Edit: As of 09/29/2024, the crafting and itemization update has released for the game and finally gives the player agency to experiment with builds instead of playing the ridiculous casino gambling system of old to do so. This is a great game now that I would say has all of the components it should have had at launch to make it a complete game. The foundation is finally set for further updates like new classes, enemies, and levels, which we will hopefully get in the future. It's absolutely worth $40 but you can catch it on sale sometimes for half that price.

This game has some of the most satisfying moment to moment melee combat I have ever experienced. The added mix of more emphasis on ranged combat in Darktide as opposed to Vermintide also works extremely well. Additionally, the game almost perfectly nails the aesthetic of 40k.

Unfortunately, those are about the only positive things you can say about the game because everything else could almost not be worse:

    
• Incredibly terrible performance even for many with high end rigs. I'm running an older setup that used to be high end a few years ago, but this is the first game where even if I play on all low with some settings turned completely off on 1080p, I still can't get 60 frames in some sequences.
      
• Unbelievably bad stability. In the closed beta, I could hardly finish a single mission because there would be a disconnect near the end of the match. The pre-order beta was still plagued with errors that would eject you out of a mission. The "full" release of this game still yet will kick you out in the middle of a mission with a vague message like "Sorry, this mission was aborted", making you lose all your progress. I have crashed perhaps 5 or 6 times, but I know people who have just given up playing the game because they can't go an entire play session without multiple crashes.
      
• Despite the game being officially launched as a "full release", many features are still yet to be implemented. The crafting system has 3 menu components that still say "coming soon", only 4 classes are available at launch, and there is no clear or thoughtful endgame besides just playing the same missions over and over and checking the shop to see if something high level is selling.
  
  
• Besides disconnects, other glitches still plague the game. Faces and bodies clip through cosmetic clothing, games that are marked as not having special conditions on the mission screen actually do have a special condition upon loading in, players are falling through the environment in some places, and statistic or perks on weapons either don't work correctly or they shouldn't even be on a particular weapon. For example, a perk that increases damage the longer you hold the trigger, stacking 5 times, exists on a weapon that is a single shot weapon that must be reloaded after each shot.
      
• Real money cosmetic shop exists in this game. However you feel about having a cosmetic shop in a $40 game is one thing, but the fact that many parts of the game are incomplete and the fact that so many stability, performance, and bug issues are still present in the game while a real money cosmetic shop works great is practically a spit in the face.
  
  
• No scoreboard, even at the end of a mission. This was reputedly removed due to potential "toxic behavior", but now you can't see how well you are doing with a build or compare yourself to your buddies for fun.
  
  
• Developer has made 180s on multiple promises or outright misrepresented certain things. For instance, originally the real money cosmetic currency was to be earned through playing the game in addition to being purchasable. This is no longer the case. Additionally, certain cosmetics from the imperial edition don't even appear the same way in-game as they were depicted in the marketing material.
  
  
• Makes you install Easy Anticheat
  
  
• Fatshark is owned by Tencent

If you're on the fence about this game, you should wait on the fence a little longer. It's half-baked and needs probably another 6-months to a year of TLC before I could recommended it. If you were a huge fan of Vermintide, you'll probably get the game regardless. But if you're looking to try the game, your best bet would be on Gamepass.

When it works, it really is a blast. But when it doesn't work, which is a lot of the time, the entire experience as a whole is soured. I just can't in good faith recommend the game in it's current state, but it has the potential to be something special, particularly for 40k fans who have been starving for a good 40k game for a long time.

Edit: As of 09/29/2024, the crafting and itemization update has released for the game and finally gives the player agency to experiment with builds instead of playing the ridiculous casino gambling system of old to do so. This is a great game now that I would say has all of the components it should have had at launch to make it a complete game. The foundation is finally set for further updates like new classes, enemies, and levels, which we will hopefully get in the future. It's absolutely worth $40 but you can catch it on sale sometimes for half that price. This game has some of the most satisfying moment to moment melee combat I have ever experienced. The added mix of more emphasis on ranged combat in Darktide as opposed to Vermintide also works extremely well. Additionally, the game almost perfectly nails the aesthetic of 40k. Unfortunately, those are about the only positive things you can say about the game because everything else could almost not be worse: [list]     [*]Incredibly terrible performance even for many with high end rigs. I'm running an older setup that used to be high end a few years ago, but this is the first game where even if I play on all low with some settings turned completely off on 1080p, I still can't get 60 frames in some sequences.     [*]Unbelievably bad stability. In the closed beta, I could hardly finish a single mission because there would be a disconnect near the end of the match. The pre-order beta was still plagued with errors that would eject you out of a mission. The "full" release of this game still yet will kick you out in the middle of a mission with a vague message like "Sorry, this mission was aborted", making you lose all your progress. I have crashed perhaps 5 or 6 times, but I know people who have just given up playing the game because they can't go an entire play session without multiple crashes.     [*]Despite the game being officially launched as a "full release", many features are still yet to be implemented. The crafting system has 3 menu components that still say "coming soon", only 4 classes are available at launch, and there is no clear or thoughtful endgame besides just playing the same missions over and over and checking the shop to see if something high level is selling. [*]Besides disconnects, other glitches still plague the game. Faces and bodies clip through cosmetic clothing, games that are marked as not having special conditions on the mission screen actually do have a special condition upon loading in, players are falling through the environment in some places, and statistic or perks on weapons either don't work correctly or they shouldn't even be on a particular weapon. For example, a perk that increases damage the longer you hold the trigger, stacking 5 times, exists on a weapon that is a single shot weapon that must be reloaded after each shot.     [*]Real money cosmetic shop exists in this game. However you feel about having a cosmetic shop in a $40 game is one thing, but the fact that many parts of the game are incomplete and the fact that so many stability, performance, and bug issues are still present in the game while a real money cosmetic shop works great is practically a spit in the face. [*]No scoreboard, even at the end of a mission. This was reputedly removed due to potential "toxic behavior", but now you can't see how well you are doing with a build or compare yourself to your buddies for fun. [*]Developer has made 180s on multiple promises or outright misrepresented certain things. For instance, originally the real money cosmetic currency was to be earned through playing the game in addition to being purchasable. This is no longer the case. Additionally, certain cosmetics from the imperial edition don't even appear the same way in-game as they were depicted in the marketing material. [*]Makes you install Easy Anticheat [*]Fatshark is owned by Tencent [/list] If you're on the fence about this game, you should wait on the fence a little longer. It's half-baked and needs probably another 6-months to a year of TLC before I could recommended it. If you were a huge fan of Vermintide, you'll probably get the game regardless. But if you're looking to try the game, your best bet would be on Gamepass. When it works, it really is a blast. But when it doesn't work, which is a lot of the time, the entire experience as a whole is soured. I just can't in good faith recommend the game in it's current state, but it has the potential to be something special, particularly for 40k fans who have been starving for a good 40k game for a long time.