could play with bots, but they’re not
much help and the game tends to
be significantly more difficult and
frustrating when played with AI
partners.
As far as the enemies go,
many of the Skaven beasties
are functionally identical to the
zombies in L4D. The Skaven play
their part well, leaping over
obstacles and climbing walls in
a frenzied attempt to reach you
and your chums. In addition to
the garden variety grunts, the
Skaven threat is bolstered by boss
characters who are very similar
to the special infected from L4D.
You’ll quickly spot Hunters, Tanks
and Boomers in rat form, and
just as in Valve’s game, these
Mega Skaven have a nasty habit of
throwing a deadly spanner in the
works just when you think things
are going swimmingly. As much
as I like Vermintide’s Skaven, I do
wish they’d been adjusted somehow
38 The OverClocker Issue 36 | 2015
to differentiate them from
L4D’s undead in more than just
appearance – but I’ve honestly no
idea how the devs could’ve achieved
that, so maybe it’s an unfair
criticism to make. Nevertheless,
they’re an entertaining enemy,
and their character designs are
wonderful.
Actually, the visual and audio
design of the entire game is
wonderful. Fatshark has used the
Warhammer Fantasy licence to
great effect, and this is easily one of
the best-looking Warhammer games
out there. It all looks and sounds as
you’d expect it to, and the levels on
offer vary from the cobbled streets
and perilous rooftops of Ubersreik
to its claustrophobic sewer
tunnels and the open fields of the
countryside beyond.
Vermintide does trip over its own
feet in a few ways, chief among
them being its always-online
requirement. Even though there