Bjorn

Victor Vran: Witcherin' Diablo, Geralt style

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We've started playing Victor Vran over the last couple of days, and it's so good!  The voice actor for Geralt voices the protagonist, hence the title.  I hope this game gets the attention it deserves from ARPG fans, because it manages to freshen up the formula quite a bit (unless there are other games that do similar things).

 

And it has local co-op now!  For fuck's sake devs, local co-op in ARPGs is the best, it should just be a stock feature now.  It continues to piss me off that the PC version of Diablo 3 hasn't gotten the console features like local. 

 

Anyways, mechanically Vran is what you expect, an isometic monster horde killing simulator.  You have weapons, powers, etc.  Where it re-invents the wheel is that there are no classes.  None.  Your available powers are determined by your gear, and that's it.  Each weapon class gets 3 different attacks.  You can (eventually, all the extra slots are locked initially) have 2 weapons to swap back and forth on, giving access to 6 total attacks.  A lot of attacks have a variety of buffs or debuffs built into them, that synergize well with other players.  Then you get 2 "gem" slots, that give you access to magic powers, which can be offensive, defensive or buff oriented.  You get two usable item slots (heals, buffs, grenades).  You have one armor slot, that generally changes how you build up mana Overdrive or gives defensive bonuses.  And finally you get up to 5 Destiny card slots, which are passive buffs or add unique passive effects. 

 

You can see where traditional classes could have been built out of all this gear, artificially limiting the tools a player has access to.  But by shifting traditional class based powers to gear, it lets players mix-n-match to design whatever it is they find most fun or effective.  It also means that you never find a rad piece of gear that has absolutely no value for your class and it means if you get bored with your build, changing it is as simple as swapping out your gear, you don't have to respec or start a new character.  I like it as a variation on class design in ARPGs a whole bunch. 

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We've started playing Victor Vran over the last couple of days, and it's so good!  The voice actor for Geralt voices the protagonist, hence the title.  I hope this game gets the attention it deserves from ARPG fans, because it manages to freshen up the formula quite a bit (unless there are other games that do similar things).

 

And it has local co-op now!  For fuck's sake devs, local co-op in ARPGs is the best, it should just be a stock feature now.  It continues to piss me off that the PC version of Diablo 3 hasn't gotten the console features like local. 

 

Anyways, mechanically Vran is what you expect, an isometic monster horde killing simulator.  You have weapons, powers, etc.  Where it re-invents the wheel is that there are no classes.  None.  Your available powers are determined by your gear, and that's it.  Each weapon class gets 3 different attacks.  You can (eventually, all the extra slots are locked initially) have 2 weapons to swap back and forth on, giving access to 6 total attacks.  A lot of attacks have a variety of buffs or debuffs built into them, that synergize well with other players.  Then you get 2 "gem" slots, that give you access to magic powers, which can be offensive, defensive or buff oriented.  You get two usable item slots (heals, buffs, grenades).  You have one armor slot, that generally changes how you build up mana Overdrive or gives defensive bonuses.  And finally you get up to 5 Destiny card slots, which are passive buffs or add unique passive effects. 

 

You can see where traditional classes could have been built out of all this gear, artificially limiting the tools a player has access to.  But by shifting traditional class based powers to gear, it lets players mix-n-match to design whatever it is they find most fun or effective.  It also means that you never find a rad piece of gear that has absolutely no value for your class and it means if you get bored with your build, changing it is as simple as swapping out your gear, you don't have to respec or start a new character.  I like it as a variation on class design in ARPGs a whole bunch. 

How much looting and selling is there in the game, I often find the loot systems get really boring in games that don't let you send pets back to town to sell.

The customizable class stuff sounds neat

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How much looting and selling is there in the game, I often find the loot systems get really boring in games that don't let you send pets back to town to sell.

The customizable class stuff sounds neat

 

Far less annoying than what I remember of other ARPGs.  I think the structure of the entire game matches the first area, which is you have a Hub that has to be explored and then a number (5 in the first area) of smaller dungeon areas that can be entered and cleared out.  So far we've cleared out the first hub and 3 dungeons and have picked up maybe 25-30 pieces of total gear.  It feels pretty reasonable.  The "town folk" area is very small, all the vendors, stash and quest givers are within a few of seconds run of one another.  So no annoying runs all the way across a town to do something.  No crafting so far, just transmuting, which is combining multiples of the same thing to make a better thing.  I haven't unlocked it yet to see if it has any annoying slot machine elements to it, or if it's just straightforward. 

 

Each area has five challenges that can be optionally completed, which give rewards of cash, experience or better loot.  They give you something else to do, or encourage playing around with different weapons and seem fine so far. 

 

Oh, and you can jump in this game, which adds some minor verticality to the maps.  Mostly seems to be used to hide hidden chests so far, but it also makes exploring and backtracking quicker.  There's a narrator who comments on what you're doing (he's unnamed, I'm guessing he's the big bad eventually), and in the first hub we found a hedge maze.  He gloated about how were we ever going to navigate the maze.  Once one of us jumped over a wall, he just mumbled, "Fine, be a cheater."

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This has been sitting in my wishlist for a little bit now and from watching the videos I had a question, is it mouse driven like Diablo (PC version) is or does it play more like a twin stick shooter or the console version of Diablo 3?

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This has been sitting in my wishlist for a little bit now and from watching the videos I had a question, is it mouse driven like Diablo (PC version) is or does it play more like a twin stick shooter or the console version of Diablo 3?

 

Both?  It's got three control schemes, Controller, Mouse and Action.  I've only played with controller, because it's my preferred way to play ARPGs (click, click, clickity click lacks a sense of...weight to me).  But Mouse is supposed to be traditional Diablo, and then Action is supposed to be some other variation that I don't know how it works at all. 

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We got our first Legendary weapons last night (their version of unique items), and I've found yet another thing about their design I like.  Legendaries scale with character level, so they are always relevant.  There's no problem of "Oh, neat, I found this awesome piece of gear" and an hour later it's junk that you get rid of. 

 

The way weapons work is that you have your typical common, uncommon, rare and unique categories.  However, unique/legendary don't necessarily always trump rare, which I think is good.  Legendaries get two stats plus a unique ability.  Rares get two stats, but can have a third stat added to them with crafting.  So rares can be good for customizing a really specific build since you can control the third stat, while legendaries are good if their unique ability is something your build finds useful. 

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Man, I really wanted to like Motorhead but then I heard that track "Jailbait", and went right off them.

 

Either way, I'll still probably get this. If you're still playing Victor Vran, Bjorn, I'd be well up for a bit of co-op some time :)

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God, yeah, that is such a gross song. 

 

I just love the ridiculous over-the-top metal aesthetic, it's a huge reason I was such a fan of Brütal Legend, so seeing a Diablo-like play with that will hopefully be fun.  I'm sure we'll jump back into it for awhile once these launch.  Which, I didn't realize they plan on launching two expansions at once (sounds like they decided to hold everything back for the console releases). 


 

Quote

 

Motörhead

 

Many years ago, Lemmy stumbled upon a twisted dimension filled with pain. Suffering under the dominion of a cruel dictator, to this world Lemmy entrusted the mighty Snaggletooth that he may defend that world… but Snaggletooth now lies silent. Join Victor as he answers the call of Lloyd Kaufman – the bartender in The Pub at the End of Time, to investigate Snaggletooth’s mysterious downfall, in this most gripping new addition to Victor Vran.

 


 

Quote

 

Fractured Worlds

 

Journey to the Fractured Worlds, a dimension formed from the fragments of broken realms. A perilous place for even the most experienced of hunters, explore its unfathomed depths through new levels and endless dungeons where each step proves more dangerous than the last. Continue your journey as Victor as you attempt to piece together the Astrolabe in this new, thrilling addition to Victor Vran!

 

 

A few brief scenes from the Motörhead part are in this trailer, and it looks very much like Brutal Legend.

 

 

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I really want the version of this that is like 90's country music instead of metal. Where's the version of this where I kill a thousand skeletons and then Shania Twain shows up and tells me about how it didn't impress her much and then proceeds to behead a demon with a green rarity sword?

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