Hi, my name is Sara, and I am part of the Level Art team here at Fatshark. I was part of the team developing the environment of Castle Drachenfels for Vermintide: End Times, and for its second incarnation in Vermintide 2.

Drachenfels was the first DLC with brand-new level design for Vermintide. We saw it as an opportunity to stretch our legs a little bit, since the game usually takes place in and outside Ubersreik.

The Grey Mountains are not that far away so it felt sensible to go there. It became a kind of sneak peek to other parts of the Warhammer world, outside the cities of Reikland. On top of that, many of us were familiar with the book about Drachenfels and we felt it was different from what we had done before.

We also wanted to try to get something that changed gameplay and made the gaming experience different, so we introduced Darkness. It’s a mechanic that was supposed to promote co-op, with the group having to stick together to see the way forward.

Having three events in one level (Summoner's Peak) was also an attempt to try something new, to expand the functionality we used in Well Watch.

Drachenfels also featured a brand new, unique art style for Vermintide, something that was clearly different from the rest of the game.