Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Review

In my view, this game is the best example of what 4 co-op horde shooter genre had produced. Game has large class variety, individual builds and playstyles for those classes, good balance, interesting hand crafted levels, campaign, conversations between characters, a lobby, good difficulty balance, great monetization system, extensive post development support and some truly spectacular enemy design rarely seen in any game, much less in usually underwhelming horde shooters. This game has it all in a good neat package. Decades worth of support since Vermintide 1 made this game the most developed and polished out in the market and you will be hard pressed to find any other game with as much variety, quality and polish as Vermintide 2 and I’m comparing it to classics such as Left 4 Dead 2!

Class variety

Unlike different horde shooter games, this game has more than 4 classes. It has 6 classes with 4 unique specializations with their own playstyles and talents. Thus in total there are 24 different playstyles to play which you can further customise to a small extent and make it even more different. It is important for game’s longevity to have a lot of content and variety in how you can engage levels. Different classes give you slightly different approach and how you synergize with others. Neither does game locks you up from playing its content if you do not have them levelled up. In Killing Floor 2 for example, you can’t play game if you do not leveled up classes first. Here, it is more about making classes more efficient rather than flat 100% better.

Balance

I never felt that any weapon or ability is way more powerful than the rest and any other balance concerns are patched out with ongoing support. That is more amazing is that unlike in other games, difficulty is not made by simply multiplying health and damage of special monsters. Here specials remain mostly the same and they get more difficult with slightly increased numbers and how game employs them. Where pioneering games like L4D2 simply puts a special monster in your path and it goes to die randomly. Here special monsters are smart. They taunt you, they try to avoid fighting you until you get isolated or engage the main horde. AI in this game is amazing and the best on the market.

Even more, in worse games like L4D2, there is no way to defeat bosses like tanks outside of spending half of your ammunition. Here they have weakspots, you actually can counter them! You also are not helpless against them, you can dodge their attacks, block their damage. This game stands head and shoulders above it competition!

Monetization

System is amazing. It does not lock essential content, allows other people to enjoy DLC content even if they do not own it. DLC do not sell overpowered weapons and new classes are really cheap, class DLC is split between cosmetics and class itself, allowing you to pick and choose what you want. Nor advertisement or content itself is bad like in Killing Floor 2. What is being sold looks good and it is not pushed to your face at every turn like in that game.

Enemy design

Hands down the best in the genre! Enemies taunt you before attacking. Each has its own ways how they are behaving. Every enemy type has its own niche and is scary in their own way. They are not bullet sponges and each type can be countered. From hearing Chaos Spawn roar and run at you from the next room to metal clinging noises of hook rat. Enemies themselves look gorgeous. Machine gun rat plainly suppresses entire pathways with its machine gun fire. Green bolts zip through map, their particle effects look extremely well in contrast and it is the golden standard of how to use dim pallet with contrasting, colour saturated special effects! We would be in awe to how cool their look, go into cover and throw a grenade to take out that rat. We sometimes felt that we are playing tactical, war simulation rather than an arcade hack and slash. We would take cover, throw grenades out of line of sight to take out key units. Interplay which these special units allow to happen is simply legendary and so far, the best in the entire game industry.

[h1]The best L4D style game available on the market![/h1] In my view, this game is the best example of what 4 co-op horde shooter genre had produced. Game has large class variety, individual builds and playstyles for those classes, good balance, interesting hand crafted levels, campaign, conversations between characters, a lobby, good difficulty balance, great monetization system, extensive post development support and some truly spectacular enemy design rarely seen in any game, much less in usually underwhelming horde shooters. This game has it all in a good neat package. Decades worth of support since Vermintide 1 made this game the most developed and polished out in the market and you will be hard pressed to find any other game with as much variety, quality and polish as Vermintide 2 and I’m comparing it to classics such as Left 4 Dead 2! [b]Class variety[/b] Unlike different horde shooter games, this game has more than 4 classes. It has 6 classes with 4 unique specializations with their own playstyles and talents. Thus in total there are 24 different playstyles to play which you can further customise to a small extent and make it even more different. It is important for game’s longevity to have a lot of content and variety in how you can engage levels. Different classes give you slightly different approach and how you synergize with others. Neither does game locks you up from playing its content if you do not have them levelled up. In Killing Floor 2 for example, you can’t play game if you do not leveled up classes first. Here, it is more about making classes more efficient rather than flat 100% better. [b]Balance[/b] I never felt that any weapon or ability is way more powerful than the rest and any other balance concerns are patched out with ongoing support. That is more amazing is that unlike in other games, difficulty is not made by simply multiplying health and damage of special monsters. Here specials remain mostly the same and they get more difficult with slightly increased numbers and how game employs them. Where pioneering games like L4D2 simply puts a special monster in your path and it goes to die randomly. Here special monsters are smart. They taunt you, they try to avoid fighting you until you get isolated or engage the main horde. AI in this game is amazing and the best on the market. Even more, in worse games like L4D2, there is no way to defeat bosses like tanks outside of spending half of your ammunition. Here they have weakspots, you actually can counter them! You also are not helpless against them, you can dodge their attacks, block their damage. This game stands head and shoulders above it competition! [b]Monetization[/b] System is amazing. It does not lock essential content, allows other people to enjoy DLC content even if they do not own it. DLC do not sell overpowered weapons and new classes are really cheap, class DLC is split between cosmetics and class itself, allowing you to pick and choose what you want. Nor advertisement or content itself is bad like in Killing Floor 2. What is being sold looks good and it is not pushed to your face at every turn like in that game. [b]Enemy design[/b] Hands down the best in the genre! Enemies taunt you before attacking. Each has its own ways how they are behaving. Every enemy type has its own niche and is scary in their own way. They are not bullet sponges and each type can be countered. From hearing Chaos Spawn roar and run at you from the next room to metal clinging noises of hook rat. Enemies themselves look gorgeous. Machine gun rat plainly suppresses entire pathways with its machine gun fire. Green bolts zip through map, their particle effects look extremely well in contrast and it is the golden standard of how to use dim pallet with contrasting, colour saturated special effects! We would be in awe to how cool their look, go into cover and throw a grenade to take out that rat. We sometimes felt that we are playing tactical, war simulation rather than an arcade hack and slash. We would take cover, throw grenades out of line of sight to take out key units. Interplay which these special units allow to happen is simply legendary and so far, the best in the entire game industry.