[2019] On-Topic Wednesdays: Why do you play Vermintide?

So my answer is kind of multi-fold. Why I started playing Vermintide, why I play it now, and why I continue to play it.

Why I started: Was somewhat bullied into it and kept playing because of the characters, the lore, and getting the chance to get new voice lines. Even though Verm isn’t played in a linear fashion, I adore the story and getting to know the characters and where they’re going.

Why I play now: Somewhere along the line I started playing a lot of modded content and fell into that and really grinding away hours trying to improve. Some days I absolutely question my choices and decisions, but overall I play to develop and try to play the best I possibly can, and it’s been an interesting experience to look back on where I was and where I am now and then look forward to where I want to be.

Why I continue to play: The community! There’s no community like the Vermintide community! There’s artists, writers, cosplayers, meta-theorists, lore-crafters, casual players, hardcore players. There’s those that play live, those that play modded, those that play with friends, and those that play with their family. It’s just a super colorful cast of characters that tends to be somewhat tightly-knit. Really can’t ask more from a gaming community than that!

Aw I slipped out of the routine after the Winds of Magic release went a bit, er, mad… I’ll try to remember to do one this week!

Started with VT1 because a friend invited me to play. I knew almost nothing of Warhammer before this. I enjoyed L4D and was captivated by the characters and visceral, randomized gameplay. The characters were quite unique and the amount of banter was something I’ve never seen done so well in a game. So many voice lines.

Kerillian is the most interesting and unique elf I’ve ever seen in fantasy and is the best elf I’ve ever seen, design wise. Every other game has really boring elves. They’re typically portrayed as snooty humans with pointy ears. Kerillian is humanoid, but different enough in both character and physiology that it makes for an interesting person. The subtlety with her tone and the delivery of her lines. The accent. The sarcasm and the humor with her lines. Plus I think this reflects a lot of the people who don’t like her:
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0ttubSAr45K
The voice actors in this game do an incredible job. A lot of people just write a character like this off as mean, but that’s because they don’t see the layers beneath the surface. The devil is in the details and the writers and VA did a phenomenal job. All the characters are really well done.

The visceral combat brings something no other game offers. Each run is different and offers a mostly fresh experience. There are a lot of options for combat from talents/traits/weapons. There is something enjoyable for everyone and so many different ways to play. I love all the details with carving my way through enemies. The gore as you cleave through enemies, lopping off limbs. Decapitating them. Their guts spewing everywhere. The blood drenching your weapon. In VT1 you could pin an enemy to a wall with an arrow.
The ragdolls as you mow through these enemies. Bodies littered everywhere. Listening to enemies choke and gasp as poison takes hold and they grasp at their throats, dying. Lighting entire fields of enemies on fire and then listening to the music that is their screams as they burn to death. Watching them incinerate and turn to ash. Watching them claw at themselves so desperately as they’re cooked from the outside-in. These reasons are why poison and fire are so enjoyable to use.

And then the higher the difficulty, the more it throws at you. Then Twitch throws even more. And deeds even more. And you can kill more and more until the entire map is bathed in the blood of chaos. The skill ceiling can go higher and higher. The adrenaline rising. I could go on and on about every last tiny detail from the characters to the combat, to some of the levels and their designs. There isn’t a game out there that offers anything like this. Also, the shenanigans: