izigame.me

After 500 hours, Darktide is one of the best cooperative horde games I've ever played, and it's not even close.
Darktide has had its bumps here and there throughout the time its existed. I basically skipped on the first year of the game due to the complaints I heard on it. Progression was bad, and the lack of maps made playing the same missions over and over lackluster. The lack of player agency in improving your weapons also made it a slot machine- a slot machine that'd be the only thing you had to engage with.
The main thing that has kept this game going, and what got me into it and still playing it, is the gameplay. GOODNESS, the gameplay! This game's combat is simple at its core, but every block and dodge and hit and ability feels worthwhile and engaging. No game has engaged me as much as Darktide, where I feel like everything I'm doing is meaty and worthwhile. Going from regular Malices to Auric Damnations then going back, and noticing how you're not even struggling instantly showcases just how better you, the player, have gotten at the game. Team composition matters but its not instant lose if you have weird comps (like an all Ogryn squad: Tha Emprah protec's the lil'uns!) I have played this game with both friends and pubs, and both were enjoyable experiences, which is not something I'd say for many horde cooperative games.
The sound design of the game is second to none, with sound cues telling you when a trapper or bomber spawns, indicating that you need to deal with it. The whooshing sound of enemies about to hit you in the back, or a Mauler preparing for a nasty overhead that'll knock your karking ass to the floor; it is godly! And the same applies to your own weapons as well- the fact Fatshark got a Lasgun to sound chunky and not just another generic Sci-fi laser pistol should be credited, and all the weapons sound like they're designed to kill. That's not to discredit the music either; Jesper Kyd has designed a wonderful soundtrack for a setting where church hymns are what's considered "music" and flipped the whole thing on its head; it really sounds like you're going feet first into a slaughterhouse, which compliments the gameplay really well.
So, why'd I wait so long to review it? Well, I didn't feel comfortable to, until the most recent update: unlocked and loaded has made this game so, so, SO much better. Every problem I had with this game's progression just seemingly faded away. Where before I had to deal with subpar weapons or waste a ton of resources on what was essentially a slot machine, instead I could find a weapon who's stat distribution I liked, upgrade it, and make it immediately a meta weapon. No longer am I limited by my equipment; its all on how good me and the team is. I also don't want to discredit the previous Path of Redemption update; that Update introduced a ton of penances which helped me explore builds I never did before, and really helped me engage with some abilities I never tried before (Smoke grenades still need a rework, Fatshark!)
Overall, I will say that yes, this game has issues. This game could still use more maps, more bosses, more weapons (especially for the gruttin' Ogryns!) and a different enemy faction. The story for this game is... not there. Certain audio bugs can really be a downer when you go down because you couldn't hear a trapper or poxburster. But right now? This is where Darktide should've been two years ago: a good fun game where you can hop in, with weapons you built with a class and build you want to run, and just kill some heretics!
Overall: 8/10
But purely on in-combat gameplay? 10/10