Darktide Preview: So Much More Than Vermintide In Space

thegamer.com:

Fatshark has had phenomenal success with Vermintide 2 over the last several years, so it was no surprise when the studio announced it was developing a Warhammer 40k follow-up. ‘Vermintide in Space’ is an enticing enough proposal, but after playing the game and speaking with head of design Victor Magnuson at this weekend’s Summer Game Fest even in Los Angeles, I’m certain that description doesn’t do it justice. Darktide seems to be a huge step forward for both Fatshark and the Left 4 Dead-like genre. The lessons the studio learned from the success (and missteps) of Vermintide 2 has shaped Darktide into not just a phenomenal co-op shooter, but one built with long-term support in mind.

While Darktide improves on the Vermintide 2 formula in many ways, the core gameplay is pretty familiar. A team of four players fight their way through twisting, futuristic levels while fighting off hordes of poxwalkers, deathguard, and cultists, occasionally stopping to solve small puzzles, and proceeding to a last-stand encounter before rushing off to an extraction point. The big difference you’ll notice right away is how much more focus there is on ranged combat. Arrows and bullets are a luxury in Vermintide 2, but here, ammo is practically unlimited. I used a single-shot rifle that had a capacity of 500 rounds and never even got close to running out. Magnuson says that the team spent as much time refining ranged combat for Darktide as they did perfecting melee combat in Vermintide, and it really shows. He expects most players will find themselves using ranged weapons 50 to 60 percent of the time.

That’s not to say melee has been neglected though. My character was equipped with 40k’s iconic chainsword, a light one-handed weapon that could