Firstly a tldr: I really like Darktide’s gameplay - it captures the essence of the 40k universe so well and visually the game looks incredible (incredible job art team)! As a fan of Warhammer 40k overall I’ve been waiting for something that feels like this for a while and been obsessed with the idea of serving as a guardsman within the imperium. The feel of the game is addictive because of how authentic it feels and generally how close it is to what I imagine everything looks like and sounds like.
I do however have many ideas on how this game could really rise to greatness in my opinion:
-
Firstly, a common criticism I see is the game feels ‘unfinished’ and I agree. There’s obviously things still to be added to the game and I’m sure we would have all liked it all there at launch but aside from that; there are areas that feel like dead space or missing something. The best example is the Morningstar HUB area. I know this game will grow and the developers will add stuff to the game & hopefully more stuff to this hub. But as it stands there is not much reason to spend any time at all in the Morningstar. This is likely intended, but even something as trivial as having your own ‘quarters’ or ‘Barracks’ (more on this later…) to give the Morningstar a more significant presence for the player would really help fill a void for me. Further to this there is loads of areas that would be cool to have more interactions with characters around the ship. Just more stuff and things to do and interact with - perhaps as your trust level increases more people start talking to you and actually say neutral things towards you rather than just dismiss you and call you a convict. Maybe when ou hit level 30 trust you cna start doing extra stuff around the ship… This would give more life to the hub rather than just relying on the few and far between cutscenes you see every few levels.
-
This leads me to progression and gear. I like what is in the game so far in terms of gear (Primary, secondary and curios). But that’s it? I like the level of cosmetic customization in the game (I would always want more things to really make my character my own and would love Fatshark to add gauntlets and boots along with chest and legs). Moreover I would also LOVE for these armor pieces to do something… Cosmetics are cool as customization is important to me, but progression is also very important to me and I, albeit appreciate some of the penances are a little too… out there and silly for what you get. But I feel getting those armor pieces from completing a penance would mean all the more for the player if you got some stat or something tangible and meaningful out of it. An example could be for the veteran: Once you complete the ‘make every shot count’ penance, that armor piece gives an extra 3 seconds to your class ability, or something??? The point is have rewards that actually affect your ability to fight the hoards of chaos, not just be a guardsman armor piece with shoulderpads, or an added purity seal. Further to this progression, I don’t mind the leveling as it currently is, BUT, I’m worried for end game / lvl 30… I’m seeing a lot of people complain about certain aspects of being at lvl 30. and I think one idea I saw that I liked was that any experience gained while at level 30 is put towards something ‘The emperors favor’… or something… this could allow for new rewards for quarter upgrades / customization (quarters being your little bunk room). It could also unlock new customization and / or gear. It could also drive community events (more on this later).
The point here is I like what is in the game so far but I think for this game to truly stand out, it needs more - more character gear and meaningful upgrades that you unlock, let your armor actually help you and give you affects, they don’t have to do anything amazing but little bonuses (melee dmg reduction by 5-10% for a chest piece, increased ADS speed or sight zoom when using certain helmets, faster sprint when using certain boots / legs, could penetrate through more enemies using certain arms, accessories that allow you to carry more ammo, you get the idea).
-
Events would be a really cool addition and I don’t just mean ‘BONUS DOUBLE XP WEEKEND’ I mean things like actual in game missions and story driven content: For example, I would love to see an event where the Morningstar is attacked and Fatshark give us 2/3 levels for this event where the Morningstar has been boarded. You must defend the ship in a typical Darktide fashion. This could set up story points and introduce new characters, villains and hero’s + players could be building up ‘the emperors favor’ in a community event to ‘save the Morningstar’ if they manage to cumulatively make the amount needed the event ends and players who participated get rewards. I think it would be cool to fight through the ship you’re calling ‘home’ to try and save it form the hoards of chaos. the addition of the quarters just makes it that much more important for some players. Plus then they can cycle in those new maps going forward. New maps and mission types are going to be so crucial for a lot of players to keep playing Darktide and more than that, the ‘story’ needs to keep going. Aside form general additions that they plan on adding , events like the one I described could really help this!
-
This is a little thing that I’ve seen a bit of in a few reviews and comments: Clearer stats would be really appreciated, tooltips to tell you exactly what the stats mean and do, so the player can make an informed decision on what weapon to take / buy. I’ve gotten to grips with what the stats do (I think) but I feel this could be explained far better and make to so much easier to understand for the player.
-
Performance based rewards - Currently every player in a strike teams gets the exact same rewards despite performance: I for one have been carried more times than I care to say and the player(s) doing the carrying get the same money rewards and xp as me. This doesn’t seem fair. I would change it so depending on kills and objectives completed or objective assists and guarding a player, damage done, elites killed. this could spur on players to perform better throughout the run! You could also have penances and contracts based on these stats and rewards (for the character or quarters) based on performance stats.
-
Mission variation - I’ve seen this pop up more and more. Variation is key for this game to keep players coming back and keep experienced players playing. As mentioned briefly above, we need more maps, more mission types is key as well. More weapons, more classes and even perhaps subsets of abilities within those classes. Of course there are limitations to what is possible and there’s also what is the developer wanting to do as well as can / should do. But this game by nature is quite tedious, quite Samey. Once you have gotten to level 30 on one or more characters it’s just more of the same missions run again and again. I don’t have a big problem with that really but if you want this game to be amazing then mixing up the formula could inject new and exciting life into the game for new and old players alike.
Overall I’m really enjoying the game, I recently found a couple of different combos of weapons that I really like and really finding my stride with the game. But I, and I believe the community of this game want more. I was really hoping that Fatshark would take their well executed formula that they fostered in Vermintide and BUILD upon it in Darktide. Whether they have or not remains to be seen as Darktide has only just released! This post is more about adding the above to (in my opinion) really make this game stand out and not only cater to the Vermin/Darktide fans but also hit the RPG fans and even some MMO fans too.