Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows Over Bögenhafen DLC
Fatshark
As someone who was never really that familiar with any of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle lore, I was a little apprehensive when Fatshark released the first Warhammer: Vermintide game back in 2016. It took a few friends to convince me to try it out and once I did, I was hooked.
The hack n’ slash, melee-based nature of the game really appealed to me as it took a pretty big departure from all of the hackneyed, first-person shooters that we all see these days.
That game was inevitably followed up by Warhammer: Vermintide 2, which debuted earlier this year (2018). The sequel had a bit of a rocky start, primarily because of some nasty bugs that came accompanied the game’s release.
To Fatshark’s credit, they’ve pretty much taken care of most or all of the issues that plagued the game’s initial release and have also done a great job of balancing both the main characters and their abilities, as well as the enemies and their power levels.
Vermintide 2’s first DLC, titled: Shadows Over Bögenhafen, came out recently but I wanted to wait a bit to review it just to make sure it was sufficiently patched up. I was curious to see if this DLC would conjure up the same feelings of blissful, hack n’ slash joy that the base game had, or if it would turn out to be one big bummer.
Shadows Over Bögenhafen takes place within the same timeframe as the events which unfold in the base game’s backstory. However, this time around our intrepid heroes head back into the ever-dangerous streets of the city of Bögenhafen.
Their mission is to try and retrieve an ultimate doomsday weapon known as the Choas Runesword, or die trying. If they fail in their quest not only will Bögenhafen fall into the clutches of evil, but an entire worldwide pestilence will sweep over everything and snuff out all life like a sputtering candle.
The Shadows Over Bögenhafen DLC brings two completely new levels to the table, and both of them take place in the filthy sewers beneath the once-beautiful city; The Pit and the Gottenplatz District. Not only are these interesting places to travel throughout, but our heroes will also have access to new cosmetic items such as clothing, skins, and a wide assortment of trinkets. Shadows Over Bögenhafen also comes with plenty of new quests and additional challenges to try out.
During my playthrough, I was pleased to see that the main levels themselves held up to the same, very high standard of quality in their designs that they did in the base game. The environments are so gloriously rendered that I caught myself exploring them just to take in their grandeur and ended up getting ambushed by random enemy mobs on more than one occasion.
Speaking of mobs, Shadows Over Bögenhafen is jam-packed with more throngs of filthy ratmen and Chaos Warriors than ever before, and you’ll have to really utilize teamwork with your cohorts in order to survive this time around. In an interesting twist, both of the new levels have areas which are shrouded in total darkness since they take place in the sewers underneath the main city.
What that means, gameplay-wise, is that someone in your party will have to step up and take on the duties of the primary torchbearer. Either that, or all that you’ll see of your enemies are their red glowing eyes in the darkness.
Therefore, teamwork and communication are necessary in order to navigate through (and survive) the more dungeon-like sewer areas. Luckily, the torch carrier can at least bash enemies over the head—and hopefully catch them alight—with said torch; so they’re not completely defenseless.
With its perilous environments, beautiful attention to detail, dangerous enemies, and new features, the Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Shadows Over Bögenhafen DLC is a solid expansion that should tickle the fancy of anyone who likes hack n’ slash adventure games.
SCORE: 85%
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 features pretty great graphics that make its fantasy-based gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:
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