocking enemies back and simultaneously clumping them together. That rapier was my best friend for much of the early game, as I tackled a range of foes with slow attacks and relatively lengthy health bars, who tended to lunge at me in polite queues in the traditional manner of the low-level undead. Muddled together, this looty approach works really beautifully, and while it means that you don't get that frisson of excitement that comes from locking yourself into a choice that can't be undone, it also means that you get to mix and match as the occasion demands. I've heard a bit of talk about crash bugs, incidentally, but I didn't encounter any.
The camera's a bit annoying at times, but if you're playing on a pad it's easy to adjust when things get sticky. As you explore the mysterious, monster-choked citadel where the game is set - Victor Vran's a demon hunter with a dark secret, incidentally, and the game tasks you with finding out why everything around him has suddenly gone to Hell - you'll also collect Destiny cards that can be equipped to provide passive bonuses, gems, which give you super-powered Overdrive attacks, and outfits, which change the way in which you collect the Overdrive energy to power those attacks - whether you gather it by dealing damage, say, or build it up as time goes by. Victor Vran grounds you in the moment, in the thwack and crunch of action as it unfolds.
It's a clear distinction from the early days of Diablo 3, for example, where the deadly maces and wands that spilled out of your foes felt like little more than stat boosts. Alongside delivering on the distinct feel of each weapon type, this also means that the loot game comes to the fore. It makes sense, allowing a rapier, say, to be a far more focused option than a standard sword, which is much better suited to crowd control. Each weapon you equip - and you can equip two at a time - brings a trio of different attacks depending on its type, which means that you're swapping skills every time you trade your hammer for a shotgun. Instead, it's a bit like RPG Lego, and it all revolves around loot. There are no classes here, and no particle-shedding skills unlocked as you level.
Take the process of building a character. While this is a very recognisable genre piece from the off, it has a range of interesting ideas at its core that makes it well worth checking out, even if you're hot off the back of Van Helsing 2 or other relatively similar games. Victor VranĪnd it feels fabulous in Victor Vran, thankfully, so the game gets away with its jokes. The crowd never seems to get the appeal: it's just hitting stuff and collecting loot? Yes, it is just hitting stuff and collecting loot. People who don't like ARPGs sometimes argue that they represent the video game void staring right back at you - endless escalation, empty acquisition - which is why it's always weirdly embarrassing when onlookers gather near you as you play Diablo or Titan Quest. ARPGs are all about hitting things in order to kill them and in the hope that they will cough up magical trousers while dying which, if worn, will allow you to hit things a bit harder and kill them a bit quicker. Victor Vran's a fairly classical ARPG, a problematic genre when things starts to become self-aware. Humour is dangerous stuff for games, particularly this kind of humour - and particularly this kind of game. "Doesn't it get a bit old, Victor, doing the same things over and over? Slaying monsters. An engaging ARPG that comes with a handful of neat ideas.
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