Even though I consider myself a nerd, Warhammer was always a bit too nerdy for me. Spending a lot of money on miniatures and then having to paint them was both too expensive and too much of a hassle. As a result, my knowledge was limited to “there are Orks and some kind of Space Marines.” And the latter seem to be the main protagonists of the game Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2, which is coming out in a few days.
How did I hear about it? Svettie, a YouTuber and streamer whose Discord I hang out on, was hyping the game up to his community. Curious, I watched the trailer. The gameplay looks good, but it’s third-person. I’m not really a fan of third-person games. But the graphics and especially the art style really captivated me. So this is Warhammer? Epic, grimy, and dark? It immediately gave me the same feeling as the cyberpunk genre.
But when the game comes out, and for the two weeks after, I’ll be in Greece. Far away from my PC and any chance to play it. The upside, of course, is that I won’t be tempted to pre-order Space Marine 2. I can comfortably watch from my vacation to see if the game is any good. But the backstory seemed interesting, so I watched a short introduction on YouTube. So there’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000? One is a pure fantasy world, while 40k (short for 40,000) is a dark fantasy sci-fi universe. Orks exist in both, but the Space Marines, unsurprisingly, are only in Warhammer 40k.
And there are other games in this universe. Logically, there’s already Space Marine Part 1, a third-person single-player shooter. I also came across Boltgun, a retro shooter that looks fun and will surely find its way into my library during a sale. And then there’s Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. A horde shooter set in the Warhammer 40k universe from the makers of the two Vermintide games—basically the predecessors to Darktide, but set in the fantasy Warhammer universe. I’ve barely played any horde shooters before. Many years ago, I played a few rounds of Left4Dead, but I never really got into it.
Could Darktide still be for me? GameStar has two review videos about it on YouTube. In the first, the game is torn apart; in the second, it’s redeemed. But what does the game look like in action? I opened Twitch, searched for Darktide, and stumbled upon BadSchnitzel’s channel. I watched him intently for two hours and asked questions. The next day, the decision was made: I was buying Darktide. But €40 is a steep price, and according to its history, another Steam sale should be just around the corner. But my vacation is also just a few days away, and I want to play the game now. Thanks to DerAndré, I now know about MMOGA, and through his link, I saw the game was available for €20. I snapped it up.
The intro video fueled my excitement, only to drop me off at the character editor feeling a bit confused. What can I select here? How does it affect the game? And why does my character always look a bit weird, no matter what I do? In short: you choose your backstory, which only affects your character’s spoken lines. And in the year 40,000, people just look a bit different; that’s actually intentional. The class is more important; it significantly determines your playstyle and available skills.
Into the tutorial mission. I’m a prisoner who breaks free during an uprising. Armed with a mighty shovel, I have to fend off crazed fellow prisoners, rescue the warden, and shoot my way to freedom with her. The basics are now explained. I complete various missions with up to three companions, while hordes of enemies try to stop me. With my skills, ranged weapons, and melee weapons, I do my best to reach my objective through the enemy hordes. If I succeed, I get rewards in the form of experience for new skills and weapons. I have a wide selection of both skills and weapons. Do I want to focus more on melee? Support my team, or stand behind them and take out enemies from a supposedly safe distance? Which weapons suit my playstyle and the mission?
Darktide isn’t an RPG and doesn’t offer the build depth of Destiny 2 or Warframe. But I have enough creative freedom to customize my character to my liking and try out different builds. The builds also play very differently, which makes me enjoy experimenting. The missions are hardly surprising—it’s a horde shooter. But they are varied, beautifully designed, and still fun even after multiple playthroughs. Darktide doesn’t want to be the game you play all evening for months on end; it wants to invite you for a few rounds of slaughtering enemies. Not mindless slaughter, though; especially on higher difficulties, you won’t get far without good planning and coordination.
For €20, the game was definitely worth it. The learning curve is fun and motivating, the lore of Warhammer 40,000 is vast, and the gameplay is more than solid. The graphics and design are extremely well-done and let you immerse yourself believably in the world of Warhammer 40,000. Mission after mission, you want to destroy the followers of Nurgle. For the Emperor!