With over 350 hours played on Steam, Left4Dead2 constantly
reminds me that, while I may be an RPG gamer at heart, it was this co-op FPS that
became one of my greatest gaming loves. It's the game that I could never give up, that is until I got my hands on the
recently released Warhammer End Times - Vermintide by Fatshark.
The End Times is the great cataclysmic apocalypse that was
prophesied to bring about the end of the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Vermintide focuses on the city of Ubersreik which is being
overrun by a horde of Rat-Men called Skaven. A group of five unlikely heroes must work together to try and save the
city and, barring that, at least survive long enough to escape.
Over the course of 13 different missions four players will
battle their way through several richly detailed environments ranging from a Mage Tower
built by MC Escher to the docks and sewers of the city to the surrounding
countryside.
Most missions follow the
formula
L4D soundly established:
move
along a mostly linear path until you get to a set piece where you have to hold
out against waves or enemies, or collect something to deliver before you can
advance further while being ambushed by hordes of adversaries.
Sadly, the storyline itself isn't quite as
detailed as the maps it pulls the players though.
That said, the narrative is certainly serviceable, but doesn't quite
seem to tap the full potential of Warhammer Fantasy lore.
Being a Co-Op Action FPS, the core mechanics are the
standard focus on melee and ranged weapons (with a light emphasis on the former)
while battling hordes of basic enemies occasionally bolstered by special
units.
Unlike each of the survivors in
L4D, in
Vermintide each of the five playable hero classes has a unique
skill, gear set, and specific roles they are best suited for. While other co-op games have you finding
gear and loot throughout the levels and missions,
Vermintide has a loot reward,
inventory, and crafting system that allows you to tailor your chosen hero
to best fit your play style.
Everyone has a primary and secondary weapon slot as well as
space for trinkets they can customize before you set out on a mission.
For example, the Empire Soldier Markus or
Bardin the Dwarf Ranger can use a one-hander plus a shield to get higher endurance
which allows them to block melee damage or shove enemies away, giving
them more durability. The Mage has a
variety of staves that will change how her magic works, causing her flames to
act like a beam, area explosion, or a javelin she can hurl.
The Elf Waywatcher has bow that can do poison
damage over time or fire homing arrows.
While this diversity in gear and loot is great for
flexibility in terms of play style, it’s also a double edged sword (no pun
intended). The reason behind this is
that the only way to get much of this gear is the somewhat controversial loot
system. At the end of each successful
mission players get to “roll” a set of dice that will determine the reward you
get from a list of options displayed to the right of the screen. The quality of loot available depends on the difficulty
level of the mission, but there’s no guarantee the player will get something
good if they roll poorly and, even if they do, it might not even be for the
heroes they prefer to play. Ostensibly, the loot system was configured as a tactic to try and get people to try out all of the heroes instead of
sticking to a single roll, but things rarely work out that way. I still have nothing but normal (white) gear
for the class I wanted to play most, the Witch Hunter, but, as a Level 30
running hard, I am forced to play the role I have the best gear for or risk
dragging down my allies.
You can slightly improve the odds of better rewards by
collecting hidden items called tomes or grimoires, both of which take up a healing item or buff slot so
there’s a neat risk/reward aspect in play.
The grimoires, in addition to taking up a potion slot, also reduce the
entire teams Max Health and can’t be dropped or they are lost for the mission. Tomes, on the other hand, can be picked up and put down at will.
This can be helpful, but not every mission
even has them which leads to a somewhat lopsided server list in terms of what’s
being hosted.
I definitely enjoyed this
mechanic, as it incentivizes players to work together and discuss if it’s worth
doing none, one, or both grimoires based on map difficulty and current party
health.
That said, I do play with friends
who communicate well.
In public games
with strangers people’s personal experiences may vary.
To try and alleviate some of the grind,
Vermintide has a crafting system
that allows players to recycle useless or duplicate gear into a better
quality item. The conversion rates in said system are 5 Whites = 1 Green, 5 green = 1 Blue, 5 Blue = 1 Orange. Despite this, the item crafted can still be bad so, like the dice, you're at
the mercy of a random number generator. Even more frustrating are the trinkets and hats
which
can't be crafted or recycled for parts and, after playing long
enough, you'll could end up with a heap of worthless clutter in your
inventory.
Combat itself is good and engaging and, overall, the game is
fairly challenging.
The weapons really
do feel responsive in that a one-handed mace will swing really fast compared to
a hulking two-handed hammer; blades swish nicely as they cleave Skaven limbs from
bodies, and shields thump under heavy Skaven assault.
I know some people feel that the AI is no
better than zombies of other games. but I strongly disagree.
Full stealth is never an option but taking
down a group of Skaven in a watchtower with a bow can allow a group to sneak
past a larger group and save that precious healing for finales and recovering
after ambushes.
If the players go loud
using guns and bombs on that same watch tower they will draw a larger horde, wasting time, healing, and other resources.
Even the most basic units know not just to swarm, but to try and flank to get behind players.
Also, unlike
zombies, the Skaven will recoil in fear when players land critical kills or
bring down special units. Sometimes that moment of respite is the difference
between regaining enough stamina to block an incoming attack or getting dropped
and leaving your allies a hero down as the tide of vermin continues to grow.
For players familiar with L4D, the parallels in special unit
types in Vermintide will be obvious and likely easily dealt with but, for the
uninitiated, the challenge of learning how to deal with the tougher Skaven can
be difficult but rewarding once a rhythm and pattern of blocking/parrying/counter striking is established. The 5
Specials are: Packmasters, which will
latch on and drag players away from the group; Ratling Gunners, who lock onto a
single player and unleash metal hell using a gatling gun; Poison Wind Globadir who hurl long range gas bombs which cloud vision and damage over time; Gutter
Runners who teleport and pounce on players, eviscerating them; Rat Ogres that
are basically like the Hulk and require the whole team to bring down; and
Stormvermin, which are larger, heavily armored rats with heavy weapons. The last type is also unique in that patrols
of about a dozen roam around on various maps and, again, players can use stealth
to avoid these which on lower difficulties isn’t always necessary, but at higher
level play is mandatory as even the best geared players will quickly be facing a
TPK (Total Party Kill).
While the influence of
L4D hangs heavy around
Vermintide like
the fog around Ubersreik, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Frantically fighting off hordes of enemies
back-to-back with your friends as you wait for a gate to lower so you can
escape a doomed city is the whole point right? Desperately trying to revive a
downed ally while a Rat Ogre roars bearing down on you full speed will never
stop being thrilling to me.
It’s been 6
years since
L4D and there has been no worthy successor.
I’m here to say I now feel there is and it’s
Vermintide.
This is, hands down, the best
FPS co-op experience a player can get today.
Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide released on 10/23/15 and is available
on
Steam for $29.99.
Pick it up today
and let’s save Ubersreik together, or die trying.
