The Darktide beta has been going on since November 17th for anyone who pre-ordered the game, so players have quite a bit of time to rack up some gear and develop their characters before it launches. Fatshark didn’t want to guarantee player progression while the beta was ongoing because they needed to “reserve the opportunity to change or reset things in the event something unforeseen or critical happens”. They’re obviously feeling a bit more confident about that since last week’s 1.0.8 update, which introduced crafting. Ed was among the first squads to play Darktide back at this year’s Gamescom in August, and he felt the game was fun but familiar. “Towering brutes staggered towards us rattling with armour,” he said, “so we’d have to micromanage our positioning to lead them away from the group, or a bulbous boss would come clattering down the stairs and we’d need to back away quickly to safe pastures. Sticking together is everything, and the game understands how to erode this glue.” Warhammer 40,000: Darktide bursts out of beta on November 30th on Steam and the Microsoft Store for £33/$40/€40. PC Game Pass subscribers can play it from launch day that way, too.
