Darktide is a blast with a group of friends, and Fatshark has been making progress in the right direction, but overall, the game still needs work to get to where it should have been at launch. I’d wager at least 6 more months to a year's time.

Combat, soundtrack, and setting/level design are all excellent, but this is all overshadowed by a half-baked release, terrible performance, complete lack of endgame, predatory cosmetics shop, crafting system that isn't even implemented, and a waiting room simulator weapon acquisition system.

• Performance, Bug Fixes, and Game Balance have all been improving steadily since the beta.
  
• Basic Crafting System has been implemented.
  
• You are now able to buy base level (grey quality) weapons of each weapon type at the shop, which you can then use the crafting system to upgrade to the quality you want.
  
• You are guaranteed an item reward (Emperor’s gift) upon completing a level.

• We need a “Rock and Stone” button. Look, nothing brings us all together better than a hearty Rock and Stone. Emotes were added in the most recent update, but you can only use them in the mission hub, which is pointless to me. The ability to cheer or yell “For the Emperor” after clutching a tense moment as a team really goes a long way, especially in a game based on cooperation.
  
• My Ogryn needs a 2 hander. Anything from a Zweihander to a large piece of metal plumbing will do. What kind of game limits the Fighter/Barbarian class to a selection of knives. Ok yes I also a shield and stick, and another stick, and a shocky stick… but where’s my big stick!
  
• A Mission Selection Screen (like what they have in Vermintide 2) needs to be added, either in addition to the Mission Board, or replacing it. A randomized mission board works in games like Deep Rock Galactic where the missions and level design are actually randomized. However, in a game with set level design, this does not work and leaves us having to hope the mission we want will randomly appear. At a minimum, we should have the option to select our desired difficulty for whatever missions are displayed on the board.
  
• Still no Endgame Content, and for all intents and purposes there is no story. Story is boiled down to a cool looking villain during the tutorial mission and vague cutscenes while you level up with officers telling you you’re a piece of trash. I’d wager all story content is being saved for paid DLC releases later.
  
• More Subclasses: Vermintide 2 released with 5 characters each with 3 subclasses. Darktide released with 4 characters each with only 1 subclass.
  
• Level design variety: Many of the levels in Darktide feel the same and are hard to distinguish between each other. Festering Grounds, Into the Nest, and Righteous Stand from V2 all are very distinct levels, and that’s just using examples from base release. Don’t get me wrong, the levels are all beautifully dark, grimy, and grim, and it fits the setting perfect. I also understand we are limited to a single hive city, but I’d like to see some more distinguishing elements between levels.
  
• More Mission Types/Objectives: The game has 14 unique levels, however there are only 7 mission types, which compounded with the lack of design variety further degrades the feel of overall level diversity.
  
• All “Bosses” feel the same: The Assassination mission targets are just reskins of eachother with the same mechanics and strategy to defeat them. Vermintide 2 had 4 boss levels at release, and each boss felt unique.
  
• Weapon Acquisition: The loot box system of Vermintide 2 was my least favorite part of the game, I’m glad that was removed, but the rotating weapon shop is not much better. The addition of being able to purchase base quality weapons of every type and a guaranteed Emperor’s gift at the end of each mission are both nice additions, but neither are necessarily “fun” ways to get gear. In video games, I’ve found the most rewarding and fun way to acquire gear is either from exploration or from the corpses of my enemies. At a minimum, I’d love to see a chance for a “weapon crate” to spawn in missions which drop a random weapon that is added to your inventory. Maybe have a different crate model for each item type (melee, gun, curio) and change crate color based on the rarity of the item inside. How pumped would the group be if we found a orange weapon crate hidden in a level.

Vermintide 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and it really is a shame how many steps backwards Fatshark took with Darktide. The game is still a blast with your friends, and I am hopeful that in due time (probably a years’ time) Darktide will become the game we all wanted it to be at launch.

[h1]TLDR[/h1] Darktide is a blast with a group of friends, and Fatshark has been making progress in the right direction, but overall, the game still needs work to get to where it should have been at launch. I’d wager at least 6 more months to a year's time. [h1]Review At Release[/h1] Combat, soundtrack, and setting/level design are all excellent, but this is all overshadowed by a half-baked release, terrible performance, complete lack of endgame, predatory cosmetics shop, crafting system that isn't even implemented, and a waiting room simulator weapon acquisition system. [h1]Improvements So Far[/h1] [list] [*]Performance, Bug Fixes, and Game Balance have all been improving steadily since the beta. [*]Basic Crafting System has been implemented. [*]You are now able to buy base level (grey quality) weapons of each weapon type at the shop, which you can then use the crafting system to upgrade to the quality you want. [*]You are guaranteed an item reward (Emperor’s gift) upon completing a level. [/list] [h1]Still Needs Work[/h1] [list] [*][b]We need a “Rock and Stone” button[/b]. Look, nothing brings us all together better than a hearty Rock and Stone. Emotes were added in the most recent update, but you can only use them in the mission hub, which is pointless to me. The ability to cheer or yell “For the Emperor” after clutching a tense moment as a team really goes a long way, especially in a game based on cooperation. [*][b]My Ogryn needs a 2 hander.[/b] Anything from a Zweihander to a large piece of metal plumbing will do. What kind of game limits the Fighter/Barbarian class to a selection of knives. Ok yes I also a shield and stick, and another stick, and a shocky stick… but where’s my big stick! [*][b]A Mission Selection Screen[/b] (like what they have in Vermintide 2) needs to be added, either in addition to the Mission Board, or replacing it. A randomized mission board works in games like Deep Rock Galactic where the missions and level design are actually randomized. However, in a game with set level design, this does not work and leaves us having to hope the mission we want will randomly appear. At a minimum, we should have the option to select our desired difficulty for whatever missions are displayed on the board. [*][b]Still no Endgame Content[/b], and for all intents and purposes there is no story. Story is boiled down to a cool looking villain during the tutorial mission and vague cutscenes while you level up with officers telling you you’re a piece of trash. I’d wager all story content is being saved for paid DLC releases later. [*][b]More Subclasses[/b]: Vermintide 2 released with 5 characters each with 3 subclasses. Darktide released with 4 characters each with only 1 subclass. [*][b]Level design variety[/b]: Many of the levels in Darktide feel the same and are hard to distinguish between each other. Festering Grounds, Into the Nest, and Righteous Stand from V2 all are very distinct levels, and that’s just using examples from base release. Don’t get me wrong, the levels are all beautifully dark, grimy, and grim, and it fits the setting perfect. I also understand we are limited to a single hive city, but I’d like to see some more distinguishing elements between levels. [*][b]More Mission Types/Objectives[/b]: The game has 14 unique levels, however there are only 7 mission types, which compounded with the lack of design variety further degrades the feel of overall level diversity. [*][b]All “Bosses” feel the same[/b]: The Assassination mission targets are just reskins of eachother with the same mechanics and strategy to defeat them. Vermintide 2 had 4 boss levels at release, and each boss felt unique. [*][b]Weapon Acquisition[/b]: The loot box system of Vermintide 2 was my least favorite part of the game, I’m glad that was removed, but the rotating weapon shop is not much better. The addition of being able to purchase base quality weapons of every type and a guaranteed Emperor’s gift at the end of each mission are both nice additions, but neither are necessarily “fun” ways to get gear. In video games, I’ve found the most rewarding and fun way to acquire gear is either from exploration or from the corpses of my enemies. At a minimum, I’d love to see a chance for a “weapon crate” to spawn in missions which drop a random weapon that is added to your inventory. Maybe have a different crate model for each item type (melee, gun, curio) and change crate color based on the rarity of the item inside. How pumped would the group be if we found a orange weapon crate hidden in a level. [/list] [h1]In Closing[/h1] Vermintide 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and it really is a shame how many steps backwards Fatshark took with Darktide. The game is still a blast with your friends, and I am hopeful that in due time (probably a years’ time) Darktide will become the game we all wanted it to be at launch.