Rating of
3/5
More Like Vermin-Grind
Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/14/18
The Melted Joystick crew is always looking for the next, great multiplayer game. Sometimes we land on one that surprises us, sometimes we grind through games that were best left alone. Vermintide, is the latter, a game set in the vast Warhammer universe that plays like a first person hack n slash but requires patience, skill and teamwork - and, let's face it, our crew just don't have time for that.
Presentation: Welcome to the drab, brown world of Vermintide. Yes, the game's visuals are just fine - nice detail, the enemies are varied, as are the player characters - but the world itself is just a depressing morass of destruction, dead bodies and treasure chests that, more often than not, are empty - much like the soul of this game. Crumbling castle, dripping sewers, vacant catacombs - hell, even if you manage to get to a forest or mountain, it's all just a muddled mess. The music is generic and the enemies, while having some variation, also gets mighty repetitive. You have the swarming rat fodder that represents the main enemy and special variations from armored foes you must hit (or shoot) in the head, sneaky assassins that will jump you, gatling-gun toting murder machines and, of course, the mighty Rat Ogre who will stomp you to mush unless you happen to have a few grenades handy (don't waste those - or the all-too scare healing items).
About the best thing I can say of Vermintide is as at least the banter between part members is entertaining (even if this also gets repetitive). Each character has great jokes at the others' expense and the voice acting isn't all that bad. The game also does an admirable job of fleshing out the history of the this vast fantasy world - too bad that history is randomly scattered about levels and to track down the information on gods, races and the rat threat you face takes several playthroughs and careful observation - and, if you fail a level, all that information you gathered is lost. Plus, the game isn't smooth - loading times are a bitch, people were kicked on occasion and the physics engine provided plenty of entertainment when the rag doll aspect went haywire.
Story: So the world is ending... and in this version, the ratmen (or Skaven if you will) have appeared in the Reiklands smack-dam in the middle of the Empire to wreck havoc, kill, maim, destroy and probably leave Skaven droppings all over the damn place. It's a small cog in a very big end-of-the-world machine, but luckily a rag-tag group of disparate heroes just happen to be around to save the day (or at least the city) from the chaotic destruction (mostly - there's a lot of Skaven about). That's it, in a nutshell - nothing too bold or original.
Gameplay: As I said, this game is a FPS merged with a hack n' slash - also though the S in FPS is kind of missing. Characters have very limited ammo and while there are refills, they never seem to be around when you really need them (much like the health potions). The game is mostly up close and personal melee - with sniping characters (like my favorite, the elf) helping when they can. The levels feature plenty of nooks and crannies, but there is usually a set path to follow. Make no mistake, this is a team-based game where there is one main rule: Stick together.
People who know me also know I'm also the one most susceptible to wandering off - I want to know what's up those stairs or around that corner. But in Vermintide, this cannot be tolerated. Enemies can sneak up on you easily - and if you're not swarmed by a mass, you are taken out by an assassin rat or a Taskmaster (who drags you off with a hook) - and if no team members are around, you will die. Even if you have team members around, you'll probably die, which is why revival is relatively easy. But it's not guaranteed and with health potions so scarce, it's better to work together at all times. By the end, we managed to get pretty good (yes, even myself, the master wanderer) but I was disheartened to learn the AI was so much better when playing alone.
One of the biggest hits against Vermintide is the absolute trash loot system. Unlike Diablo or Borderlands - loot is not dropped in the level itself. Instead, after each level, you roll some dice. If you find magic dice within the level or spell books (that take up slots in your inventory where you have health potions), you get more dice and a chance at better loot. But you have just the one roll each level - and you're not even guaranteed to get a weapon for your preferred character. Of course, you can eventually combine low-level loot to make better loot - but this is where the grind comes in. Sure, you can get better loot by beating harder difficulty - but first you need better weapons to even stand a chance at success. Needless to say, we didn't get beyond the easiest difficulty and I didn't really want to try.
Replayability: A lot - if you are a masochist who wants to face punishing difficulty, grinding for a marginally better weapon and repetitive gameplay. But if you are that kind of person, Vermintide offers a near limitless amount of "fun".
Overall: I am not a hardcore gamer who enjoys grinding and meeting next-to-impossible challenges. Vermintide is made for people (or several people) who enjoy that kind of punishment, but that person is not me, nor any of the people who I played this with.
Presentation: 2/5
Story: 2/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replayability: 4/5
Overall (not an average): 3/5
