10/19/24 Edit - Fatshark yet again sets an example of 1 step forward 2 steps back. They recently implemented a big update with "masteries" and once again broke the game removing content/etc for people. We recently came back only to find out the mastery system didn't track XP properly so weapons we primarily used have next to no mastery while ones we barely touched are very high mastery.

Second weapon buffs are tied to mastery which are part of the new crafting system. The only issue is buffs we once had access to are now removed with the new mastery system. Frankly at this point I recommend anyone to avoid buying the game.

11/22/23 Edit - Apparently the class tree's weren't complete but now are (veteran keystone abilities). They added a new map/zone but still lacking in free to purchase weapon cosmetics (still only the default red or blue stripes).

10/3/23 Edit - The game is far different now then it was at launch. The recent patch added in class trees for more customization. The game still gets a "not recommended" from me solely on the grounds it still isn't the game I was promised or the game I paid for. It looks like the developers have given up on that.

Original review:

Okay, I said no but it's more of a "Yes and No" situation. It's more of a "Wait until it's on sale, and/or maybe a year from now when all the issues are gone and there's better content" situation.

I'll start with what they did well. The music and aesthetics of the game are 100% on point. At it's core this is the kind of Warhammer 40K game we've always wanted when it comes down to not being a space marine. The basic gunplay and shooting is fairly well balanced. But that's pretty much where the good ends.

The bad issues is best summarized by my friends in that "Fat Shark (The Developer) has taken 1 step forward, then 2 steps back and fell down the stairs."

Game play Balance - There's some definite balance issues with the game. Especially when it comes to progression, as well as Psyker. Progression has issues with the rate at which you unlock "new" weapons. With weapons you unlock new "versions" of essentially the same few Autogun or Lasgun models. They make up the majority of the arsenal. The more interesting weapons are held back until late game and there's really only 1 or 2 versions of them. They also turn up extremely rarely in the in-game currency shop and the "emperor's gift" random drop is fickle at best and usually just drops a basic version.

In regards to Psyker I know myself and others mentioned it felt weak in the beta. The only thing it could do well is kill the heavily armored enemies. They did tweak it's progression from the beta giving the Psyker earlier access to it's class specific weaponry (staves) but these are limited. The Psyker was also hit with some large nerfs from the beta. I don't understand how they could nerf what was without argument the weakest class.

Edit: Psyker did get some much needed improvements. The class still has problems while leveling but once you get to level 30 it is on par with what the other classes can do.

"classes" vs "careers" - There's been much debate over how Darktide does it's classes vs the Career's in Vermintide 2. The career's in Vermintide 2 were like alternate reality versions of the core heroes when they took different life paths to their main career. The biggest issue between the games is Vermintide 2 launched with 5 different characters with 15 careers between them and over the life of it has gotten 4 free careers and 4 paid DLC careers allow a lot of varied play styles over that time. Darktide has launched with 4 characters with 1 class between them. The developers have stated they plan to release a new class every quarter (they did not specify if it's 1 for all character types or 1 for 1 character type). They also failed to state whether they will be free or paid for (possibly influence from Tencent who purchased them up just prior to release). This is one of the huge reasons I say no to recommending because their actions scream of predatory behavior.

Edit: We are months on and at least a quarter or longer from release and no additional classes of each character has been released which is another broken promise by the developers

Weapons - Edit: The developers stated there'd be 70+ weapons in the game. There are about 21 different classes of weapons in the game. Most weapons have several sub types which change up different aspects of the game but hardly count as a "different" weapon. Of Warhammer 40K specific weapons there are surprisingly few which is disappointing. That being said since launched they had added about 5+ weapon variants to the game. Though they have also taken to "balancing" certain weapons negatively which is disappointing in a non-competitive co-operative game.

Initially getting items was a very poor experience at launch. They have improved upon it some what with a mission based reward upon completion and side objectives. They also added a way to essentially "gacha" the weapon you want from the vendor though they still have the hourly rotating vendor. A continuing problem is their "special" currency vendor for weekly challenges still often has hot garbage items that are uninteresting. Each weapon has random stat rolls and you actively try to get something with a base roll over 350 ideally in the 360-70 range.

Crafting - Edit: They launched the game without crafting but now it's in the game. While I have issues with it mainly in it's use and management of resources it's not an inherently bad system. It's designed to compliment the grind aspect of the game by having to find a version of each weapon with each blessing to sacrifice it. What I don't like is how the crafting is effectively account wide (a good thing thank god) vs the inventory and items being character specific. They need to return to the shared item inventory of Vermintide 2 and simply make items unusable by your character hidden.

Cosmetics and paid money store - So I'm always in favor of "if there's going to be micro-transactions" then they be cosmetic only and Darktide follows this model. The only issue I have with their system is what you have access to in-game without real money is very limited and tied to the same currency you use to buy guns. Some cosmetics are tied to penances (which some are broken or unexplained enough the devs have made statements on. The other issue is their change from Steam based purchases to an in-game currency shop. Sadly like all premium currency systems their system is just as predatory. They've stated their reasoning but I still think it is a bad decision.

Edit: Months in I can safely say they've prioritized microtransactions poorly. They've currently placed all cosmetic releases on hold to deal with all the problems with the launch. But all the good cosmetics can only be bought from the store. The only cosmetics you can get for free you have to earn from achievements (of which ruin the experience for others when completing) to first get access to them, then having to use the in-game currency in staggering amounts to even buy a poor uninteresting recolor.

Enemies - My only issue with the games they've released is the focus on Nurgle based chaos forces. They are the bread and butter of these games. I'd like to see some more variety in the forces. Like Khorne based hordes!

TL:DR - The core game itself is solid with the basic foundations of balanced range/melee systems, music, atmosphere. But it lacks in a number of other area's. These area's are known to the developers and this is their third big game of this type but they KEEP continuing to make the same mistakes. There's absolutely no reason for this to have happened and is a massive failing on the developers part.

Edit: The only reason I still play the games is because I play it with my friends. If I am going to play something alone which would put me with random players I actively avoid this game.

10/19/24 Edit - Fatshark yet again sets an example of 1 step forward 2 steps back. They recently implemented a big update with "masteries" and once again broke the game removing content/etc for people. We recently came back only to find out the mastery system didn't track XP properly so weapons we primarily used have next to no mastery while ones we barely touched are very high mastery. Second weapon buffs are tied to mastery which are part of the new crafting system. The only issue is buffs we once had access to are now removed with the new mastery system. Frankly at this point I recommend anyone to avoid buying the game. 11/22/23 Edit - Apparently the class tree's weren't complete but now are (veteran keystone abilities). They added a new map/zone but still lacking in free to purchase weapon cosmetics (still only the default red or blue stripes). 10/3/23 Edit - The game is far different now then it was at launch. The recent patch added in class trees for more customization. The game still gets a "not recommended" from me solely on the grounds it still isn't the game I was promised or the game I paid for. It looks like the developers have given up on that. Original review: Okay, I said no but it's more of a "Yes and No" situation. It's more of a "Wait until it's on sale, and/or maybe a year from now when all the issues are gone and there's better content" situation. I'll start with what they did well. The music and aesthetics of the game are 100% on point. At it's core this is the kind of Warhammer 40K game we've always wanted when it comes down to not being a space marine. The basic gunplay and shooting is fairly well balanced. But that's pretty much where the good ends. The bad issues is best summarized by my friends in that "Fat Shark (The Developer) has taken 1 step forward, then 2 steps back and fell down the stairs." Game play Balance - There's some definite balance issues with the game. Especially when it comes to progression, as well as Psyker. Progression has issues with the rate at which you unlock "new" weapons. With weapons you unlock new "versions" of essentially the same few Autogun or Lasgun models. They make up the majority of the arsenal. The more interesting weapons are held back until late game and there's really only 1 or 2 versions of them. They also turn up extremely rarely in the in-game currency shop and the "emperor's gift" random drop is fickle at best and usually just drops a basic version. In regards to Psyker I know myself and others mentioned it felt weak in the beta. The only thing it could do well is kill the heavily armored enemies. They did tweak it's progression from the beta giving the Psyker earlier access to it's class specific weaponry (staves) but these are limited. The Psyker was also hit with some large nerfs from the beta. I don't understand how they could nerf what was without argument the weakest class. Edit: Psyker did get some much needed improvements. The class still has problems while leveling but once you get to level 30 it is on par with what the other classes can do. "classes" vs "careers" - There's been much debate over how Darktide does it's classes vs the Career's in Vermintide 2. The career's in Vermintide 2 were like alternate reality versions of the core heroes when they took different life paths to their main career. The biggest issue between the games is Vermintide 2 launched with 5 different characters with 15 careers between them and over the life of it has gotten 4 free careers and 4 paid DLC careers allow a lot of varied play styles over that time. Darktide has launched with 4 characters with 1 class between them. The developers have stated they plan to release a new class every quarter (they did not specify if it's 1 for all character types or 1 for 1 character type). They also failed to state whether they will be free or paid for (possibly influence from Tencent who purchased them up just prior to release). This is one of the huge reasons I say no to recommending because their actions scream of predatory behavior. Edit: We are months on and at least a quarter or longer from release and no additional classes of each character has been released which is another broken promise by the developers Weapons - Edit: The developers stated there'd be 70+ weapons in the game. There are about 21 different classes of weapons in the game. Most weapons have several sub types which change up different aspects of the game but hardly count as a "different" weapon. Of Warhammer 40K specific weapons there are surprisingly few which is disappointing. That being said since launched they had added about 5+ weapon variants to the game. Though they have also taken to "balancing" certain weapons negatively which is disappointing in a non-competitive co-operative game. Initially getting items was a very poor experience at launch. They have improved upon it some what with a mission based reward upon completion and side objectives. They also added a way to essentially "gacha" the weapon you want from the vendor though they still have the hourly rotating vendor. A continuing problem is their "special" currency vendor for weekly challenges still often has hot garbage items that are uninteresting. Each weapon has random stat rolls and you actively try to get something with a base roll over 350 ideally in the 360-70 range. Crafting - Edit: They launched the game without crafting but now it's in the game. While I have issues with it mainly in it's use and management of resources it's not an inherently bad system. It's designed to compliment the grind aspect of the game by having to find a version of each weapon with each blessing to sacrifice it. What I don't like is how the crafting is effectively account wide (a good thing thank god) vs the inventory and items being character specific. They need to return to the shared item inventory of Vermintide 2 and simply make items unusable by your character hidden. Cosmetics and paid money store - So I'm always in favor of "if there's going to be micro-transactions" then they be cosmetic only and Darktide follows this model. The only issue I have with their system is what you have access to in-game without real money is very limited and tied to the same currency you use to buy guns. Some cosmetics are tied to penances (which some are broken or unexplained enough the devs have made statements on. The other issue is their change from Steam based purchases to an in-game currency shop. Sadly like all premium currency systems their system is just as predatory. They've stated their reasoning but I still think it is a bad decision. Edit: Months in I can safely say they've prioritized microtransactions poorly. They've currently placed all cosmetic releases on hold to deal with all the problems with the launch. But all the good cosmetics can only be bought from the store. The only cosmetics you can get for free you have to earn from achievements (of which ruin the experience for others when completing) to first get access to them, then having to use the in-game currency in staggering amounts to even buy a poor uninteresting recolor. Enemies - My only issue with the games they've released is the focus on Nurgle based chaos forces. They are the bread and butter of these games. I'd like to see some more variety in the forces. Like Khorne based hordes! TL:DR - The core game itself is solid with the basic foundations of balanced range/melee systems, music, atmosphere. But it lacks in a number of other area's. These area's are known to the developers and this is their third big game of this type but they KEEP continuing to make the same mistakes. There's absolutely no reason for this to have happened and is a massive failing on the developers part. Edit: The only reason I still play the games is because I play it with my friends. If I am going to play something alone which would put me with random players I actively avoid this game.