The Warhammer franchise has become increasingly popular across media, jumping from tabletop games to books, comics and video games. These games have spanned genres, with most of them emphasizing first-person action and shooting. The newest title, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, is similar, pitting the player against waves of enemies.
Darktide represents an exciting collaboration. The game unites a past developer of previous Warhammer games, Fatshark, with the iconic franchise scribe, Dan Abnett, with the promise of creating an experience that showcases a different part of the Warhammer universe. Here's what's known so far about the plot, how its gameplay compares to past entries and when it will come out.
What Is Warhammer: Darktide About?
Naturally, the game takes place in the wider Warhammer universe, featuring a mostly human cast due to the creators of the game feeling that they are the heart of the franchise. Players operate in the depths of a Hive and are faced with the threat of the Admonition cult. Hives are sprawling cities with expansive underbellies, becoming more and more derelict the deeper one adventures.
This Admonition cult seeks to take control of the planet called Atoma Prime, and its up to you and your group from the Inquisition to defend the world and represent the God Emperor. The game is also set during the franchise's current Indomitus era, with encroaching Chaos being the greatest threat in the universe. The protagonist will be a lowly prisoner who's tasked with somehow revealing the infiltration of Chaos to the Hive of Tertium.
Warhammer: Darktide's Trailer
The title has a few trailers, with different teasers showing off both the plot and the gameplay. Said gameplay is similar to the previous Vermintide video games, which were first-person co-op action experiences similar to Left 4 Dead. Waves of AI-controlled enemies come at the player with foes ranging from Daemons to cultists and several other enemies from the series.
The main difference between this game and the two Vermintide titles is that Darktide will have tons of firearms opposed to Vermintide's focus on melee combat. While those previous games had many wide-open areas, this one will hone in more on enclosed, dark environments that force the player to take enemies out from confined spaces.
News to Know About Warhammer: Darktide
The game was announced back in 2020, and since then there's been a slight but steady release of more information. It's developed by Fatshark, who handled both of the Vermintide games as well as other titles such as Escape Dead Island, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 and Bloodsports.TV.
The writer of the scenario is Dan Abnett, who's a well-known author across mediums from games to comics. He's also an accomplished novelist who's also written several books in the Warhammer series, making him the perfect creator to guide this game's narrative development. He and the others working on the game decided early on to not have the player take the role of the franchise's iconic Space Marines, hoping to offer a different perspective on the universe.
As mentioned, it has been around a year since the game was first announced, making the wait increasingly difficult for fans of both Warhammer and the first-person action genre.
Unfortunately, even as the game has gotten closer to its launch window, there's yet to be a definitive release date. It's meant to come out sometime this year, though that tentative timing could be pushed back. Its platforms are known, however, and Warhammer fans can check Darktide out on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass and Windows.
This article will be updated when as information becomes available.