Warhammer: Vermintide 2: Deluxe Edition - Xbox One

The easy version of the elevator pitch for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is 'Left4Dead in the Warhammer universe'. That doesn't sound like a bad proposition at all, but it doesn't really do justice to the blood bath that is Vermintide 2.

So, it's a co-op combat game in which teamwork is crucial. Despite the medieval setting, you get ranged attacks alongside the melee weapons, and you'll want both if you and your team are going to survive. You'll be swarmed by ravenous rat ogres, bloodthirsty northmen and horrific skaven and it's up to you to make sure you've built a character who can survive. There are 15 careers to choose from, each with their own skills and progression trees. The copious amounts of loot left in the aftermath of your bloodletting help too, of course.

The developers at Fatshark have worked to make the world of Vermintide 2 more expansive than the first game in the series. The level design will still ensure you don't stumble around hoping for some action by gently coaxing you towards where the killing has to happen, but the walls have been pushed out and you have a lot more room to swing your sword/axe/mace/murdering device of choice. It's worth taking a look around, too - Fatshark has really dialled up the bleak and bloody and painted it across an epic landscape. The setting is the old Warhammer universe (in the tabletop games that world was recently blown up in favour of a more cosmic setting) and broken high elf structures loom, dark age cities burn and blood runs through the field. This is an already-war-torn world on its death slide to a final apocalypse. It's big, dark stuff.

In with the core game are the first and second DLCs, making this the most comprehensive Vermintide 2 package yet. It's big, bloody and brutal. more