'Last Stand' update brings much needed new content to 'Vermintide'

“Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide,” an October 2015 first-person cooperative hack-and-slash title by the independent Swedish developer Fatshark, was something of a surprise critical darling upon release (we at the Daily adored the beta). The game, which pits four players against hordes of ratmen in a Games Workshop’s medieval-Germany-meets-magic “Warhammer Fantasy” (1983 – present) setting, has earned praise for its loving rendition. Additionally, its gameplay, though clearly inspired by Valve’s “Left 4 Dead” series (2008 – 2009), managed to differentiate itself from its predecessors by putting the emphasis on melee combat and loot.

But just like those of the “Left 4 Dead” games before it, dedicated players of "Vermintide" found that playing and replaying its limited number of missions quickly became dull. After all, blowing the Horn of Magnus to rouse the defenders of Ubersreik for the 50th time stops feeling like a feat of heroism and instead feels like a chore. “Vermintide’s” daily player numbers reflect this unfortunate reality. According to Steamcharts, a service that tracks games' player numbers over time, “Vermintide” has been hemorrhaging players month to month since its release, which could very well be the kiss of death for a game that didn’t have a huge player base to begin with.

The solution to declining player interest, particularly for a title with solid core gameplay like “Vermintide" is to simply release a steady stream of new content to keep players hooked, though this is easier said than done. In the months since “Vermintide’s” release, Fatshark has only released tweaks that have included bug fixes and an overhaul of the game’s crafting system but no new content — until now.

Last week, Fatshark released “Last Stand," the first substantial piece of downloadable content (DLC) for “Vermintide." The content pack contains two new levels, both of which play host to a new “Last Stand” game mode, where players must endure against an endless horde of ratmen for as long as possible.

The first of the DLC’s two levels is called “Town Meeting” and takes place in von Junfreuudplatz — a circular city plaza with a large central statue (a suitably inspiring man holding a great sword aloft), rendered in “Warhammer’s” characteristic medieval German style. What could have been a largely mundane circular level is instead broken up with piles of lumber and market stalls that lend the plaza a lived-in feel. The level’s lighting is also gorgeous, with the soft early morning light casting an ethereal glow over the bloody proceedings.

The structure of “Town Meeting” is such that players inevitably find themselves in the naturally-defensible center of the plaza, standing on the statue’s pedestal beset by enemies on all sides. Though defending a single point sounds bland on paper, watching a horde of rats sweep towards your vantage point makes for a striking visual that recalls the Balin’s Tomb scene from “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001). “Let them come” indeed.

The second of the two new levels is behind a $3 paywall and takes place in a ruined mountain fortress called “Schluesselschloss” (try saying that ten times fast) that sits on the edge of a waterfall. Enemies enter “Schluesselschloss” from a greater variety of paths than they do “Town Meeting,” and as such there is no obvious defensible position; players are forced to fight a running battle with the ratmen amid the fortress’ rotting wood and crumbling stone.

The natural beauty of the setting (dramatic mountains AND a waterfall!) should make for some breathtaking environment art and for the most part, Fatshark delivers. The fortress itself is immaculately put together, with tattered pennants and banners hinting at the building’s history and Rube Goldberg-esque crane acting at the level’s clear focal point. “Schluesselschloss” is redolent with history and groaning with the weight of the lore that the “Warhammer” setting has built up over the past 30-odd years. That the team at Fatshark has managed, yet again to, encapsulate the essence of “Warhammer” in a level is a feat for which they will certainly earn insufficient praise.

The quality of the background art, however, leaves much to be desired. Shoddy texture work abounds on the far away mountains and the river that snakes into the distance clips through the ground regularly. Though players are unlikely to contemplate the background in the heat of battle, should they glance up from the gore for a moment in-between waves, these frankly amateurish failings will shatter the immersion that an otherwise fantastically atmospheric level has worked to build.

All in all, it is encouraging to see a smaller independent developer continuing to support its game with quality content post-launch. “Last Stand” has injected some fresh blood into a game that became monotonous months ago and will hopefully draw some lapsed players back to “Vermintide." The $3 asking price for the “Schluesselschloss” is also more than fair for the quality of the content on offer (sub-par background art notwithstanding). Hopefully Fatshark realizes what an absolute gem they have in “Vermintide” and that “Last Stand,” is but a taste of the quality content to come.