Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Reviews

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is ranked in the 60th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
PC Gamer
Top Critic
80 / 100
Dec 6, 2022

Though Warhammer 40K: Darktide needs more time to develop, its core gameplay is the best Fatshark has ever created.

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Kyle Campbell
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 24, 2022

Performance issues aside, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's ferocious battles make for some of the most thrilling co-op action in years.

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Recommended
Dec 14, 2022

Much like its endless enemies, Darktide's many small issues add up to a real nuisance - but stupendous atmosphere and vicious action just about prevails.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Dec 2, 2022

Although it feels more like an early access release at this point, this is a promising start for what should eventually eclipse Vermintide 2 and all the other Left 4 Dead wannabes.

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Dec 2, 2022

"As Darktide's levels aren't grouped into acts, it's much harder for Fatshark to tell coherent stories across them"

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Polygon
Top Critic
Unscored
Nov 30, 2022

Still, knowing Fatshark’s previous work, I’m confident Darktide will be in much better shape in just a few months’ time. And perhaps, in a year or two, after a couple of expansions and numerous updates, it may be something extraordinary. As things stand right now, it’s only very good… which is hard to complain about. A fantastic setting with tons of replayability and the same old juicy combat? There’s plenty to get sucked into, and no signs of slowing down.

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7 / 10
Dec 2, 2022

Darktide captures the most essential parts of its genre, though it sometimes stumbles when trying to build metagame content on top of that foundation.

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8 / 10
Dec 19, 2022

Darktide is an absolute blast. Its heavyweight blend of melee and gunplay ensure that the flow of frantic runs into the hive city just keep on coming.

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7 / 10
Dec 6, 2022

Despite the growing pains, Darktide is a solid co-operative action game that’s great for a group of friends to play in spurts. At launch, the experience is limited in progression and variety, but the gameplay is challenging and viscerally satisfying enough to keep your attention. It doesn’t hurt that the soundtrack slaps and, performance issues aside, the graphics pack a punch. Since Fatshark is known for updating the Vermintide series over time with frequent content updates, Darktide is expected to improve as well. It may even deserve a higher score within the next six months, but I can only review what’s available now. So if you’re considering a purchase of the game, think of it as an investment that will likely pay off in a few years. It’s more than understandable, though, if you would rather wait for Darktide to meet your standards for a full release.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2022

One should expect more from the extremely rich Warhammer 40k lore. Darktide has some good ideas but commits the ultimate sin for a game: it becomes boring due to its extreme repetitiveness.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Dec 14, 2022

The transition from killing Rats and Chaos Warriors to fighting the Scabs and Dregs couldn't have gone smoother. Warhammer 40k: Darktide adds enough new ideas to differentiate itself from the previous Vermintide games without ostracizing the fans of that franchise.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 1, 2023

If it goes the distance, Warhammer 40K: Darktide will get better with time. As it stands it's an enjoyable romp through an almost endearingly macabre world.

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Unscored
Dec 14, 2022

Fatshark's bone-crunching co-op is deliciously gory and grim, but an uninspiring progression system and short, repetitive missions hold this Vermintide successor back from reaching peak rampage.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 18, 2023

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has a solid foundation that just needs more built atop it. Slaughtering legions of Chaos freaks is fun for a while, and the in-game chatter between characters is surprisingly funny to the point I was invested far more than I otherwise would’ve been. Sadly, the unbalanced classes and poorly paced missions, plus a complete lack of incentive to play after hitting the level cap stop it short of what one wants from a horde shooter.

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80 / 100
Nov 30, 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is one of those games that oozes fun, no matter how you play it. It lends itself perfectly to all playstyles, and has this natural way of immersing the player in its world. That might be from the unique RPG system, the insanely detailed environments that make you feel like you're really walking through this huge hellscape, or maybe it's just the gratuitous violence. Whatever the cause, it's doing a great job of keeping me hooked. Of course, the game isn't without its cons, and these do detract from an otherwise solid experience. Regardless, it's a game that I will absolutely be coming back to time and time again.

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Dec 5, 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a solid horde shooter that is otherwise held back by technical issues and weak live-service elements.

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Dec 5, 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has a deeply satisfying core loop, with amazingly faithful art direction and audio. There's a wide variety of optimization and server problems right now however, so the technical side of the experience may vary wildly.

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82 / 100
Nov 30, 2022

Fans of Vermintide will definitely enjoy Darktide’s slightly more creative approach to character building, and anyone into fast-paced cooperative shooters — lovers of Warhammer 40,000 or not — will have a great time. Best of all, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide has all the elements for an extended life, provided Fatshark keeps fixing bugs, adding content and rewarding its fans. Darktide is off to a great start.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 5, 2022

Darktide would have deserved a better score, because the game itself is good, real good. But poor optimization (not entirely justified by the game's looks), far too common game crashes, and a loot economy that cannot help but raise some eyebrows end up impacting the user experience. It's still a great 40k game, but you might want to wait for some patches if you're on the fence.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a true successor to Fatshark's previous Vermintide series. If you were afraid the jump from fantasy to 40K would ruin the experience, fear not, it's even better. Darktide feels less linear than the previous takes, the story takes place between cutscenes of missions. Levels are linear, but do a great job of hiding that fact. Loadouts are a great improvement, along with a wide array of weapons to specialize and unlock. The only unfortunate part is that Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is still best enjoyed with a full party.

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