Two years ago, Fatshark’s grimdark hero/horde shooter, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, was released on PC to a lukewarm reception. Following the tide of other shooters like Overwatch 2 and Fortnite, gamers were not entirely inclined to dive into another title that toted gunslinging with a heaping dose of microtransactions. This game was as niche as the other Warhammer FPS title, Vermintide II (also made by Fatshark) but was enjoyed mostly by players familiar with the Age of Sigmar and 40K franchises. Over time, however, this changed. Streaming services like Xbox Game Pass made Darktide more available to a wider audience.
It took two years, but Darktide slowly proved to be something different from other online shooters. With the successful release of Space Marine II and other 40K titles, the outcry for making Darktide accessible to the PlayStation crowd grew louder and louder. Finally, on December 3, Darktide was released for the PS5 and to a group of gamers frothing at the mouth to jump into the gritty grimdark future of the 41st millennium.
Unlike the massive and sprawling conflicts featured in Space Marine II and Dawn of War, Darktide takes the player into a more isolated setting. Action takes place in a huge hive city under siege by the forces of Chaos, and the wider Imperium is not incredibly interested in sending their best soldiers to combat the threat. That is where you come in, a prisoner sentenced to death for a crime against the Imperium. Through a series of tragic yet fortunate events, you are inducted into a task force of rejects and criminals to combat the very threat that paved the way for your escape. It’s Suicide Squad in space, but with a lot more zombies and gore.
The game is entirely played online, so the campaign itself is woven into the online gameplay. More of the story and missions unfold as you gain levels, or trust, among your superiors. There are four separate classes, veteran, zealot, psyker, and ogryn, each providing slight differences in gameplay and weapon selection. Much like Destiny 2, the classes only provide minimal changes to gameplay.
The melee combat is incredibly smooth, allowing the player to almost feel the weight of the weapon as it sweeps through foe after foe. The action can become overwhelming as wave upon wave of enemies crash upon your squad, and that is when this game goes from being a shooter to a mindless button-mashing mess. The visuals are often too dark to see with clarity, even when brightness is increased. Shooting and stabbing at random areas of darkness are sometimes all you can do to ensure something dies at the other end of your lasgun. Don’t get me wrong, though, this game is gorgeous. The visuals of a run-down hive city are well-placed and really speak to the reality of the 41st millennium.
The soundtrack is also fire! Created and produced by industry legend, Jesper Kyd (Assassins Creed, Borderlands, State of Decay) the OST fuels the industrial and gothic atmosphere of the gameplay. It is said that if you find yourself listening to the entire track during gameplay, you’ve wasted too much time and are about to die!
Darktide does not have a PvP mode. Not that it needs it. The “Tide” games are a genre of FPS that is completely co-op, which appeals to players who are not interested in competition as much as they are in cooperation. As time goes by and people see the benefit of building others up, games like this will probably become more common, and I welcome that. If any of this sounds interesting to you, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is now available on PS5, Xbox One, and Steam.
J.R. Sommerfeldt is a family man, licensed counselor, farmer, fiber artist, and indie game enthusiast living in the heartland of America. He has found solace living the simple life, and his preference for games centering around narratives, crafting, and exploration is a testament to this.
