The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut is NeocoreGames' attempt to bundle their entire gothic action-RPG trilogy into a single, definitive package. Set in a fictional 19th-century Eastern Europe called Borgova, you play as the son of the legendary Van Helsing, carving through werewolves, mad scientists, and mechanical horrors with a combination of melee strikes, ranged attacks, and a deep skill tree that opens up considerably as you level. The setting is genuinely charming, leaning harder into steampunk and dark fantasy than straight Bram Stoker, and the worldbuilding has enough texture to feel like somewhere rather than just a backdrop for loot explosions. The standout mechanic is Katarina, your ghost companion who fights alongside you, levels independently, and comments on basically everything. She is sarcastic, occasionally hilarious, and fills the role of party banter that makes long dungeon crawls bearable. Her AI is not always brilliant in tight spaces, but her dialogue writing is above average for the genre, and tuning her build adds a second layer of progression that keeps the early hours interesting. Combat itself sits comfortably in the Diablo lineage: point, click, watch numbers, collect gear. It does not reinvent the wheel, but the class options, which include Hunter, Thaumaturge, and Arcane Mechanic, offer genuinely different playstyles across a full run. Where the game stumbles is pacing across all three episodes. Episode one holds up well as a focused, confident introduction. Episodes two and three start showing the seams of a studio stretching a concept across more content than the core loop fully supports. Quests grow repetitive, some areas feel padded, and the story beats in episodes two and three lack the sharp writing of the first chapter. The tower defense segments, where you protect your base from waves of enemies, are an interesting diversion in small doses but overstay their welcome by the third episode. The loot system never quite reaches the addictive depth of genre benchmarks; item variety is decent but the chase loses urgency faster than you would want. Steam reviews sitting at Mixed with 76 percent positive across nearly four thousand reviews tells you this is a game people mostly like but few love unconditionally. Performance and technical stability have historically been concerns, and the Final Cut consolidation, while convenient, does not resolve all of the original design inconsistencies between episodes that were developed at different production stages. If you bounced off episode one at launch, this package will not change your mind. If you played and enjoyed the first game, episodes two and three offer more of the same with diminishing returns rather than escalating ambition. For RPG players who prioritize build experimentation and narrative banter over white-knuckle combat challenge, Van Helsing: Final Cut delivers a comfortable, atmospheric weekend. It is best approached as a B-tier ARPG that knows what it is, leans into its gothic personality, and gives you enough skill customization to stay engaged through the stronger first half. Go in expecting Grim Dawn and you will be disappointed. Go in expecting a charming, slightly janky monster-hunting road trip with a ghost who has opinions about everything, and you will have a reasonable time.

Monika · Scout Team

RPGs

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