Warhammer: Vermintide 2is available for Steam users to grab for free until November 7. It isn’t often that Steam gives out a game that usually has a price tag on it for free, but the platform has been known to do it in the past. Some games are free-to-play on Steam all the time such asDOTA 2andCS:GO, but it’s typically a special occasion when the platform decides to remove the price tag from a title. When this does happen, Steam users will only get to grab their title for a short amount of time, such as whenNinja Stealthwas made freeearlier this year for a few days.
Some saw it as a surprise when it was revealed thatWarhammer: Vermintide 2could be claimed for free. Likely, this is tied to Fatshark nearly being ready for therelease of its latest titleDarktide, as it gives a sort of demo to those who may not be familiar with the style of game the developer makes. For whatever reason, Steam decided to makeVermintide 2free, it’s certainly a title gamers shouldn’t disregard.
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The Many Appeals of Vermintide 2
There are a fair amount of games that focus on co-op gameplay and fighting off hordes of enemies.Left 4 Dead 2, for example, inspired a lot of zombie games that followed, including 2021’sBack 4 Blood.Warhammer:Vermintide 2also follows a gameplay loop centered around killing vast amounts of enemies with a party of unique characters. However,Vermintide 2immediately sets itself apart by ditching the traditional hordes of zombies and replacing them with bipedal, giant rats.
While this will put off those who suffer from a fear of rats,Vermintide 2is a lot more than just a clone ofLeft 4 Deadfeaturing rat-men. Between the game’s five characters, there are aload of classes to choose from inVermintide 2, giving players a lot of options in how they want to take on the grim fantasy world ofWarhammer. There is the Shade subclass should a player enjoy using stealthy tactics around groups of enemies and dealing big damage to bosses, or for those wanting to get into the thick of the action, there’s the Grail Knight subclass which was added as a DLC.
Each ofVermintide 2’sunique characters blend together to create a party that stands out. Over hundreds of voice lines, the characters ofWarhammer: Vermintide 2add a bit of levity to the dark tone of the game. As well, through these character interactions,Vermintide 2gives a uniqueintroduction toWarhammer Fantasywithout overloading players with the enormity of the setting. While Fatshark’s upcoming gameDarktidealso has thousands of voice lines, these aren’t tied to unique characters which makesVermintide 2worth visiting to see the well-crafted cast.
Despite releasing back in 2017,Vermintide 2has only grown since its release thanks to a positive reaction from fans and critics and Fatshark’s willingness to support the game over time. While the traditional levels and gameplay loop of the game remain solid, for those who might get bored by playing the same levels over and over againVermintide 2added a new mode known as the Chaos Wastes last year. TheChaos Wastes act asWarhammer: Vermintide 2’sroguelike mode, giving players a variety of buffs and gear as they fight through procedurally generated maps until they either beat the final boss or perish in the attempt to do so.
With a solid gameplay loop, fun co-op, and a cast of characters and classes that are diverse and interesting enough to keep players coming back,Vermintide 2is a game Steam users shouldn’t miss, especially if they can get it for free. Going beyond Fatshark’s continued support for the title, there are also plenty ofmods forWarhammer: Vermintide 2that elevate the experience to a new level.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
