FatShark has done a fantastic job of taking their first game and improving on every single aspect. The recurring theme of offering players a variety of tools, characters and enemies to face leads to a crescendo of unique moments that are all entirely player driven. While the difficulty spikes can be frustrating, part of the fun in Vermintide 2 is being against the odds and prevailing.

Whether it’s Franz Lohner telling you about Karl Franz’s crude sense of humour, or Saltzpyre and Sienna arguing with each other, Vermintide 2 is unequivocally Warhammer.

Warhammer: Vermintide II is a sequel done right and then some. Improved in all its aspects, it will challenge seasoned and new players alike with its difficulty and demands of tactical planning. Definitely worth checking it out.

Vermintide II feels like a predictable step in a fantastic direction.

Greater, more predatory, more brutal, more dynamic, more sophisticated, richer. Simply better. A game that shows how a good-looking sequel should look like. An excellent base of gameplay has reached almost perfection from last time and creators also worked on support mechanisms and systems where they were needed. The result is a splendid, blood-filled entertainment.

It's undoubtedly a game that will be tweaked and expanded upon over its lifetime, but Warhammer: Vermintide 2 already feels like a formidable co-op package.

Vermintide 2 delights in its violence, a state of constant balance that makes the player feel overwhelmed but in control. With a myriad of classes to choose from and an excellent variety of loot, it shines in ways that have yet to be explored by others in the genre.

Hop into a match, lop off a few heads, gain experience and gear, and next time, lop off stouter heads while carrying a couple of grims. Vermintide 2 is exemplary of what the genre can become, and it's an especially great reason to grab some friends, sit down, and slay a few thousand foes.

Vermintide 2 does everything better than its predecessor. With its overhauled loot system, varied locations, new enemies and steep difficulty, Vermintide 2 is a right step forward for the franchise and the genre.

Fatshark has managed to improve most of the negative aspects of the first installment with Warhammer: Vermintide 2. The Warriors of Chaos join forces with the Skaven in one of the best cooperatives in this generation.

When it comes to co-op action, Warhammer: Vermintide II stands out from the pack. [May 2018, p.64]

Vermintide 2 evolved far beyond a Left 4 Dead imitation. Using familiar concepts, Fatshark lovingly crafted one of the best cooperative action games in recent years.

Even though Warhammer: Vermintide II has some issues with its progression system and matchmaking, it is one of the best cooperative games ever created thanks to its gameplay. Fatshark has polished all the issues that its predecessor had and delivers an amazing game.

In the end, if you fancy going for better loot, fight more powerful enemies, and unlock all kinds of cool items, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 seems like a dream come true. Even with the bugs and the slightly unbalanced system, it’s a game that still tricks me somehow into playing just one more map.

Vermintide 2 outclasses its predecessor thanks to its improved character system and more satisfying loot, while the amazing combat, relentless difficulty and lack of variety remain largely the same.

Ingenious fights, well-done missions and the motivating class system make up for the somewhat shallow game mechanics.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is one of the best co-op games I've played since Left 4 Dead 2. It has remarkable graphics and fun gameplay.

If you liked the first title or the Warhammer universe, you're going to enjoy this. It pretty much evolves and improves everything from its predecessor to create a great experience.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is an excellent sequel, improving almost everything over the predecessor, and with an art direction true to the Warhammer universe. The gameplay is bound to be a little bit repetitive, and the RPG elements aren't so deep, but the co-op experience is excellent: fighting the hordes of Chaos with three other friends is exciting, and definitely recommended.

Warhammer: Vermintide II is a solid sequel to the original game, with several new features including jobs, maps, enemies and design.

An interesting coop game that does almost everything ok but doesn't evolves the original games' formula enough to make us feel like playing a complete new game.

Vermintide 2 doesn’t solve the problem that the process is ultimately pointless: you increase the power level of your character just to play the same maps on higher difficulties, with no actual endgoal. In fact, it doesn’t even try to tackle that issue. But it’s still a great game that lets you spend your evenings slaughtering skaven and northmen in the name of Sigmar. [Issue#228, p.40]

This is Left 4 Rats 2: Challenging co-op action with loads of Warhammer charme and a well conceived focus on teamplay, but also some flaws.

Warhammer: Vermintide II improves the experience of the original with a better level design and spectacular combat. Warriors of Chaos adds an interesting flavour to the action with its special enemies, and the RPG options are a good addition.

A good improvement over the first Vermintide and overall a very engaging multiplayer experience.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 manages to improve on its predecessor in just about every way, resulting in a structurally familiar but highly entertaining co-op experience with a surprising amount of depth and variety in its character and difficulty progression.

Vermintide 2 is an improvement over its predecessor with more beautifully designed sprawling levels, more varied enemy types, an addictive loot system, and a whole lot of character skills to try out. The sequel is at its best when it's creating tense moments, even if it can quickly get a little bit overwhelming. I also apologize to all of those I left to die in matchmaking.

An improvement, under any point of view, of the already valid predecessor...In the end, when repetitiveness knocks at the door, you will regret not having other levels at hand to use.

Vermintide 2s’s co-op delights are gruesome fun, especially if you have a dedicated group of friends to take on the horde of monsters and level up your characters. The bloody thrills of working with fellow players to shred entire armies of foes into meat makes this grisly battlefield surprisingly fun (if unsettling) place to spend time.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a game that still largely stands alone. There are few games that offer up this kind of cooperative experience, meaning FatShark has a chance to innovate without worrying about competition. That could lead to a sequel without many improvements, but it's clear the developer wanted to give players more options. Outside of some issues, what's here is very good.

In all ways better than the first, looks awesome and plays really well. It is a shame that it has occasional and unnecessary bugs and is missing dedicated servers. [Issue#284]

A beautifully dark game, and I’m in love with its hard-hitting, meaty melee weapons. It’s a gorgeous game with tons of fun play styles and customization options to uncover, even if most of the loot you earn for your efforts is a letdown.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is an excellent evolution of the formula set out by its predecessor and offers up some of the most intense, gory, and fast-paced co-op action you can find in any genre.

The number of missions and environments, to say nothing of the different characters and classes, should provide enough content and customization to keep fans happy for the foreseeable future. As for cutting through the rising and falling ranks of the vicious Vermintide; well, it just feels good.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is an extremely intense action game. Surprisingly, it feels linear and diverse at the same time.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 offers a lot of fun action with friends and strangers. The level designs are great and the visuals amazing, but I wish there were some added depth to the gameplay that would spice things up after a certain number of hours other than the Heroic Deeds missions.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is an engaging, challenging multiplayer game that succeeds in spite of loot and matchmaking issues thanks to clever level design and thrilling combat.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 improves many elements of the first episode and is a true postcard from the End Times.

It looks fantastic, the combat is epic and thrilling, and the sound design and musical score by the insanely prolific Jasper Kyd round out an impressive sequel. Lack of clarity, some brutal difficulty spikes and some core conceptual and mechanical issues with the game's absolute reliance on co-op are the only sour notes in a dark symphony of epic action.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 knows what made its predecessor an enjoyable time and brings along a sequel with a focus on improving what came before it. It doesn’t go crazy to try reinvent itself or the genre, but smartly delivers a better game with tweaks to the formula that alter areas that were previously weak – improved loot systems, more varied levels and fleshed out character development.

Vermintide 2 is a splendor. Probably the best Warhammer game at the moment, especially because Fatshark studio is talented enough to keep only the best of this universe. With an intelligent loot system, charismatic heroes and many classes, and some great violent action, Vermintide is a must-have if you love cooperative action games.

If I were to compare Vermintide II to other titles, I would choose Left 4 Dead and Diablo, with Dark Messiah of Might and Magic coming in a close third place due to how combat feels. The game will eventually wear you down with its repetitiveness, because replaying scenarios is embedded in its design, but before it happens you’ll spend dozens of fun hours with it. [05/2018, p.42]

While it is in dire need of some balancing, there’s magic in Vermintide 2’s frenetic combat. It’s a real co-op treat that simply has to be played.

Fatshark is more than filling the L4D void.

Vermintide 2’s co-op battling is nice step forward over the original. It’s gruelling at times, and that can sap the fun out when you’re failing missions and not making progress, with the weighty combat, the additional sub-classes and a long and deep progression of difficulty and loot, there’s plenty here for those that want to be in for the long haul.

Quotation forthcoming.

An extremely satisfying coop combat game with a very frustrating balance and loot system.

Vermintide 2 steps on the known Left 4 Dead gameplay tropes and pushes the genre some significant steps further. The melee battle system feels rigid and organic and the various characters/ careers add some significant replay value. It respects its lore heritage, but bear in mind that it is aiming at hardcore players, who are ready to accept recurring failure and equipment/ xp grinding.

Vermintide 2 is a stylish, engrossing avenue into the horror and hilarity of the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Despite some small hiccups which you won’t shake, this game is sure to get you and your friends working as a team to survive the onslaught of the Skaven and Chaos hordes. With a variety of playstyles and in game tactics, this experience proves it is far more than a Left 4 Dead clone, and left me eager to jump back into this game.

Vermintide 2's combat and level design are so feverishly fun that I'll put up with its bad matchmaking and RPG progression if it means chopping more ratmen in half.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 plays it safe, but the Left 4 Dead-like gameplay makes it worth your while. The many locations, classes and enemies will keep you busy for a long time. Too bad storytelling is a bit off on this one.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is good game - nothing more and nothing less. It provides tons of fun and enters the "co-op hall of fame" without looking back. Unfortunately I can't shake off the feeling that the release was a bit rushed; the game arguably feels more like an Early Access version.

A great game held back by poor balance decisions and a layer of petty bugs.

Even without microtransactions, loot boxes manage to spoil another potentially classic game, although the core combat and co-op atmosphere still shine through.