After playing the sequel - Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - first, it is difficult to not compare the two games. End Times - Vermintide is, in comparison, quite rough, has less depth in its combat, and just doesn't feel quite as responsive.

However, it is still a fantastic game, and one worth picking up if you have a group to play with. And you should have a group, as the servers are relatively empty.

Having experience with the game, progressing was relatively easy, and we cleared all missions on Cataclysm with relative ease.

I kind of went with the wrong expectation here. I expected a Left 4 Dead vibe, but this is way more problematic, less interesting, slower, and repetitive.

I’d say that you NEED to play co-op, solo is just boring and buggy. The characters are distinct and fun, and their gear variety is really cool. For instance, I got a bow that did not require me to aim, which made the hordes way easier. The map design and the mission objectives suck, but the theme variety is okay. The “boss” maps are also not great, and the plot is so forgettable I couldn’t really point out anything from it. The melee combat is weightless and dull, even with cooler weapons, but thankfully the ranged gameplay is mostly fun. The whole loot system is stupid, and unrewarding.

Overall: fun with friends, but lacks a lot of what made Left 4 Dead a great game.

Finally got around to reviewing this game, which I had a bunch of fun playing with a few friends of mine, killing monsters and doing missions. Though the game looks impressive and killing Scaven never gets old, there are some issues that make it difficult for me to recommend this game.

My stream for gameplay and how online works

The opening is very well made and the story gets you hooked instantly. The Scaven are now on the surface and taking the city by tearing apart everyone and everything that they come across! You choose one of a handful of heroes (Five. Mage, Dwarf, Warrior, Witch Hunter, Elf) to stand up against this horde and disrupt their advance, starting with the first mission where you have to set off a horn to inform the entire city of the attack.

Beyond this, the game operates much like Left4Dead where you are special Scaven types (Elites, Rat Catcher, Gas Rat, Ratling Gunner, Assassin and Rat Ogre) which often appear at random, usually to abduct one of your number or create confusion. They are all dangerous in their own ways and I'll list them, for fun, for your forewarned knowledge.

Elites: Improved version of the normal Scaven. These ones are bigger, have more armour and take a little more patience to take down than the typical normal Scaven.

Rat Catcher: They catch and drag you away from everyone else (like the Licker)

Gas Rat: They wear the clothing of a plague bearer and throw gas bombs at you. The gas itself slowly drains your health and clouds your vision.

Ratling Gunner: As you can guess from the name, this Scaven carries a Gattling Gun on it's back and unleashes hell on you the moment it opens fun! These are usually a pain in the ass to take out as they have better health like Elites.

Rat Ogre: Much like the Heavy from L4D, this can spawn randomly. You will hear it roar, the music changes and it comes out of the shadows, charging at full speed and shrugging off any attacks you throw at it.

Assassin Rat: This one acts very much like the Hunter from L4D. He sneaks around and makes certain to pounce someone, stabbing them repeatedly. He's got low health, but if not killed he'll disappear to come back with a fresh attempt.

As fun as the gameplay is, it's VERY stingy with loot-drops. For example, you only get the chance to get 1 item each, at the END of every mission (which can last anywhere from 10mins to 30mins, depending on how good you are and how large the mission is) so trying to get loot was a REAL pain in this game. Sadly you can't trade items either and although everyone gets 1 item, it's still VERY slow progression, especially considering you can get a duplicate of the weapon you have equipped. If you find dice in the game it can increase the chances of getting something better, but good luck with that!

Thankfully there is a mechanic to destroy these spare weapons for ores that can be used to alter, modify or create new weapons! Sadly, it doesn't give much so it isn't too great of a trade off and you have to EARN it. You need to be of a certain level before you can access the smithery for breaking stuff down and such. Same for other features I feel should've been available at level 1, like the ability to enhance your gear and to collect bounties off the bounty board (which often gives you the ore you'll want) so it is one hell of a grind, which is why it's difficult to recommend this. Oh, forgot to mention. If you fail the mission, you only get the XP for Scaven killed and such. No resources, loot or hidden items that you may have found in the mission, that move location upon subsequent visits.

What makes this all worse is, at the time, my PC had a sub-par cooling situation. Even after cleaning it out and everything, it continued to over-heat and this machine has handled Cyberpunk 2077 (at release), The Witcher 3, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Alien Isolation and more, yet this game still forced my PC to turn-off due to heating. Even as I upgraded my case and such it STILL over-heated.

Currently I bought a water-cooling system and as far as I can tell, this has been the only way to stop it getting too hot, however, I've not actually tested this so another warning is make sure you have a VERY cool set-up with plenty of airflow. Like any multiplayer, it's more fun with friends and if you have a group of friends, then go ahead as that can often defeat these flaws, however, if not then I struggle to really recommend this at all as the grind solo won't be very fun. Especially with how the difficulty appears to spike up with the more players in your team.

Breakdown:

Pros:

Easy to join a game

Very nice graphics

Missions are often varied

The character's dialog between each other is quite funny as they dislike one another, throwing snide comments.

Using a bomb to clear Scaven never gets old

Cons:

EXTREMELY slow loot progression

A Stupid Difficulty Spike, based on players, not loot or levels

Features that improve the game are level-locked

Long missions, which wouldn't be so bad if not for everything above

Confirmed that this game runs hot on most rigs. Be certain to have your case extremely cold!*