It’s kind of amazing how Vermintide 2, Fatshark’s medieval-fantasy pest control sim from 2018, continues to be neck-and-neck in popularity with its far more recent 40k successor Darktide. A big part of that is that there just seems to be a lot more scope within its design for super-fun updates.
Case in point: you can now play as a Rat Ogre in the game.
The scarry stitched-up monstrosity is available to play in the game’s versus mode, which finally came out last month. The Rat Ogre is a playable monster for the Pactsworn (the bad guys), and can scatter Heroes with light and heavy—or more like heavy and heavier—attacks. You can viciously swipe at Heroes with your claws, hold down the attack key to unleash a downward slam for big damage. Holding the secondary attack key, meanwhile, charges up an almighty leap that sends you flying across the stage and scattering Heroes like bowling pins.
The Rat Ogre joins the Bile Troll as one of the Versus mode’s ‘Boss’ monsters, but offers an alternative playstyle to its heavier, more lumbering colleague.
The Versus mode came out as a free update for Vermintide 2 last month, and is an interesting 4-v-4 twist on the game’s Left 4 Dead-style swarm shooter (or slasher) loop. The Heroes team needs to complete various objectives around specially redesigned versions of existing maps, similar to the original campaign, but in Versus the Skaven hordes have four actual players among them, taking control of special units such as the Ratling Gunner, the Packmaster, and the above-mentioned bosses. The Heroes try to complete their objectives in the face of the Skaven swarms (plus four players), while the Pactsworn try to thwart them. There’s a nice extra layer of verticality here too, as the Skaven can scamper up to high ledges and prepare ambushes for the heroes.
In the Rat Ogre update notes on Steam, Fatshark also said that they’re working on more maps for the Versus mode’s Verminous Dreams campaign, and are planning to add custom settings to player-hosted matches. Vermintide 2 really is the gift that keeps on giving, especially considering that it can regularly be picked up for a few quid/bucks in a sale. It’s not only one of the best-value co-op games, but one of the best co-op games on PC, period.
