I completely agree with what you’ve posted. I didn’t feel the need to make a single post in the VT2 forums after 200h, at which point I dropped the game for other games at the time. I always spoke well of the game, despite its share of strange decisions and held it up as a great example of creative design.
The difference - Darktide was promoted as a Live Service experience, with upcoming content based on their previous experience. Hell, at this point it sounds like a made-up story, I know…
The no-engagement policy makes sense and I respect it, as well as what CatFish has been trying to do from her end. My suggestions from this thread are fairly reasonable in this regard: Feedback - Request for a Roadmap