Prima Game of the Week | Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Why You Should Play

• Fast-paced, brutal melee combat.
• Smart A.I. system that makes each battle feel unique.
• Unforgiving combat that challenges you to work together as a team to survive.
• Hours of replayability and tons of gear to collect and craft.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 takes the tried and true formula of games like Left 4 Dead and ramps it up to 11 by bringing in Warhammer-inspired enemies, brutal melee combat, and even higher stakes. With over 500,000 copies sold in one week on PC alone, Fatshark’s journey into the Warhammer lore continues to shine and endure as they take players on a new journey through the unforgiving world of Warhammer. The End Times have come and it’s up to five heroes to try to stand up and stop the unending waves of Chaos forces streaming into the cities of the Empire.

Gameplay

One of our favorite things about Vermintide 2 is the game’s smart A.I. system, which changes where enemies spawn, how they spawn, and even what special enemies appear. This makes each run feel unique and keeps the combat feeling fresh as you complete the same maps over and over to grind out new gear. It’s definitely this grind that helps draw players in, too, as one of the primary features of Vermintide 2 is the RNG-based loot system.

On top of a fantastic A.I. system and a great loot system that pushes progression forward, Vermintide 2 also features some of the most brutal combat that we’ve ever seen in any game to date. Fatshark did an impressive job bringing the combat to life in Vermintide 2 and knowing the ins and outs of that combat system is something that all players should strive for. Every hit can be just as dangerous as another, and if you don’t work together and remember to block and dodge, then your party will find itself wiped out very quickly.

At its core, Vermintide 2 is all about working together to stand against uneven odds. The brutality of the combat system, the unforgiving nature of the A.I. spawns, and the absolutely overwhelming hordes that await you all add to the challenge of keeping your team alive and making it to the end. No kill feels cheated and every victory feels wholly earned in Vermintide 2.

Visuals and Performance

Fatshark has always had a way with visuals, and Vermintide 2 is no exception to the rule. The way that they’ve brought the world of Warhammer alive is beautiful and dark. It really exudes the feeling that this is the end of the world, and as such, it adds to the overall atmosphere of the game altogether. Character models look great, animations are well done, and overall everything has a very Warhammer-like feel that helps make the entire experience very immersive.

When it comes to performance and optimization, Fatshark has learned a lot from the original Vermintide game that released back in 2015. Vermintide 2 runs smoothly, looks beautiful, and never really hits any snags, despite the massive number of enemies on screen at any given time. There aren’t any indications of what the game runs like on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One just yet, but if what we have on PC is any indication, then Fatshark has a good hold on what they’re doing, and console players should expect an experience that feels just as good and smooth as it does on PC.

Game of the Week

Having sold over 500,000 copies in the first week, and with over 50,000 people playing it on Steam at any given time throughout the day, Fatshark’s Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a worthy successor to the original game. Outstanding visuals, dark vistas that bring the idea of the end of the world to life, and no performance issues to speak of despite the intensity of the action on screen—Vermintide 2 hits all the right notes. Fatshark also has quite a few plans in the work, including new campaign DLC, free DLC, and even full and official mod support for the game. Both the present and the future of the game are extremely bright, which is why we’ve chosen Warhammer: Vermintide 2 as our Prima Game of the Week.

If you’ve never played Vermintide, or if you’re just diving into the action, make sure you check out our Warhammer: Vermintide 2 guide to get started with a bang.