One thing that really makes this game shine is the graphics: the environments are some of the best looking I’ve ever seen in an adventure game as they have an almost photo-realistic look. Even the little details look amazingly good, such as the delicate filigree on the walls of one of the NPC’s houses or the way the candlelight flickers on the walls of Dracula’s bedroom. The backgrounds look so good, however, that they tend to outshine the characters who, while not looking bad, tend to be not as well-rounded as the backgrounds they inhabit. Sometimes their mouths move out of synch with what they say, or don’t move at all, and when picking an item up, tend to reach out to pick it up while still standing up even if the item is several feet below them. Odd. Despite this minor problems, however, Dracula: Origin is still a very well-crafted graphical experience.

The voice talent was chosen well and even if the characters do come off as being somewhat stereotypical (such as the over amenable and somewhat duplicitous Egyptian hotel owner), they seem to work due to the fact that Van Helsing himself is on the flipside from those characters, with his stiff manner of speaking and dour attitude. He is a straight man making his way through a sea of comic relief characters. The more serious characters do, for the limited lines given to them, play their parts well and give the game the strength it needs to climb us past the silliness that is to be seen in the game.

Time-wise, the game is rather short. It took no more then two or three days to get from beginning to end, but if you’re fan of adventure games and have the patience to sit down and work out the solutions to a variety of puzzles (some of which will take your breath away with their subtlety), Dracula: Origin is a game that you will be able up all the night with. Whether or not you will be unchanged in the morning is another point entirely however. Better keep some garlic out. Just in case.