I think I have the answer for that.
Somewhere between VT2's release and Darktide, all my friends declared they were "done" with horde mode co-op shooters. They might dabble in the occasional game like Risk of Rain 2 and Deep Rock Galactic, but whenever I'd ask if they getting games like Darktide they'd say no.
I don't know why this shift occurred. I suspect they are just burned out on the genre just like World War 2 games back in the day, or they soured on the genre because of bad games like Back 4 Blood, World War Z, and Redfall.
As for VT2's bad rep. Did some influencer or glitch compilation channel feature the game?