This is one of my favorite games of all time. It certainly isn't "the best" but considering what they set out to do with this game, I feel they managed to go above and beyond.

This game is a first person horde "shooter" à la Left 4 Dead. The biggest variance from L4D will of course be that it's a fantasy setting and so the combat is much more focused on the melee weapons instead of the ranged weapons. Some characters can blast away all day with their bows/magic staffs/guns but by and large you'll be swinging axes and swords the majority of the time. The enemy structure is very similar to L4D as well. Regular enemies that swarm you, advanced enemies that are harder to kill, special enemies with unique abilities designed to disrupt/disable you, and monsterous enemies that take a team effort to dispatch. This game also includes "bosses" which are capstone enemies to the various "Acts" of the game. These are the toughest enemies in the game (usually) with unique abilities and arenas.

It's set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe and features a cast of 5 characters who each have a variety of classes they can play. Each class is unique to the character that owns them and provides unique gameplay styles. Class systems like this are somewhat common in this genre, think of something like Killing Floor. On top of this though, the actual weapons you get to use are unique to each character and/or class as well. For example, only Sienna, the Fire Wizard, gets to use the fire staff weapons. Through a combination of class and weapons, you will likely find yourself gravitating toward a specific character that matches your favored playstyle. Thankfully, there's no real "best" character. While each character has a (debatable) "best" class, there are enough high tier classes spread across all characters so that no matter who you want to play, you won't feel sub-optimal.

The characters you play as are one of my favorite parts of this game. Each member of the party has a very unique personality and the voice acting is very well done. They banter and ruminate often, letting you get to know each of them through these interactions. If you get into this game, you will undoubtedly gravitate towards at least one character and have a favorite.

Overall I will probably always recommend this game unless they just turn off matchmaking and kill the game.

SCORES:
Story - 6/10. The base story you will get in game is pretty lackluster. You're just running around stomping some Big Bads in order to prevent a massive invasion via the Skittergate. There is a lot more story and lore told through community updates and such but if all you do is play the game, you won't see this.

Gameplay - 9/10 This might be a bit personal opinion, but I find the gameplay to be extremely solid. Melee feels good, ranged feels good, abilities feel impactful, etc. This is really the main reason I come back to this game time after time. I just love hacking down hordes of ratmen while dodging around and trying to snipe specials before they can put on the hurt. It's not perfect though. The enemy spawner sometimes bugs out and pops in enemies right behind you. Enemies can animation slide into you. Sometimes they can hit you through walls. It can be a bit frustrating for sure, even though at this point I've adapted to these bugs. That's not to say it's okay they are there, but honestly a lot of it is so minor or situational that I don't know if it will ever get fixed.

Sound - 8/10 Honestly no complaints in this department either. Weapons sounds are distinct; Heavy weapons sound heavy, light weapons sound light. As mentioned above, voice acting is superb. Music is really well done as well. There is a really great soundtrack to this game that fits the maps/situations well.

Graphics - 7/10 Graphics are really good, although now a bit dated. Some textures have noticeable issues. Particle effects can be a bit off as well. Environmental textures are probably the worst (not terrible) in exchange for having better character textures (given that this is the kind of game that spawns hundreds of units on screen, that's probably a given). Overall it looks good but nothing that's going to blow you off your feet.

Mod Support 6/10 This is kind of a tough one. First off there's pretty much full mod support, although I don't know how extensively you can mod it (I am not a modder). There is a "modded realm" where you can play with all the mods on the workshop. Modded Realm progress is not official though. Basically you can't earn experience/loot for your characters in modded realm, since there are mods that can straight up give you loot. In the official realm, there is limited mod support through what is called "Sanctioned Mods". These are mods that were hand-reviewed by game devs to make sure they were compatible and didn't have major game alterations. The unfortunate part is that this sanctioned mod system has been more or less abandoned as of this review. All the mods that are sanctioned still work, but they haven't sanctioned any new mods in years, even though there are plenty that could definitely make the cut and a lot of players would really like to have. If they could just get back to regularly updating the sanctioned mods list this score would improve a lot.

Overall - 7/10 Great game. One of the tops of the genre, especially in uniqueness. I think it's worth it full price, though with the DLC in mind you may be better served waiting for a sale. Sales happen regularly for this game, especially whenever there's a Games Workshop event. As with other games of the genre, it really is best with friends although it can still be a lot of fun solo, and in fact solo runs can serve as an additional challenge for those looking for such. For those who aren't into the fantasy setting, keep an eye on the developers because they are working on a sci-fi version of this game set in the Warhammer 40k universe.

This is one of my favorite games of all time. It certainly isn't "the best" but considering what they set out to do with this game, I feel they managed to go above and beyond. This game is a first person horde "shooter" à la Left 4 Dead. The biggest variance from L4D will of course be that it's a fantasy setting and so the combat is much more focused on the melee weapons instead of the ranged weapons. Some characters can blast away all day with their bows/magic staffs/guns but by and large you'll be swinging axes and swords the majority of the time. The enemy structure is very similar to L4D as well. Regular enemies that swarm you, advanced enemies that are harder to kill, special enemies with unique abilities designed to disrupt/disable you, and monsterous enemies that take a team effort to dispatch. This game also includes "bosses" which are capstone enemies to the various "Acts" of the game. These are the toughest enemies in the game (usually) with unique abilities and arenas. It's set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe and features a cast of 5 characters who each have a variety of classes they can play. Each class is unique to the character that owns them and provides unique gameplay styles. Class systems like this are somewhat common in this genre, think of something like Killing Floor. On top of this though, the actual weapons you get to use are unique to each character and/or class as well. For example, only Sienna, the Fire Wizard, gets to use the fire staff weapons. Through a combination of class and weapons, you will likely find yourself gravitating toward a specific character that matches your favored playstyle. Thankfully, there's no real "best" character. While each character has a (debatable) "best" class, there are enough high tier classes spread across all characters so that no matter who you want to play, you won't feel sub-optimal. The characters you play as are one of my favorite parts of this game. Each member of the party has a very unique personality and the voice acting is very well done. They banter and ruminate often, letting you get to know each of them through these interactions. If you get into this game, you will undoubtedly gravitate towards at least one character and have a favorite. Overall I will probably always recommend this game unless they just turn off matchmaking and kill the game. SCORES: [b]Story - 6/10.[/b] The base story you will get in game is pretty lackluster. You're just running around stomping some Big Bads in order to prevent a massive invasion via the Skittergate. There is a lot more story and lore told through community updates and such but if all you do is play the game, you won't see this. [b]Gameplay - 9/10[/b] This might be a bit personal opinion, but I find the gameplay to be extremely solid. Melee feels good, ranged feels good, abilities feel impactful, etc. This is really the main reason I come back to this game time after time. I just love hacking down hordes of ratmen while dodging around and trying to snipe specials before they can put on the hurt. It's not perfect though. The enemy spawner sometimes bugs out and pops in enemies right behind you. Enemies can animation slide into you. Sometimes they can hit you through walls. It can be a bit frustrating for sure, even though at this point I've adapted to these bugs. That's not to say it's okay they are there, but honestly a lot of it is so minor or situational that I don't know if it will ever get fixed. [b]Sound - 8/10[/b] Honestly no complaints in this department either. Weapons sounds are distinct; Heavy weapons sound heavy, light weapons sound light. As mentioned above, voice acting is superb. Music is really well done as well. There is a really great soundtrack to this game that fits the maps/situations well. [b]Graphics - 7/10[/b] Graphics are really good, although now a bit dated. Some textures have noticeable issues. Particle effects can be a bit off as well. Environmental textures are probably the worst (not terrible) in exchange for having better character textures (given that this is the kind of game that spawns hundreds of units on screen, that's probably a given). Overall it looks good but nothing that's going to blow you off your feet. [b] Mod Support 6/10[/b] This is kind of a tough one. First off there's pretty much full mod support, although I don't know how extensively you can mod it (I am not a modder). There is a "modded realm" where you can play with all the mods on the workshop. Modded Realm progress is not official though. Basically you can't earn experience/loot for your characters in modded realm, since there are mods that can straight up give you loot. In the official realm, there is limited mod support through what is called "Sanctioned Mods". These are mods that were hand-reviewed by game devs to make sure they were compatible and didn't have major game alterations. The unfortunate part is that this sanctioned mod system has been more or less abandoned as of this review. All the mods that are sanctioned still work, but they haven't sanctioned any new mods in years, even though there are plenty that could definitely make the cut and a lot of players would really like to have. If they could just get back to regularly updating the sanctioned mods list this score would improve a lot. [b]Overall - 7/10[/b] Great game. One of the tops of the genre, especially in uniqueness. I think it's worth it full price, though with the DLC in mind you may be better served waiting for a sale. Sales happen regularly for this game, especially whenever there's a Games Workshop event. As with other games of the genre, it really is best with friends although it can still be a lot of fun solo, and in fact solo runs can serve as an additional challenge for those looking for such. For those who aren't into the fantasy setting, keep an eye on the developers because they are working on a sci-fi version of this game set in the Warhammer 40k universe.