Warhammer 40,000 Darktide - First impression

As a co op game that follows the recipe of the two successful Vermintide games, which were set in the End Times of the Warhammer Fantasy world, Darktide offers a similar experience for Warhammer 40k. You choose between four distinct classes - the Veteran Sharpshooter, the Zealot Preacher, the Psyker Psykinetic, and the Ogryn Skullbreaker. All of them have their own specialties in combat and can be equipped with different weapons.

The Veteran Sharpshooters are ranged combat fighters over variable distances and are just as versatile as their weapon choices. They excel at neutralizing enemy shooters and are overall just great buddies to have as fire support.

Zealot Preachers are, generally speaking, close combat fighters, and tend to be where the melee fights are worst. When equipped with flame throwers, they can provide very effective crowd control. With their variable loadout, they can fulfill almost any role but then are a little less effective in them than the more specialized classes.

Psyker Psykinetics are the classic, fragile "glass cannon" with powerful abilities. They are versatile, but this class tends to keep their distance from the enemy and cast cataclysmic spells from the background.

And finally, there's the Ogryn Skullbreaker class, a giant with a face that only his mother could love (and for some reason, there's no option to play a female Ogryn). Ogryns have strong melee capabilities, rushing into the enemy and taking enormous amounts of blows. They are great at handling enemy hordes, but also as bodyguards for other players (did I mention Psykers are fragile? Anyway...).

Let the games begin!

Considering my usual finesse and finely honed skills at such games, I wasted no time and chose the brutish battering ram class!

Ugrog, my Ogryn Skullbreaker, starts as an inmate on one of the Imperium's prison ships. But as he gets confronted in his cell by an Explicator, an agent of the Imperial Inquisition, he's adamant that he's a loyal servant of the Throne, even though that only leads to his ridicule by the guards. (At that point, I realize that my Ogryn must be among the intellectual elite of his kind, able to speak in complete sentences.)

When the prison ship comes under attack from heretic chaos worshippers, Ugrog gets the chance to prove his loyalty... and after crushing a few skulls, he gets recruited by the Explicator. From now on, fighting for the god emperor's most graceful Inquisition in the chaos-infested hive city Tertium becomes his life's purpose... after a terribly short basic training and with equipment that makes you wish our new employers would at least buy from the lowest bidder.

Then again, why waste valuable time and resources on unproven acolytes if you can just send a hundred of them armed with a pocket knife and grampas rusty ol' shotgun, and the two or three that are worthy of further training are sure to come back? This is how you create an experienced fighting force, it seems.

Charging into boiling hot industrial factories, the decadent castles of the elite, or the occasional decaying water maintenance zone on each new mission, Ugrog soon learns that in Darktide, only your teammates stand between you and being overwhelmed by the enemy... if you want any tip for beginners, it probably should be this one.

The different classes each have their strength and weaknesses, so Acolytes fight in a strike team, and a soldier who doesn't co op effectively with his comrades not only risks punishment but the mission itself. You can't do this alone, at least not in the beginning.

The Tertium hive is a hard and unforgiving place. Missions vary in difficulty from "sedition" to "damnation" level and include such objectives as collecting intelligence, reactivating industrial smelters in one of the districts of Tertium, so the industries keep producing tanks, or rerouting the train of an enemy leader so you can ambush them. In the process, Ugrog even managed to splice a few cogitator terminals, although I have no idea how he could muster the intelligence.

There are around a dozen locations you can be sent to, and secondary objectives, like collecting imperial scriptures or acquiring dangerous grimoires that interfere with your wound levels while you carry them, provide lots of variety. You also have to collect Ordo Dockets, Plasteel, and Diamantine to develop your equipment.

Horde enemies to hack and slay contain (to name a few) Chaos cultists, traitor guardsmen, and poxwalkers... blood splatters, maggots fly (we're fighting Nurgle's forces, after all), and the characters higher up in the Inquisition cynically comment on your achievements on the team vox. After the horde has broken, Ugrog has lots of fun killing stray rejects.

Apart from such foes, there are, however, more dangerous enemies, too - from the slavering chaos hound or heavy gunners, trappers or shielded Bulwarks (traitor Ogryns!) and the ever-annoying enemy snipers to giant monstrosities like Beasts of Nurgle... but one of the most dangerous enemies are the Daemonhosts that you occasionally meet in the missions. Those are, most of the time, best evaded.

After climbing a few levels, Ugrog discovers that his favorite equipment loadout is the heavy stubber for ranged combat, and for melee, the combination of a huge shield and club... ramming the shield into the ground and covering allows you to practically consume unlimited damage from one direction, which is especially useful when you failed to evade those Daemonhosts.

Warhammer 40k Darktide is a lot of fun. Lately, Games Workshop weren't really lucky with the video games they licensed. (Mockers and Heretics say that's because you practically can't enter their HQ without getting awarded a video game license.) Apart from pearls like "Gladius - Relics of War" or "Mechanicus", many of the newer titles looked rushed or had the distinctive likeness of cash grabs. But with an intense combat system featuring powerful weapons, devastating combos, and punishing executions, Warhammer 40k Darktide just feels right!

The current ratings on Steam are mixed, but I stand by my opinion. Yes, the game wasn't really finished at its release date and started out terribly bug-ridden. I don't think I've had so many crashes since Windows 98 got buried. But the developers have worked out the annoying problems by now, and the game is fast, tactical, and deeply atmospheric in its brutality and darkness. Yes, there's a store for microtransactions, even though the game wasn't cheap. But it's not "pay to win"! All you get in the store are different outfits and strictly visual weapons modifications.

With its unique setting, innovative team-based mechanics, and narrative potential, this game offers an unforgettable experience for fans of the Warhammer 40K universe. That, and I haven't seen a single Space Marine! I love it!

Register at your friendly local Inquisition recruiting office now, for if hive Tertium falls, the rest of this sector is going down, too! So, pray to the Emperor, and grab your pocket knife, or do you want to live forever?

Thanks to my comrade in arms Wolfe who provided some details!

FAQs

Is Darktide still coming out?

It's out already! So, have fun killing Nurgle's foul hordes!

Is Darktide worth it?

Steam ratings are mixed, but I tell you it definitely is worth it. Most problems people see with Darktide are either misunderstandings or have been resolved by now.

Is Darktide like Vermintide?

Very much - you fight hordes and enemy characters and rely on a team of very different character classes. Darktide is set in the grimdark world of Warhammer 40,000, however.

What is the release date for Darktide?

November 2022, so it's out already!

Is Darktide a sequel to Vermintide?

In a way - similar game, different setting.

Will Warhammer Darktide have a campaign?

No, but you will see cutscenes as you advance your character from total rookie to Inquisition hero.

How old is Warhammer 40K?

The first version of Warhammer 40k was published in 1987.

How many classes are in Darktide?

Four: The Veteran Sharpshooter, the Zealot Preacher, the Psyker Psykinetic, and the Ogryn Skullbreaker. See our article for a short description of each!

Where can I play Warhammer Darktide?

You can get it on Steam or Amazon.com.

What is the newest 40K game?

Warhammer 40,000 Darktide!

Who resurrected roboute Guilliman?

Guilliman was resurrected by the unlikely alliance of the Adeptus Mechanicus Archmage Belisarius Cawl and the Ynnari faction of the Aeldari xenos.

Is Darktide only online?

Yes, you have to connect to the game servers to play. If you don't like company, you can play alone, supported by bots that stand in for other players, though.

Is Darktide PC only?

No, it will be out for Xbox soon.

Who are you fighting in Darktide?

You fight the forces of Nurgle, the plague god. Most of your enemies are cannon fodder, but it's enemy specialists like hounds, gunners, and snipers or monstrosities like the Beast of Nurgle that make things interesting.

Is Vermintide in the 40K universe?

No, Vermintide is set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy. Same company, different setting. The game in the 40k universe is Darktide.