It sounds like a lot, but it's considerably fewer moving parts to be concerned with compared to the dozen items of equipment and expansive skill trees of Diablo, for better and worse. Between the weapon variance and demon abilities - you can eventually equip two of each, and weapons can be swapped instantly with a middle-mouse click - there's also a passive buff system determined by "destiny cards" and outfits Vran can wear to provide various benefits, often relating to the way he accumulates overdrive. These demon abilities tend to useful as room-clearing nukes or emergency buffs, best used when you're surrounded and need a quick escape but should also be used liberally due to how quickly they drain after battles are over: they're definitely a case of "use it or lose it". Gameplay variance instead comes from the weapons Vran can equip, each class of which comes with two skills (which have cooldowns, rather than draw from a mana pool), as well as "demon abilities": stronger offensive spells and buffs that requires the player build a gauge called "overdrive". ![]() Due to the necessity of keeping things relatively simple, both due to the lack of resources at the developers' beck and call and the lack of time needed to balance so many skill trees, there is only one build for Vran and his stats increase at a fixed rate determined by level. As with Diablo, the gameplay is broken up by overworld areas that are a little more open and feature multiple dungeon entrances, the dungeons themselves which tend to be a little more compact, linear, and occasionally themed around certain types of enemies or a single boss encounter, and the peaceful hub area where you'll find vendors, item storage facilities, transmutation tools, and quest givers. ![]() Initially looking to grab his missing compatriot and make tracks, Vran decides to stay behind to end the curse after discovering how quickly it has chewed through his venerable order of demon hunters with an almost deliberate malice. Victor Vran drops the titular hunter in the cursed nation of Zagoravia: a fictional eastern European monarchy that has fallen to an army of demonic creatures. Both have formats that, from the UI down to the general atmosphere and themes, immediately invoke a familiarity to certain much larger franchises - in Aarklash's case that was the Infinity Engine RPGs, but for Victor Vran it's specifically Diablo III - but it's when you start digging into the game's systems that you realize, due to the absence of a lot of complexity, its compact whole has a very distinct feel and gameplay loop that, while not necessarily a massive departure from its more famous cousin, is definitely its own thing and not any the worse for it. We've discussed this recurring phenomenon in countless IGotWs past, most recently with the moderately fun Heroes of the Monkey Tavern a fortnight prior, but the example I've covered in the past that comes to mind most readily for Victor Vran is Aarklash: Legacy. Welcome to another edition of "Indie games are just like big boy games only streamlined in some intelligent ways".
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