While browsing the gallery of convicts that form Darktide’s character creator, I can’t help but be reminded how different the human perspective of Warhammer 40K is. For most people, the towering Space Marine is their touchstone for this setting, clad in immaculate MK IV power armor, inscribed with battle honors, and adorned with fluttering oath papers. There’s nothing of that here. The closest thing these rejects have are their tattoos; symbols of hive gangs or ex-Imperial Guard slogans etched in a shaky hand in the bowels of some prison ship, or the trenches of a forgotten warzone. This is the human reality of 40K, rarely seen beyond Black Library books, and I love that Darktide recognizes that.
Another thing I really like is the shovel. The moment I see it in the Veteran’s starting kit I burst out laughing, and Anders De Geer (game director) sitting next to me, smiles and nods knowingly. Like bayonets, trench shovels hold a special place in the heart of every 40K fan, and it’s clear that Fatshark has reveled in bringing the setting’s most iconic weapons to life.
As I swing my trusty shovel into the head of a charging Poxwalker, or use its alternate attack to jab at the enemies circling me, I could very well be playing the developer’s previous co-op hit, . That’s what makes so dangerous.
