I used to love Vermintide 2. It's what first introduced me to Warhammer lore, and fighting off never-ending hordes of humanoid rats in its semi-steampunk setting appealed greatly to me and my friends. Sadly, the last time I played our party fell apart when two members completed the Skittergate mission without me and our resident Sienna. This betrayal couldn’t be overcome and so Vermintide 2 has been gathering dust in my Steam library ever since.
So when I got my hands on Warhammer 40,000 Darktide, I wondered whether it would awaken in me the same interest in the 40K universe as Vermintide did for Warhammer Fantasy. I was not disappointed.
I was ushered to my seat and placed in a game with three other players. Just by chance, I had been given the Psyker character. My Ogryn counterpart was completely unmissable on the battlefield and I suspect I unintentionally unleashed more spells on his prominent mass than on the legions of Nurgle that I faced.
I was immediately hit by a sense of familiarity. It felt a lot like Vermintide 2. Darktide was overwhelmingly recognisable, right down to the Psyker character, who much like Vermintide's Sienna has a chance to 'explode' if you let the bar reach a certain stage, very reminiscent of Sienna’s “overheat” mechanic in Vermintide 2.
While my counterparts bimbled around the starting area messing around with the controls, I sped off through the level searching for trouble; we only had 30 minutes to play and I wasn't going to spend it optimising keybindings - there was a cosmic god of decay to thwart! My Psyker had a type of sword for melee combat and a staff that could shoot magical bolts (or sorcery bolts, to be a little more lore-accurate). The Psyker’s ultimate ability is a giant wave that knocks down several enemies, and was very effective crowd control when facing large waves. As we progressed through the level we primarily faced down legions of Poxwalkers - the zombie-like fodder you'll have seen running at the player characters in the trailer.
Also in our path were well-armed guard characters which Darktide co-author Dan Abnett has confirmed to be members of the Moebian Sixth, a traitorous regiment of the Astra Militarum. It was a hectic time, both within the chaos of the booth and also in-game. Of course, individually they were falling easily to my psychic powers (and my teammates may have helped just a little), but in true 'Tide' fashion the enemy is all about strength in numbers and once those numbers ratchet up, the going gets serious.
The level we played on was a dingy industrial complex in which we continuously descended deeper. We fought legions of Poxwalkers in narrow walkways, and we cleared out empty rooms with enemies coming through in the windows as we went deeper and deeper. The moody lighting and constant sharp turns added a mild level of unease but realistically speaking, it's Darktide, it's difficult to be scared when you're an unstoppable killing machine. My comrades and I progressed with little difficulty through the hallways and floors of the decrepit factory area.
I was surprised by how effectively we could communicate with just the ping system. I heard voices speaking French float up over the monitor, but language was no barrier to our inherent synergy (aside from the familiar phenomenon of your character being mauled on the ground for thirty seconds before anyone realises it). We progressed rapidly until we faced a chaos ogryn in all its infected glory. Though the giant beast proved to be a bit of a bullet sponge as it charged after individuals, we were able to take it down without any casualties. Soon after our time had come to an end, and we had to stop playing mid-level.
My very brief time with the game has led me to believe that Vermintide fans will be happy. It feels reductive to say “it’s more of the same” from Fatshark because they are tweaking a lot of systems and judging from the game’s development blogs, putting their full effort into the adaptation. While the overall feel of the game is quite similar to its predecessor, there are some noticeable differences. Fatshark has improved upon its systems, the AI seemed a bit more robust, and movement felt a bit sharper. A lot of changes will come via new content, there is going to be more of a focus on load-outs and ranged weaponry in Darktide. However, as I was placed into the game with a preset loadout, this isn't content I was able to explore with my hands-on. Darktide is going to feel like Vermintide 3 — but that isn't a bad thing.
If all goes according to plan, Darktide will release November 30 this year. I, for one, am looking forward to jumping in. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the old Vermintide crew back together? Scars of betrayal do heal — eventually.