Like a lot of people, I spent most of my September soaked in virtual Tyranid viscera and the warp-scorched ashes of the Thousand Sons in Space Marine 2. As a Warhammer 40,000 fan, it's been excellent to see not only the hulking Adeptus Astartes and their foes realized so faithfully with meaty and challenging combat, but also the critical and commercial success, which was far beyond what I thought was possible for a 40K game.
But, while it has set a high standard for Warhammer games going forward as our Space Marine 2 review says, some glaring issues mean it's just not quite holding my attention in the way I hoped it would – missions are long and there aren't many of them, enemy variety is lacking, and it all just feels far too repetitive. And that has quickly led me back to Fatshark's far scrappier Darktide, which I think is thoroughly deserving of another look-in since it just got one of its greatest updates yet.
Nobody expects the Emperor's Inquisition
For the uninitiated, Darktide is a Left 4 Dead-like horde FPS also set in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium. But instead of taking on the role of an armor-clad Space Marine, planet-hopping to carve up xenos filth and your traitorous brethren, you're an utterly expendable asset serving the secretive Inquisition, deployed against a plague-ridden cult of Chaos worshippers.
Every mission pits you against unending legions of zombie-like poxwalkers, corrupted soldiers of the Astra Militarum, and monstrous Chaos beasts hellbent on overrunning the hive city of Tertium. Facing these foes means every mission is absolute carnage in the best possible way, and that's what has kept me and my friends coming back to Darktide over the last year.
With the recent Unlocked and Loaded update, developer Fatshark has made some excellent quality-of-life improvements to the game, freeing up weapon customization and substantially cutting out the loot casino aspects that made the game feel previously quite unrewarding. New players will obviously know nothing of the pre-weapon mastery system days, but this a blessing for any returning players who tired of spending all their ordo dockets and plasteel on what were effectively weapon slot machines.
Both new recruits and veteran players will have an absolute blast in the new Rolling Steel mission, which sees you battling your way along a colossal runaway train bound for friendly reinforcements. It takes just 10 minutes – a big step down from the usual 25-35-minute Darktide missions – but you'll spend about 95% of that time fighting for your life with almost no time to catch your breath. Even if the hordes temporarily thin out, there are bombs to defuse and an overbearing timer that you've got to beat, turning an already tough mission into a tense race against the clock, making for one of the game's most exciting offerings.
Fully Loaded
Rolling Steel is also just one of many missions in Darktide, a few of which have only just been added in the last year, such as the two excellent Carnival district missions. They've also been joined by new enemies, weapons, and challenges in free, periodic updates, and it's this variety and richness that I think gives Darktide the edge over Space Marine 2 – for now.
With only six Operations missions available at launch, I had immediate concerns about the game's longevity, and these were unfortunately realized the more I played and upped the difficulty. Enemies become noticeably more bullet-spongey, Extremis-level enemies aren't varied enough, and Terminus-level enemies are too rare. It's also a shame that the Thousand Sons feel much worse to fight than the Tyranids, and even Space Marine 2's directors admit they missed the mark here. This repetitiveness means that the tension from not knowing what could be around the corner is sometimes missing in Space Marine 2, while Darktide has it in spades.
It also doesn't help that Space Marine 2 Operations can be gratingly dry in a lot of places. While each environment and object is a visual treat and captures the spectacular scale of the Imperium, I can't help but find its characters rather boring. I've played a lot of the Assault class, and I'm so tired of hearing Vespasius talking about how he wants to send cherubs to his brothers, or how he'd make a great chaplain because of how devoted he is.
In contrast, Darktide's heroes are often at each other's throats. Psykers are routinely called freaks by Zealots, angry Veterans complain about the incompetence of the others, while NPCs regularly talk down with utter disdain. Furthermore, even if Darktide's characters barely spoke, Jesper Kyd's thumping electronic and liturgical soundtrack would still carry much of the atmosphere. Bearing Warhammer 40K's famous “in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war” line in mind, I think Space Marine 2 gets the “there is only war” part right, whereas Darktide truly nails the “grim darkness” of the setting, and that's what makes it so interesting to play.
Of course, I'd be remiss to forget that getting Darktide to this high point has been a long road after a disappointing launch that no doubt quickly turned off many players. Continued support and new updates mean Darktide finally feels like it's in a complete state, but taking almost two years to reach this point hasn't been ideal. On the other hand, Space Marine 2, despite my gripes, is a solid foundation to work from that has done immense good for Warhammer 40K in general.
At this point, it seems that fans of the grim-dark setting are almost spoiled for choice. While there's a lot that these two horde shooters can learn from each other, they're undoubtedly two of the best Warhammer games you can play right now, and with developers committed to improving and expanding what they offer, I can't wait to see how these games evolve.
Space Marine 2 and Darktide are both superb horde shooters but can they contend with the undisputed best zombie horde shooter Left 4 Dead 2?
