The Warhammer 40,000: Darktide pre-order beta is exactly what players were hoping it would be: a nice big chunk of what the main game has to offer. Though numerous issues like the unstable frame rate and disconnection errors persist, the developers at Fatshark are determined to polish the game by releasing constant patches; some of which have already been put out to remedy the currently-running beta. Nevertheless, the core gameplay loop of shooting hundreds of enemies and acquiring powerful gear in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is shaping up to be a worthy successor to Fatshark's Vermintide series of games.
There are currently four game modes available in the pre-order beta: Assassination, Raid, Strike, and Interrogation. Each of these game modes has its own objectives and modifiers but all of them still require players to slaughter countless enemies to complete them. Assassination, Raid, and Strike bring their brand of fun into the game, but Interrogation leaves a lot to be desired as it forces players to adopt a different mindset and momentum.
Sizing Up The Competition
Before moving to Interrogation, it would be wise to examine its competition. Assassination missions have players pushing through a level's layout and enemies to reach a final boss at the very end. The boss (which is currently only a beefed-up Captain variant) has a large health pool and a shield that regenerates momentarily after being destroyed. Players have to focus their fire on the boss to take its shield down before whittling down its health bar. This may seem trivial considering Warhammer 40,000: Darktide allows for four-player cooperative play, but teams also have to strike a balance between dealing damage to the boss and managing the endless enemies that spawn during the boss fight. Failure to do so will result in either the boss or the mob enemies overwhelming players; turning an otherwise guaranteed victory into a swift defeat.
The Raid game mode is much simpler in that its final arena requires players to carry a certain number of supplies to an awaiting Valkyrie ship. Players only need to designate who has to fend off the waves of endless enemies and who has to carry the supplies to the ship. Should the defending team start to become overwhelmed, the carrying team can easily drop their cargo and jump in on the action. Once all the supplies have been delivered, players can escape via a nearby ship to complete the level.
Strike missions in the pre-order beta task players with destroying certain strains of the Nurgle infestation that is plaguing the city of Tertium. Upon reaching a piece of the strain, it will come to life and spread tentacle-like appendages with spores on their ends. Players must destroy these spores before attempting to attack the center spore which is the strain's core. Waves of enemies will spawn as a team tries to clear the infestation and completion will allow the said team to make a break for the exit.
Breaking The Momentum
Interrogation is by far the most complicated game mode in the Warhammer 40,000: Darktide pre-order beta. Players still go through a level like they normally would, but there are certain sections where the game tasks them to deploy a floating Servo Skull. The Servo Skull is a drone-like device that hovers around an area before pausing over a specific spot. Players then have to use their Auspex gadgets to search the Servo Skull's vicinity for scannable objects before holding down a button to survey the objects in question. Once all the objects in an area have been scanned, players deposit the data into the Servo Skull before moving on to the next area. They have to do this a few more times in a couple of areas until the entirety of the level is fully surveyed.
The act of searching an area with the Auspex scanner is extremely slow and unsatisfying. Not only are Auspex users removed from combat, but the speed at which they move while using the Auspex scanner is compounded by the frustrating proximity beeping that tells them how far they are from a scannable object. Not to mention the cryptic radar on the Auspex's display, which consists of tiny circles that give a vague direction as to where the scannable objects are located. It would be helpful if Fatshark added a distance gauge so that players would have a better idea of how far they were from their goals. This would cut down the time scanners have to spend looking at their Auspex devices.
Interrogation also requires more communication between teammates, as having too many scanners would leave the team vulnerable to attack, and too many fighters would impede the progression of the mission. It seems like too much work for the same payoff that the Assassination and Raid game modes provide - both of which don't interfere with the game's overall speed. In addition to the plethora of issues that plague the pre-order beta, Fatshark might want to take a look at improving the Interrogation game mode. While it is still fun in its own right, it just doesn't have the same level of engagement and urgency as the rest of Warhammer 40,000:Darktide's currently available modes.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide releases on November 30, 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.