Developer: Fatshark
Publisher: Fatshark
Platforms: PC, Xbox One
Tested on: Xbox One
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen DLC – Review
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen is the first DLC of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, and it’s a bit polarizing. The fans who bought the original game were left waiting for this piece of content. It kept getting delayed and delayed as Warhammer: Vermintide 2 wasn’t exactly without bugs and glitches so the developers were forced to fix the bugs before concentrating on extra content. That’s all a thing of the past as the DLC has finally been released. The question remains, will it please fans and is it worth its price? You can read up on the Warhammer: Vermintide 2 review here.
Story
The story takes place during the ‘End Times’ in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles scenario. It’s about the village of Bögenhafen being struck with a very nasty plague and it’s up to you and your crew to clear out the village and put a stop to the disease. At the root of the evil is the ‘Blightreaper’, which is a sword that’s passed on from one warlord corrupted by ‘Chaos’ to the next warlord, keeping the cycle of degeneracy intact. If you want to break the cycle you’ll have to bust in, grab the sword and melt it down so it’s no longer a problem. Maybe melt it down to a teapot. ‘Teablight’ doesn’t have much of a ring to it after all…
The way the story is told is just like the main game, through text at the beginning of the levels and some dialogue between characters during levels. It worked then and it works now, so why fix what isn’t broken? Again, it’s more tell over show with that said, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen does try its hand at some massive set piece, which is just cool, though it could be done more without growing old.
Graphics
When speaking about the graphics, it’s safe to say, like the main game, they aren’t going to blow you out of the water. The engine used for the realization of the visual aspect is the ‘Umbra Engine’, which is also used by Bethesda, who are responsible for ‘Dishonored 2’ and there it worked because of its semi cell shaded aesthetic. Here, however, it isn’t used to its full potential and thus the graphics look muddy and blocky. It’s a shame because with some polish this game and the subsequent DLC could really shine. The gore is over the top and if there had been some more effort into it, the game wouldn’t feel like a sloppy beta. It’s probably one of the gripes of the fans of the game. Graphically it lacks that final tweak that makes the game look less drab and make it pop more. It’s there, it’s just hidden away beneath a very hard case of pixilation.
Sound
What has been said about the sound in the main game, can be applied to the DLC. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen doesn’t do away with its voice actors, or with their wit and typecasting. The elf is still a smug bastard harping on the dwarf, making sharp jabs at him while the dwarf retorts with rather crude remarks. This make the NPCs actually feel alive. There’s little to no repetition when you first sit through the – rather short – campaign of the DLC. The developers also made it their mission to not make the things they say seem too token, which is hard to do and a trap most developers fall into. This isn’t the case in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen.
Gameplay
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen is a first person hack and slash DLC to the main campaign which also falls under this genre. It doesn’t do anything different from the main game, as in that you’ll be wandering around a rather linear path, sometimes exploring a little to find hidden goodies, and slaughtering anything that goes against you on the way.
It has to be said that this DLC is very, very, very short. It can be finished in under an hour. This is when you play on the easiest setting, but you can always replay and grind on higher difficulties if you want to maximize your enjoyment of the content. It’s a bit of a shame that the DLC only has two missions and no epilogue. You just go in, get the sword, don’t even get to know what is going to happen to it next and are dropped in the main lobby afterward without even a satisfactory ‘you’ve done it and the plague has been lifted’. In that regard it’s more than normal that the fans feel shat upon and the price tag might not justify the content given.
Conclusion
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows over Bögenhafen is the DLC the fans have been waiting for, but they weren’t quite waiting for this. It’s short, there’s little to no satisfaction if you are looking for a story and the gameplay is completely the same as the main campaign. So if you are looking for slightly more but in a different setting then you’ll be more than satisfied. The price tag does feel like a slight slap in the face for what’s offered.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Shadows over Bögenhafen DLC - Review,
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