Swings in the dark
Warhammer 40k: Darktideseemed like a recipe for certain success when it launched late last year. Developers Fatshark were taking the formula established in their co-op horde shooters Vermintide, throwing in some beefy melee, and moving it over to the 40k universe. Fans wereless than happywith the end result, pointing toward technical issues, randomness in the endgame, and a lack of crafting systems, which Fatshark are hoping to fix in today’s update.
Patch #4 Blessings Of The Omnissiah is looking to tackle Darktide’s messy loot problems, starting with a new tab at The Armoury Exchange called Brunt’s Armoury that allows players to buy a specific weapon, rather than waiting for the item shop to refresh with a random selection. Random access to shop items seems like an absurd, but surefire way to limit player’s build options - likely in an attempt to pad playtime. Now, you can buy any common weapon that your character has unlocked and simply upgrade it.
Weekly challenges are also becoming less time-consuming with better rewards attached to them, and players can save up to five loadouts with Wargear Sets. There are plenty of other changes coming to the game and they’re detailed fully in thepatch notes.
RPS’s Darktidereviewhad four of our writers give the game a pat down. Despite acknowledging the odd progression problems, they found it to be a “grand old time creeping through toweringGothicfactories and bursting heretics with your pals.” Darktide’s situation has only gotten more grim since launch, as the teampaused new contentand delayed the Xbox version until they can address the “mostly negative” feedback.
AliceO shared herthoughtson Darktide’s attempted gear overhaul, calling the grind “a manifestation of a terrible desire some modern multiplayer games have: to monopolise your gaming time.” Her opinion is that an overhaul won’t help much, and the crafting should just be taken out all together. I’m not a Darktide guy, but I am a fan of many run-n-gunners that get progression right.Deep Rock Galactic, for example, has plenty of customisation options, allowing you to mod weapons beyond simply turning numbers into even bigger numbers. We’ll see if Patch #4 is enough to quell the game’s Mixed reception onSteam, or it’s just a temporary bandage.
