Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

A worthy member of Fatshark's family of Warhammer games, but it needs more polishing and support from the developers until the remarkable core shines.

Warhammer 40k Darktide is an excellent sci-fi co-op FPS experience that will likely be enjoyed for years to come. While not quite reaching the same quality level of their initial Warhammer 40k End Times: Vermintide title back in 2015, Darktide is something that both diehard Warhammer fans, and co-op FPS fans in general, can mutually appreciate.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a true successor to Fatshark’s previous Vermintide series. If you were afraid the jump from fantasy to 40K would ruin the experience, fear not, it’s even better. Darktide feels less linear than the previous takes, the story takes place between cutscenes of missions. Levels are linear, but do a great job of hiding that fact. Loadouts are a great improvement, along with a wide array of weapons to specialize and unlock. The only unfortunate part is that Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is still best enjoyed with a full party.

Darktide would have deserved a better score, because the game itself is good, real good. But poor optimization (not entirely justified by the game’s looks), far too common game crashes, and a loot economy that cannot help but raise some eyebrows end up impacting the user experience. It’s still a great 40k game, but you might want to wait for some patches if you’re on the fence.

Hilarious banter, ridiculous fights, a great mission structure, and satisfying progression show that Fatshark is only getting better. Being available day one on Game Pass for PC means no one, either alone or with friends should pass on giving this one a go.

A co-op game with well-balanced melee and shooter elements. Visuals and sound are astonishingly immersive, and the combat itself is one of a kind. Although there are some minor issues with the volume of content and finishing touches, the game definitely has an enough potential to be served for a long time.

Fans of Vermintide will definitely enjoy Darktide’s slightly more creative approach to character building, and anyone into fast-paced cooperative shooters — lovers of Warhammer 40,000 or not — will have a great time. Best of all, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide has all the elements for an extended life, provided Fatshark keeps fixing bugs, adding content and rewarding its fans. Darktide is off to a great start.

You can also enjoy the game on your own, as the game searches for mission partners automatically, or you can play against a bot. However, since it is mainly a coop action, it will always be better with friends. [Issue#324]

A brilliant adaptation of the famous grimdark universe. The atmosphere is just great, the gameplay also feels very solid, even though one can feel a certain lack of polish here and there. You should really get three friends to play it with, by the way. Don’t expect to find a good random party online.

Despite some shortcomings, Darktide is one of the most entertaining and promising co-op games of its kind in recent years.

If it goes the distance, Warhammer 40K: Darktide will get better with time. As it stands it's an enjoyable romp through an almost endearingly macabre world.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the 40K-version of the Vermintide games and Fatshark delivers again a fantastic co-op experience. The combat feels visceral and meaty and is a true upgrade compared to the former games. There are however a lot less classes, even though they all feel unique. Some features are clearly removed during production, so hopefully they will get added next to more classes. Fatshark has already released some updates, so the future is looking bright for Darktide.

Darktide is a fantastic live service co-op FPS that is almost worth every penny. Almost. I love it to death, and it's ramping up to be one of my most played games of 2022, but it's not perfect. It will surely become one of the titans of the genre just like Vermintide and its sequel, but it's got a long way to go.

The transition from killing Rats and Chaos Warriors to fighting the Scabs and Dregs couldn't have gone smoother. Warhammer 40k: Darktide adds enough new ideas to differentiate itself from the previous Vermintide games without ostracizing the fans of that franchise.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is, without question, the most entertaining co-op FPS I've played since Left 4 Dead 2. That careful balancing act between multiple methods of murder is ceaselessly entertaining, especially while hatching diabolical plans with your buddies to silence whatever horrors lurk in Tertium's plague-ridden streets. Tedious between-mission progression and persistent framerate dips are the only things that can occasionally spoil that fun, which is a shame when Darktide otherwise nails virtually every fundamental of its genre. Regardless, I firmly believe anyone with even the mildest interest in crushing unholy dissidents under a half-ton boot should try it out for themselves.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is an evolution of Fatshark's previous Warhammer Games. The balance between the two fighting styles, the impressive graphics and variation in enemies make every mission a special experience.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is exactly as we expected: a thoroughbred co-op action game, solid and very fun with friends, featuring a gameplay enriched by some new features compared to Vermintide, a structure focused on progression and stunning graphics that need some optimization to run smoothly.

Though Warhammer 40K: Darktide needs more time to develop, its core gameplay is the best Fatshark has ever created.

But even as omnipresent as Darktide‘s technical woes are, it’s the exhilarating thrill of a mission run that shines most brightly in my mind when I think about my experience with it. Even on low graphics settings, shining your rifle’s underslung torch down a dark corridor, only to see a horde of Poxwalkers glaring back at you before your whole squad unloads on them, provides an utterly giddying rush.

If one were to look at Darktide as a foundation for Fatshark’s newest co-op shooter legacy, you’d be impressed at the sheer girth of it all. This is a title that comes with a fat promise of more great things to come, while already awash in a sea of great things to see and do. Short of some critical failure on Fatshark’s part, I really can’t imagine a future where Darktide doesn’t establish itself as another fantastic team shooter experience for fans to enjoy for years to come. It is a great many things – gorgeous, fun, rewarding – but one thing it is not, is lacking ambition.

With Darktide being more of a live service game, there isn't necessarily an ending to its narrative to speak of. Players will rank up and be treated to short cutscenes reflecting the increase in trust and standing the spaceship's NPCs hold for the player. However, each character feels rooted in the dark sci-fi future the Warhammer series takes place in, as they deliver hints of its complex lore. More story will likely be introduced over time, with hopefully new locations to explore, because players may be left hungry for more narrative and beautiful levels to look at. Still, mowing down enemies with friends has rarely felt as satisfying as it does in Warhammer 40K: Darktide.

Some occasional technical issues and an unwillingness to truly burst out of the norms for the genre keep Darktide from reaching enormous heights, but within the confines it sets for itself, this is about as good as it gets.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a worthy successor to Vermintide. Fans of good first-person melee combat shouldn’t hesitate to check this one out.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a beautiful-looking and sounding game with fun team-combat, even for players who are new to the universe. There are some issues with loading times and connectivity that are sure to be patched in the future.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is one of those games that oozes fun, no matter how you play it. It lends itself perfectly to all playstyles, and has this natural way of immersing the player in its world. That might be from the unique RPG system, the insanely detailed environments that make you feel like you’re really walking through this huge hellscape, or maybe it’s just the gratuitous violence. Whatever the cause, it’s doing a great job of keeping me hooked. Of course, the game isn’t without its cons, and these do detract from an otherwise solid experience. Regardless, it’s a game that I will absolutely be coming back to time and time again.

As a "survival" game, Fat Shark games has absorbed a lot of successful experience from Vermintide. Darktide inherited the classic "cooperation + grinding" gameplay, it has shown good quality in the plot; game settings; and background music, but the annoying network, poor optimization, mistranslation and half-finished equipment system also dragged down the game experience of players. I hope that Fat Shark games can solve these problems in the future updates, so that I can continue the journey of "killing mice" nicely.

Once you get down into the dilapidated yet impressive levels of the Hive and start swinging, Darktide is as great a swarm shooter experience as any, but it needs to improve much of the surrounding infrastructure to make that core combat experience feel rewarding and meaningful. Who knows? I may even come back in a year to re-review the game (which is something that should generally happen with more game reviews), but in the meantime it’s a simmering cauldron of potential that still feels a little raw.

Warhammer 40,000 Darktide is a superb first-person cooperative action game, spectacularly staged and offering a very satisfying challenge, but at the same time it is a step back from Vermintide 2 in terms of content and player progression. An unpolished gem that we hope will unleash its true potential in a few months.

Darktide is an outstanding shooter and one of the best Warhammer 40k games, but it struggles with technical and progression issues.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide makes a great first impression. Unfortunately, over time, some flaws come to light, like an awful main story or scant content. It’s still a good game that WH40K fans should play, but it could’ve been much better.

Warhammer 40000: Darktide shows a lot of raw talent but needs more polish and much more content in order to become a solid co-op experience. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the Warhammer universe you will definitely find something to love here.

Overall, Warhammer 40000: Darktide is an immersive, fun experience that allows players to shape the game to their playstyle while still challenging them to adapt to the game mechanics. Darktide delivers graphically with RTX on gameplay but is nothing special when RTX is off. Further, though the gameplay is immensely satisfying and challenging, the repetition leaves much to be desired. Warhammer has great potential and opportunity to build a truly unique experience for gamers who want to take on its challenge and serve the God Emperor’s just will.

All in all, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is pretty enjoyable, but definitely lacking on content at launch. There’s a really good launching point presented at the moment and I expect the long term lifespan of Darktide will be great. There are a few small bugs to work out, but nothing I encountered that was unforgivable. I don’t think there’s much you haven’t seen here before, other than maybe the setting, but it’s fun nonetheless.

The gameplay is great, brutal and dynamic, at the same time the game came straight with a decent selection of maps, albeit very similar. You will enjoy slashing, shooting and throwing out hordes of enemies with grenades. But the authors have literally not put many systems into the game yet, and more content will come later.

Warhammer 40,000 Darktide is a title that needs more content and some tweaking. Graphically it is excellent and the play of light and shadow, in particular, make some moments even memorable. However, the balance between the classes needs to be reviewed, as well as the in-game economy and the cost of aesthetic elements. In any case, when lived with a handful of connected players, Darktide manages to be appreciated at its best but in some hours the shadow of repetitiveness makes itself felt. As for the Warhammer 40,000 lore, the game is steeped in it, but an audible and non-influential background radiation remains. The launch on Game Pass can help support the experience in the short term, when the novelty effect is still hot but it is clear that the production will need worthy support from the developers to continue to entertain the public.

The developers should be yelled at for giving us an Early Access game disguised as a full release, but their fans are used to it. I have no doubt that, over time, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide will get new content, fixed bugs and an overall boost in quality.

Darktide delivers solid gameplay and strong design, although technical issues can worsen the experience.

Darktide has a lot going for it — a beloved IP, crunchy gunplay, and a gorgeous presentation. Sadly, it’s not the endlessly-playable showstopper some had hoped, instead offering a repetitious gameplay cycle made more apparent by slow progression and little mission variation. It’s clear Fatshark has further plans for their latest endeavor and it may yet reach its full potential after a few patches and expansions, but for now it’s best to set expectations.

If not for the solid core gameplay, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide would be just another cash grab. There are so many things unfinished in this game that you can’t help but wonder if this is another case of “publisher forces developer to launch the game.” With Fatshark’s pedigree, this could have been an amazing game, especially if everything that was promised prior to release would actually be in the game. It feels like developers planned to add many of the missing features after release, but it might already be too late. Players pool is already dwindling, so by the time the game is fixed, there might not be too many people to play it. That’s such a shame because Warhammer 40,000: Darktide had so much potential.

In its current state, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a very fun and beautiful co-op shooter that's probably one of the best of its kind. It's the rough foundation of a great game, but it hasn't achieved greatness yet. There's a limited selection of maps and character classes, a lot of grinding, and very pronounced technical issues that hold back the title significantly. If you can tolerate that, Darktide is fun to play with a group of friends. Otherwise, I'd advise you to wait for future updates or test the waters with the PC Game Pass.

Warhammer lovers will surely enjoy Darktide, despite it feels more like a game still in the early access phase than a finished and already polished one.

In its moment-to-moment play, Darktide is the closest any game of its ilk has come to replicating the original cooperative joys of Left 4 Dead. It's ferocious, frenetic and often very funny. But without Left 4 Dead's advantage of novelty, Fatshark must find other ways to hold your attention through its relatively few missions. [Issue#380, p.112]

In terms of combat and atmosphere, Darktide is a triumph. A limited class system, missing endgame content and an overall lack of variety diminish what is, in fact, one of the best Warhammer 40K games ever made.

I have no doubt that these will be fixed in time but when are WE as gamers/consumers going to stop allowing this to be the norm. I feel like I say this on far too many reviews, fact of the matter is the game should have launched without these technical issues but I won’t start preaching here… we have a podcast for that. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is coming to Xbox at a later date and my hope is that all of its extremely rough edges are grind down to perfection by then, the moment to moment in battles is a blast to play but the pitiful rewards and technical issues just turns it into more of a chore than a joy to serve the Emperor.

One day, Warhammer 40K: Darktide will be a great game. Fatshark, like many developers, has yet to perfect the art of the rough landing. A polished core experience can't overcome woeful performance and blatantly unfinished features, like the (almost) entirely missing crafting system. I'm confident, however, support will continue until Darktide ends up being the game we all hoped it would be.

Darktide looks great, sounds fantastic, and even with all my complaining… I've spent 53 hours playing it. 53 hours of the kind of fun that no other game this year gave me. And I'm sure that in six months, or a year, Darktide will be a game that will deserve a much higher rating.

Despite the growing pains, Darktide is a solid co-operative action game that’s great for a group of friends to play in spurts. At launch, the experience is limited in progression and variety, but the gameplay is challenging and viscerally satisfying enough to keep your attention. It doesn’t hurt that the soundtrack slaps and, performance issues aside, the graphics pack a punch. Since Fatshark is known for updating the Vermintide series over time with frequent content updates, Darktide is expected to improve as well. It may even deserve a higher score within the next six months, but I can only review what’s available now. So if you’re considering a purchase of the game, think of it as an investment that will likely pay off in a few years. It’s more than understandable, though, if you would rather wait for Darktide to meet your standards for a full release.

Fortunately, where Darktide shines the brightest is in its gameplay, as the combat is highly engaging, and the soundtrack is groundbreaking. Even though a good deal of maps lack variety, Fatshark still captures 40k’s atmosphere perfectly, creating a compelling, depressing world to shoot and slash your way through. While combat feels better than, say, Vermintide, everything else about the experience is a step backwards in its current state. At the end of the day, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a highly-addicting mess that we can’t put down.

Overall then, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has the makings of an incredible Warhammer 40k game – the gameplay loop is excellent, with the visual and sound design to match. Unfortunately, a lot of other aspects of the game do mar the experience somewhat, and it does feel unfinished in some areas. That being said, if Fatshark can build and improve upon the existing content, there is potentially a very special game here in future.

Despite my list of complaints, I've had a lot of fun with Darktide so far, and I'm looking forward to playing it for dozens (if not hundreds) of hours more as new features are added, issues are patched, and an increased player pool with the arrival of the Xbox Series X|S console versions.

Warhammer 40,000 : Darktide offers a very pleasant and fun cooperative multiplayer experience. However, we hope that the bugs (especially on PC) will be solved as soon as possible.

Having the game launch with this lack of polish in the first place is frustrating, but that is because the core loop is a blast to play through. If it were not for the rough launch, it would be an easy recommendation for anyone familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 franchise or those who simply want a good horde shooter to sink their teeth into.

Frustrating technical issues hold Darktide back from being the definitive Warhammer 40,000 experience on PC.

Darktide feels like both the natural progression of Vermintide's best parts as well as an exemplar of some growing pains in the live-service world. Things like combat, pacing, and team builds are expertly considered and crafted, but metagame elements such as chasing loot and cosmetics have some issues that are admittedly common when a team tries to create a new game with a long tail. It's both a promising Left 4 Dead-like and a flawed live service, but its issues are fixable, and the growth of Vermintide suggests that Darktide will also enjoy a long shelf life as one of the better games of its kind.

Enjoyably frantic, and gory, Darktide is gratifying to play, but the experience is softened by performance issues and dreadful load times.

Although it feels more like an early access release at this point, this is a promising start for what should eventually eclipse Vermintide 2 and all the other Left 4 Dead wannabes.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide delivers an action-packed cooperative multiplayer experience with deeply satisfying combat and a spellbinding depiction of the 40k universe. But the game currently feels more foundational than comprehensive, with the emphasis on repetition and lackluster progression systems undermining its grisly joys.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide transfers the fluid and dynamic horde-based co-op gun and blade combat from Fatshark's critically-acclaimed Vermintide series into the sci-fi/gothic setting of the 41st millennium. Unfortunately, said combat is the brightest diamond among this rough, as the technical issues, unremarkable story, and lazy design choices greatly weigh down on the experience more than its positives can uplift it.

Darktide’s incomplete crafting system doesn’t allow you to efficiently refine gear. Its rewards are scarce and unsatisfying, especially going into the endgame. Optimization is not great, while its cash shop holds hostage any remotely worthwhile cosmetic upgrades so far. It’s a real shame, because all of these missteps cast a dark shadow on its excellent, visceral combat – that evolves Fatshark’s addictive co-op action formula – alongside what’s quite possibly the best depiction of the grimdark universe to grace video games to date.

Game progress that is too slow, little co-op mechanics and a lack of incentives to grind are sobering.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide offers an authentic representation of the 40k lore, and while the cooperative action gameplay can be occasionally satisfying, it lacks content, has a few strange design choices, and suffers from too many performance issues.

All of these details come together to form a fairly lifeless game – one with all the fixings and foundation of another epic showcase but without any of the polish or love that is so evident in the team’s previous undertaking. Now I know for a fact this game is going to be incredible. I have confidence in Fatshark; they’ve earned that by showing how much they care about their work and their player base. But, right now, in its current state, there’s simply no way I can call it a worthy successor. The gunplay is wonderful and I’ll no doubt continue to dip in here and there, but longer sessions quickly become dull and there’s no real hook, no grand finale, to motivate me to push on. I can’t wait to see what it’ll become but, in the meantime, I think I’ll take a look back and revel in the masterful predecessor, Vermintide 2, and all of the juicy extra content I never got to dive into. TL;DR Age of Sigmar > 40k.

If you enjoyed Fatshark’s previous projects on Vermintide and its sequel, or you’re just an overall Warhammer 40K fan, then you will feel right at home with Darktide. As long as you can dig past the rough state the game is in right now with unfinished content and performance issues, then there’s truly an addictive and satisfying cooperative horde shooter lying underneath all those corpses.

Darktide’s pulse-pounding action will win it a lot of fans, but it feels like in the rush to get this out the door, developers Fatshark didn’t include enough content. Darktide could be the best horde shooter out there, but it needs more to do and progression needs to feel a little more meaningful.

Darktide is built on great foundations and I enjoy playing it a lot – especially with friends. There’s a brilliant game buried deep within this Hive World, filled with exciting combat and gruesome enemies in equal measure. However, to properly enjoy those glorious moments, you have to break through the pustular skin of Darktide’s pointless upgrade systems and wade through the poisoned viscera of dull progression. I just hope that the countless obstructions in the live service elements don’t turn too many players away from the game mired underneath.

Fatshark's new co-op shooter takes us to the grim darkness of the far future, with plenty of war behind every corner. And while a lot has changed since Vermintide 2, old problems are also making a comeback, which may discourage from the Swedish studio's latest proposal.

Warhammer 40k: Darktide is definitely worth buying if you love the franchise, but even then, just barely at the moment, due to being hollow and unstable. Here is to hoping they can fix it up so that it can be considered equal or better to Vermintide 2.