Recent reviews by Firuthi "Frosty" J. Dragovic

Short Version: Too much needed to be changed and didn't get changed. With the three-year gap, there's no excuse for being this similar.

Long Version:

Index player, 1080Ti graphics card (a bit weaker than a 3070). I will say this game is only SLIGHTLY more optimized than the first - I remember the first game stuttering a lot more when I played, and I think I am seeing a slight bit of stuttering here.

First Impressions: This definitely feels like it should have been a DLC, rather than a full-fledged standalone game. The Resting Place map (barring the expanded portion) is pretty much the way I remember it, right down to where the one food recipe is. The combat is as I remember - maybe I am spoiled by other VR games but the guns still feel just as clunky as the first time (which might be a problem, with the plot that I've seen so far), forcing me to rely on melee. That's tolerable given what the noise of firearms can do.

The grabbing is just as wonky as I remember it. Most VR games aren't anywhere near this clunky with grabbing items. And THAT is the biggest reason that despite the fact I'll play this the whole way through, I'm giving this a thumbs down for the review.

I can put up with the graphics issues given I put up with the first game's graphics problems. But there's no excuse for the grab controls to be as imprecise as they are, especially several years after the first game.

EDIT: Finally got to import my save with way too much of everything (turns out it was available on release day, I just never got the chance until now). Naturally, the new crafting items call for new resources. 7-8 new resources, if I'm not mistaken. And the graphics are in fact a bit more optimized than the last game. Still not enough to change my review - things are just like I remember, especially with the grabbing controls.

Hoo boy, where to begin... Vermintide was what happened when you mashed Left 4 Dead with the Skaven (rat-people) faction from Warhammer Fantasy. Vermintide 2 is what happens if you throw in the Nurgle faction of Chaos.

Given how the Skaven are in the Warhammer lore and how the Chaos factions go, this works almost perfectly. Specials, hordes... it all clicks together.

Just remember that you're expected to melee most things. Yes, even the mage is expected to melee every once in a while.

I'd consider this a good FPS for people just getting into the genre or migrating from cover-based shooters. The gameplay is fairly robust and the enemies aren't afraid to teach you the basics of older first-person shooters (while I won't go into too many examples, there's an enemy that will lead shots so they hit you every time unless you learn to change up your movement).

However, the early game is far more brutal than most FPSes due to the roguelike nature of this title. You can very easily get forsaken by your first weapon drop or two, so expect about 70% of your runs to end in the first two levels (90% in Hard Mode).

As for veterans... this is probably closer to Painkiller or Serious Sam than to Doom or Quake or Heretic in the style of action you should expect. Large swarms are the name of the game.

Overall? Recommended for those with the reflexes. You will need reflexes to win, trust me.

The pay-to-win problem I could deal with. The server issues I could deal with. The poor community I could deal with.

But this game easily has some of the most incompetent and ignorant players I've seen in ANY online game to date.

"But Frosty, what is the difference between poor community and incompetent players?" Simple. Poor community can just be hateful. Incompetence, despite causing hate, doesn't require hate at all in order to happen. Even at epic tier, no one has learned MMO basics AT ALL. The worst of it has to be not helping their healers when they're in trouble - we can't do our job if we're tied up dealing with enemies that YOU should be the ones killing!

*sigh* Don't even give this game a second thought.

Don't be fooled by the information tags that Steam gave this game. Between the ridiculous number of zombies, the hideously low amount of inventory space, possibly the worst navigational minimap ever encountered in an FPS, and the speed and frequency with which you WILL die, this is a game where playing co-op is pretty much required. Overall, you are only going to frustrate yourself if you try to play solo, so I cannot in good conscience recommend this game to most people.

If you ARE going to disregard my advice and play solo, here's some words I HOPE you listen to: guns are pretty much useless on the zombies (barring the shotguns). Stick to melee weapons on the zombies and save your guns for the human enemies only. Shotguns are the exception because they can dismember zombies easily, even the special zombies such as Thugs.

Overall score: 4/10

Okay, don't get me wrong here - the idea of a modern-city shooter with free-roaming missions and constant PvP is not bad at all. However, there are some serious problems with this game.

The fact that the vehicles have clunky controls I could stand. The way the missions are handled I could stand.

But the system requirements are absolutely RIDICULOUS. You basically need a top-end system to get any usable framerate out of this game. Any less, and you'll have 10-second pauses in any sort of loading - which is inexcusable with this type of gameplay.

Wow, I remember this one from years ago. It has one of the most fully-developed physics engines of any MMO I've ever seen. The four characters (I remember when it was only three, and it may be five soon) all played very differently and honestly, the only one I couldn't really get into playing was Lann (the dual swordsman). Lastly, a very good story for an MMO.

I feel that its only major flaw is that it's of the hub-and-mission style of MMOs - probably done so they can ensure the physics engine is handled correctly. However, that flaw is tremendous in a scenario where the 'hub' is an actual area where the players gather, because the lag gets horrendous.

Unfortunately this is one of those games that's marred by the company that holds it - Nexon. Nexon has NO idea how to deal with any kind of customer support and is notorious for pay-to-win problems. The latter doesn't actually rear its head NEARLY as much as it did in DFO, but there are still shades of it.

Overall, my bad experiences with Nexon are the main thing preventing me from recommending this.

Very hard for me to get immersed in the setting, though the combat system is fine. I can only recommend this to hardcore Lord of the Rings fans at best.

If you want to get into this game, one bit of advice - don't overdo it. Graphics are sufficient, sound is... really not there.... but if you're playing this game you probably don't care about either.

The gameplay is actually downright simplistic and surviving long enough requires some good dodging skills - or ability to use other players as meatshields. Take it from someone who's 5-manned Oryx himself - this game requires a TON more caution than you're probably used to using.

Oh, and despite the fact that death of a character is permanent, it's only a major setback if you're closing in on the high-Fame class 'quests'. I don't recommend pursing the highest quest for all 13 classes - pick one, and if you can get over 2000 Fame with that character then you've basically mastered the game and can move on.

A superhero MMO best experienced with friends.

Even in the free-to-play portion (also known as Silver members), the costume system has the greatest degree of customization that I've ever seen in an MMO (and you can unlock a number of pieces through certain events - let me state that content the F2P crowd can unlock is a GREAT idea that every MMO should have). The game's item shop (the C-store) has a little bonus content, but most of the shop items are quality-of-life benefits.

That being said, the archetype system is a little confining (and allegedly more thematic than functional, according to at least a few Gold members I've talked to) and the true freeform development is only available to those who pay a monthly fee (the Gold members).

I'd say plunk down a few bucks for a hideout and more inventory space and don't worry about any monthly subscription unless you're planning on this being the only game you play.

Even then, be aware that Cryptic is unlikely to fix any further bugs with this game, even the ones that have been around for several years. I'd argue this one is dying.