Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gameplay Impressions - Everything We Know So Far- In this Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gameplay Impressions, we are going to look at the story, gameplay mechanics, and combat systems of the first-person shooter RPG developed and published by Fatshark. If you wish to know the latest information about the upcoming hack and slash game, then this article is exactly what you are looking for! Warhammer 40K: Darktide will be launched on July 03, 2025, via PC. The Xbox Series X|S release date has yet to be determined.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gameplay Impressions - Everything We Know So Far
Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gameplay Impressions - Story and Setting
Warhammer 40K: Darktide is set on the planet of Atoma Prime, specifically in Tertium, which is ruled over by the Imperium of Man. The story starts to take form when the dark agents of Nurgle, the Chaos God of Pestilence and Decay, begin their invasion of this Hive City. Nurgle is a familiar figure because he is also the main antagonist fromWarhammer 40K: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters, aTurn-based Strategy RPGreleased last May 2022. The FPS will also follow a familiar pattern of storytelling in which new campaigns will be periodically released, similar toDestiny 2’slive service model.
The narrative for Darktide is penned by none other than Dan Abnett, who is known for his work in the Warhammer 40K Universe, particularly the first book of the Horus Heresy trilogy, which took place in the year 30K. If you are curious about why the 41st millennium is comprised of a series of wars, then the Horus Heresy books should provide you with valuable insights.
Going back to the FPS, you take on the role of a convict or reject where you represent the Inquisition to quell the growing invasion of the forces of Chaos. You might not be an ideal candidate but the faction is left with no other choice. Do you and your friends have what it takes to save Tertium for the Emperor of Mankind? Or will you succumb to the perils of Nurgle? Because remember, for in the grim darkness, there is only war.
The game features brilliantly themed worlds surrounded by darkness. Every corner you take is filled with vile and nasty creatures who are all out to get you. The visual design is definitely something you would imagine in the Warhammer 40K Universe - grim and gritty, making the gameplay and combat much more exciting to participate in. You can also hear the loud and exhilarating beating of the drums, signaling the arrival of Chaos, which is reminiscent of the spectacular soundtrack and sound effects of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, another first-person hack and slash title from Fatshark.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gameplay Impressions - Gameplay Features
Warhammer 40K: Darktide’s levels will be more interactive than their previous game in terms of the minigames they are planning to introduce. Alongside this, you can expect to be shoved into frantic circumstances, often involving heavy firefights. What adds to the suspense are the random goals assigned to you even if you were to play in the same location. This is a really cool aspect because you still experience an element of surprise rather than expecting the same mission objectives to pop up when you load into specific areas.
Player Character
Fatshark is determined to enhance player agency this time around. This primarily means that you will now have fully customizable characters. Customization starts with creating your convict, a prisoner of a crime of your choosing. It also seems that the character’s initial sentence will determine some of the starting cosmetics, such as the Dereliction of Duty, giving you immediate access to a Yellow Prison Suit.
Just like any fully-featured character creator, there will be various options for the character’s class, body type, face, tattoos, and even personality. Dozens of options will be available for nearly limitless combinations to create the perfect reject. These, along with the original prison sentence, will affect voice acting. More on this later.
The Character Classes
The next step in creating the ultimate war machine will be the selection of a class or archetype. The game will have four options available at launch, which is down from Vermintide’s five. Let us go through each of them:
Setting a Loadout
Of course, gear plays an important part in the customization process in that there will be tons of armor pieces you can mix and match, as well as fine-tune to the smallest detail. By this, I mean being able to adorn your equipment with various iconography, which is familiar to those who are knowledgeable in the Warhammer 40K lore.
Darktide will feature a simple loadout system, which Vermintide didn’t specifically have. Between each mission, players can swap out any weapon. Each loadout will consist of a Primary Weapon, a Secondary Weapon, and three Gadgets, possibly grenades and healing items. There will also be a shop that uses in-game currency only. No microtransactions have been announced so far.
Voice Acting and Relationships
The cast of Vermintide had a lot of personality due in large part to the various banter and dialogues between them. Fatshark will not let this beloved feature die with the introduction of Darktide’s customizable characters. Each of the classes will have unique, context-sensitive dialogue that will seamlessly wave into the narrative and feel like real conversations.
They hope to recreate all of the charms of their original cast. According to Matthew Ward, a Creative Consultant at Fatshark, “There are thousands upon thousands of banter lines in Darktide.” This is quite a good sign since voice lines that repeat themselves time and time again can get quite tiring over time.
Darktide will be implementing what they are calling a “Hybrid Combat System”. This is because the Vermintide franchise was quite known for their meaty, impactful melee combat. It is coined “hybrid” now as they are targeting a 50/50 split between melee and ranged gameplay.
Melee and Ranged Options
The already excellent melee combat foundations have been improved upon from Vermintide 2. At the moment, there hasn’t been any news on what exactly the enhancements are in this area. But what we do know is that many iconic 40k weapons will see the light of day in Darktide. Melee options include chainswords, power swords, thunder hammers, and more!
What’s new here is the greater emphasis on ranged combat. Warhammer 40K was never purely about frantic up-close and personal fights. Firefights will be much more common and a viable way of dealing damage. Just like melee weapons, iconic ranged armaments are being added such as Lasguns, Plasma Guns, and the almighty Bolters.
Maximizing Movement
Fatshark has gone a long way in terms of giving players options to move around the battlefield. There will now be more tools available to help manage combat and control the flow of enemies. New moves include sprinting, vaulting over low obstacles, suppressing targets, and sliding into cover. Additionally, you will still have access to the short dodge ability you had back in Vermintide.
Putting it All Together
So how do all of these systems play together? Well, the two philosophies of combat consist of damage and control. While damage is quite self-explanatory in that dealing enough damage and killing the enemy quickly increases your odds of survival, control is a bit more nuanced. Control is all about interrupting a target’s attacks and movement.
Getting hit by attacks will result in either taking damage, getting stunned or both. If you hit a target enough, you can stop them entirely in their tracks, hindering their movement and anything behind them. Of course, this mechanic goes both ways as both enemies and players can get stunlocked.
Since Darktide is going heavy on ranged enemies, it is highly likely that you will get annoyed by stunlock. Meanwhile, a new toughness mechanic is being introduced into the game to give players a bit of breathing room against multiple foes. This allows you to absorb a few ranged attacks before starting feeling the effects of stun. Toughness acts like a shield that regenerates over time. Each character will also have a lore-friendly way to explain their version of the shield.
The Forces of Chaos
As Nurgle has cast his shadow over the population of Tertium, he has been able to bolster his forces with a menagerie of horrors. The most basic of enemies will be the Roamers and Hoarders, citizens of the Hive City who have succumbed to the Chaos God’s plagues. These mindless creatures are essentially cannon fodder and should pose little to no threat to you. That is of course until they group up and form a horde where they turn into a wave of death and destruction.
Next up are the Elites. These are more specialized foes, which pack a punch than the lowly Roamers. Elites are targets that must be dealt with swiftly, lest they get the jump on you. And finally, you have the Special Monsters. While they have not been given specific names at the moment, they are the most threatening creatures who can totally disrupt an unprepared party. Some Specials will be able to grab, incapacitate, blind, or even throw you off the map. So these kinds of enemies will require the coordination of an entire team.
Final Thoughts
Fatshark is aiming for something huge to bring the world of Warhammer 40K to life, and this is certainly something that veterans will appreciate. But what also makes Darktide special is its systems, which are massive improvements from the games we have enjoyed in the past from the heart-pounding and crazy invasions of horrific monsters to the amount of gear and playstyle options available to us. Will the game offer a familiar narrative path as in the Warhammer lore?
What other gameplay tidbits await us a few months before it launches? I, for one, cannot wait to get my hands on the soon-to-be-available beta! Warhammer 40K: Darktide will be released on July 20, 2025, for PC via Steam.
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