Whether you’re playing as the Waywatcher, skillfully planting arrows into enemy heads, or the Empire Soldier, tanking damage and pushing through foes, the combat is visceral and fun. Of course, once you hear the war horn and the horde descends, that’s when the raw guts and glory of Vermintide 2 are exposed, quite literally in the former’s case. You’ll find potions, bombs, Tomes, Grimoire and Loot Dice to collect, the last three upgrading the chest received at the end for better rewards. Levels are fairly linear with a discernible path to run through. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 doesn’t make much fuss about what you’re meant to do – objectives are fairly easy to discern, from escorting ramming engines to flipping switches. There is quite the variety of locations to visit – you’ll trudge through swamps and dense forests, scatter through farms and Chaos camps, make your stand in a temple and kill hordes upon hordes of enemies. You’ll receive little bits of context and pre-mission narrative that flesh out the world while still leaving you to fill in the blanks.

Thanks to their magical spy Olesya and Victor the Witch Hunter Captain, our heroes will embark on missions to kill the forces of darkness. Forget the details of how that happened (Kerillian herself admits it was an embarrassment) but they come across the Skaven and Chaos working together, constructing a Skittergate to shepherd the latter’s forces into Helmgart. Our heroes – Kerillian the Waywatcher, Markus the Empire Soldier, Bardin the Dwarven Ranger and Sienna the Wizard – have been captured by the Skaven. 'Of course, once you hear the war horn and the horde descends, that’s when the raw guts and glory of Vermintide 2 are exposed, quite literally in the former’s case.'ĭespite its heavy co-op leanings, Warhammer: Verminitide 2 does have a story. But when you’re roaming the countryside of Helmgart or spelunking through caves while tussling with Rat Ogres and being insulted by a Wood Elf, it can be a very gratifying experience. In fact, in many ways there are a few rough edges. With Warhammer: Vermintide 2, the formula hasn’t really evolved much. Unlike its inspiration Left 4 Dead, Vermintide featured a robust melee combat system, RPG progression with level-ups and loot, and special abilities to further diversify the violence. In a nut-shell, that is, because this is actually a sequel to Fatshark’s cult hit that pitted teams of players against hordes of dumb rats. Combine these with five wise-cracking heroes that are ready and willing for murder and you get Warhammer: Vermintide 2. Nor, for that matter, is the brutality of the Warriors of Chaos, all metal, teeth and stupidity.

The stench of plague-ridden Vermin is never-ending in the ironically named End Times.

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