Recent reviews by Larris

Bad/mediocre cosmetics, I'd only get this for the soundtrack and even then I'd say it's not worth the asking price, if you don't care for the cosmetics don't get the bundle if you do get it on sale.

Last Updated since the release of the Grim Protocols Update:

+Atmosphere is immaculate, absolutely nailed the setting and tone
UPDATE: to expand upon that, the amount of detail they've put into maps and character subtext and dialogue (not just the basic cut-scenes) is very impressive. It's the kind of detail you really appreciate when you notice but gets so easily overlooked.

+Gunplay and progression for skills is great and unique, pretty much everything is useable and fun. It also has pretty much the best bolter representation in any 40K game.
UPDATE: This is still true, space marine 2's bolters, even the heavy bolter, doesn't feel or sound anywhere near as meaty and powerful as the one in darktide. The gunplay still is leagues better than anything in space marine 2, and while the skill trees are still decent there have been several questionable changes they've made over the last few updates; however unless you're a complete slave to meta this meta that you really don't have too much to get upset about.

+While not actively supported by the developer the dev team does encourage/approve of modding, which while isn't much is a lot more then most games can say.
UPDATE: mod support still exists... I guess... there are mods that fix things with the game that shouldn't be a problem in the first place but overall they aren't really worth seeking out, there's not much to them. Mostly UI tweaks.

+Enemy variety is decent, could be improved but has enough unique roles that it doesn't feel too bad.
UPDATE: They've added more characteristics to certain enemies such as flamers exploding and spreading fire when you kill them in certain ways, however there really isn't anything too different to mix up missions all that much. We could maybe use a new faction like the gene stealer cult stuff that gets hinted at.

-Complete lack of boss and monstrosity variety, get ready to fight a beast of nurgle or chaos spawn for the 1000th time in a row, the chaff gets away with the lack of variety due to the numerous combinations of them and the very specialized nature of their roles, but monstrosities and especially boss fights lack way too much variety and feel the worst in terms of samey-ness. The twins is the only truly unique boss fight and while it's a great fight... it's again the only unique one. Every other boss fight ends the same: gets bullied and killed by everyone in less then a minute.
UPDATE: While I'm not hopeful for this we desperately need more unique monstrosities and bosses (or at least heavily buff the ones we have) and again maybe a new faction like a gene stealer cult?

-Always online service requirement meaning the game can be shut down at any moment without warning with no plan stated plan for end of life/self hosting, this is the most absolutely unacceptable part of the game for me.
UPDATE: I don't see this changing anytime in the next few years if ever still, I wasn't hopeful to begin with anyways but it's extremely disappointing.

►+Complete lack of map and mission variety leads to samey-ness, they have similar systems to left4dead to not feel too repetitive but isn't enough still given the grindy nature of the game. And while having variations of who's commanding the mission adds a nice level of flavor it isn't anywhere near enough.
UPDATE: They've expanded a bit on the map and mission variety since but the whole system of how you pick missions is based on what the servers are showing, it's not where it should be still in terms of the amount of missions you can access but you have a decent variety now.

►+Gear grind is pretty bad, not completely necessary for standard difficulties and not as bad as other games but can get quite painful, there's supposed to be a crafting overhaul but we'll see if that actually improves it.
UPDATE: while there is still technically an RNG system for weapon potential and beginning stats and there is a bit of a grind or alternatively a resource investment for weapon masteries the new weapon upgrade system is such a stark improvement over the original one, there isn't a grind anymore for good weapon rolls and you aren't really beholden to random chance to get a "perfect roll" weapon. The only thing you really have to grind for is max blessing stat relics... but those aren't really anywhere near as big of a deal and you can still swap out everything else on those now.

-cosmetic monetization isn't the worst but it's still egregiously expensive and uses ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ micro transaction currency instead of direct purchases.
UPDATE: There is zero signs of this changing or improving. removing shop rotation entirely and just showing all options would put this leagues ahead of what it currently is... and the prices are still pretty bad.

I **STILL** have a hard time recommending this game to anyone specifically because of the lack of an end of life plan, but it is still one of the best 40k games.

You aren't making it out alive, and you sure as hell aren't making quota.

Censorship.

A game so good I bought it again on steam just so I could have it on steam instead of origin. One of the best shooters ever made. period.

being "better than destiny" is not that high of a bar clearly. If you enjoy grindy garbage go for it.

A viper was eatin' my ranger, so I shot, but I missed...

And then I fired again. And then I missed. And then I fired, and then I fired, and I missed. I missed both times. And then I fired. And I missed. This went on for several hours. And then I fired. And then I missed. And then I was out of bullets. And then I got sad. I had a advent burger. And then I passed out in the snow. Then I woke up, and then I reloaded. And then I fired. And then I missed. I missed again. I fired. I hit something, but it wasn't what I was going for, so I guess I missed. I passed out again. Had another advent burger. I had a dream that I was firing at something. I missed.

I threw up a snowball at 'em! I missed. I packed another snowball into my gun. That's my secret weapon. I missed. Yeah, she's really something. I threw a snowball at her. I missed. I passed out. I woke up with a advent burger wrapper in my mouth.

Don't piss me off, woman! I'll take a swing at you! I'll miss though. I guarantee ya. And I'll take another swing, and I'll miss. And then I'll have myself a advent burger. Would you care for a advent burger? Just don't bring it into Dr. Tygan's lab.

I reached into the bag for another advent burger. I missed. I got the buffalo chicken classic. I put it back, but I missed. I dropped it on the floor. Long story short - missed.

This game has an artificial expiration date for no good reason, there is absolute no excuse why this game doesn't have offline or local hosting of any sort, especially when the xbox version does have offline play. Developing a built in kill switch to your game is not in good taste or practice, don't buy into this junk. I was also excited for darktide until I learned it's also... online only. It's ridiculous to me that this sort of stuff has been largely accepted by the gaming community as if it's at all okay.

where this game may fall short the positives out weigh so greatly I honestly didn't notice. It's one of the few actually well thought out and fun turn based combat systems I've played, with a large amount of freedom and strategy implemented through out the game. Writing is very solid and with a free flowing character build system that doesn't have actual rigid classes it offers a high level of replayability very few do. There's a lot of depth in its mechanics, and I have nothing but praise to say so I'll just cut it short and say "just buy it".

Delicious words, devilish trade, and atmosphere beyond sanity.

But in all seriousness I can't recommend this to most people. If you enjoy slower games with a lot of reading this game will greatly reward you, it's some of the best writing in a game period.