Over the weekend, I got to play in the Warhammer 40k Darktide beta. I know I am a bit late with the coverage, but it is a game that I need to talk about. I had a lot of fun, and if you like 40k, this game should be on your radar. This isn’t going to be much of a review because I understand it is still in its early stages. This will be more of my initial thoughts about the game.
Darktide is the 40k themed Vermintide. Darktide is a horde survival game where you and a squad of 4 must complete missions and objectives while surviving hordes of enemies. The goal is to complete the missions without dying.
The beta lets you choose from four classes: the Psyker, the Sharpshooter, the Ogryin, and the Zealot. Each class has its own set of abilities, skills, and weapons. When you start the game, you create your character. You design their appearance, choose a back story, and a name. The backstory is more for flavor. It only seems to affect the color of the jumpsuit you wear. I played the Zealot and loved it dearly. Each class plays differently, and you should try them all.
The game felt very polished for a beta. The only issue I had was the long Queue at launch. I never encountered a queue after the fact. There were some minor crashes in between, but nothing that turned me off the game. The art style had that grimdark dirty feel that I love about 40k, and the voice acting was pretty good.
The combat was great. Shooting enemies with the bolter, closing gaps with my rush, stunning them with my grenade, and crushing skulls with my axe was just so satisfying that I am sitting here wishing I had more. There were only a few game modes and maps available for the beta, but the game got more fun as I learned the pathing. One issue I can see is that the grind can be repetitive, but I am sure the full release will have a more diverse gaming experience. There is some RNG involved in the form of weapon drops at the end of missions. I thought they were fair at the lower levels, but I can’t speak on the drop rate for the end-game content. There are cosmetics in this game. I didn’t get to play with that aspect of the game, but I can only hope it isn’t predatory.
As far as the community goes, i had a good experience. I never encountered any toxic players, but this might change at launch. There is a discord that is booming for those interested.
I had a lot of fun with this game. If you like 40k or these horde survival games, this should be on your radar. You can preorder it on steam and check out their website for more details. The game plans to release November 11, 2022.
Image By The box/cover art can or could be obtained from Fatshark/Games Workshop., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64640644
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