The Warhammer 40,000 license continues to be handed out left and right, so naturally this means one was announced at today's Xbox Series X showcase. The aptly titled Warhammer 40,000 Darktide showed off a trailer revealing several armed soldiers exploring a derelict ship of some kind, only to be swarmed at the end by horrendous monstrosities.
The trailer and teaser site mentions that Darktide will be a four player co-op experience where you and three friends will work together to fight off against the hordes of the hive world of Tertium.
It's not exactly a stellar pitch considering how ubiquitous co-op games like this are. What makes Darktide particularly intriguing is that the guys at Fatshark are the ones developing it. These are the same developers who worked on another Warhammer licensed title, the Warhammer: End Times Vermintide games. They were also co-op games where up to four players worked together to survive an outbreak of mutated rat monsters in a dark fantasy setting, essentially a riff on Valve's influential Left 4 Dead series. They are well-regarded action games in their own right and show that Fatshark know how to craft a compelling and visceral co-op action title.
In fact, they're being very upfront about sticking to their strengths on this title. Their official website states,
"We’re sticking with what we know. A co-op game first and foremost, with the same tight melee combat that not only are we proud of but also that we’re known for. However, we’ll be giving ranged combat more complexity of its own to really bring it up to par with the hands on stuff. Our hope is that we can really deliver on some truly hybrid combat that’s both accessible yet boasts a high skill ceiling, offering the same opportunity for mastery regardless of whether you’ve got a lasgun or a chainsword in your hands."
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide will be available at some point in 2021.
