Yesterday I tried Warhammer 40,000: Darktide on Microsoft Gamepass. I can’t say I was looking forward to the game or anything, but I thought why not give it a go since I got a subscription (for 1 euro) running. I think the gameplay is fine, even if I’m not a Left 4 Dead genre enthusiast. Shooting, slashing, and stomping things as my Ogryn felt entertaining, however, it will not be something that would last me incredibly long. The visuals and the general atmosphere seems top-notch, and it ran wonderfully on my system with ray tracing enabled. Apparently, it does not for a lot of people, but by some miracle, it did for me.
And here the fun ends. First, as a pointer, this is not a review or anything like that, I only put in a few hours. But I felt I had to make a post about this. The thing with this game is that it’s being sold as a complete game with a 40-euro price tag, at least on Steam. Yet, it has some of the most grindy, and predatory free-to-play microtransaction systems I have ever seen. It disgusts me, and when I noticed how much the game relies on you spending money on it, it killed my motivation to continue playing. I remember gaming when you unlocked outfits and such by just playing the game, you know, as an added bonus, something to aim for, or just stuff for the progression, but here in Darktide, 4-5 hours into the game, I’m still in the prison clothes that I started the game with. It’s hilarious in a way. You get recruited by the Empire by force, and they don’t even have the decency to provide you with a uniform, even after several successful missions. I always assumed they being stingy with equipment and armor, but give me a break.
It’s pretty clear the game was designed around the cash shops, considered the grind, and that the game gives you nothing for progression. I don’t want stuff handed to me on a platter or anything, but this is just too much. Even light cosmetics options repulse me, so this is just beyond the pale. And if that is not enough, the shop is set in such a way too that you can’t pay for your items directly, you have to buy an in-game currency for real money. Say you buy 2000 creds, or whatever it is called for a sum of real-life cash, the problem here is that that won’t be enough, because the thing you want costs 2400 creds. This means you will have to buy the next tier which is the double cost. It reminds me of the old Xbox 360 days buying stuff in their shop. It’s a dreadful system and it makes me sad to see gaming in such a bad state.
That is not all, because why would it be? The store also rotates the items, which makes you think there is an urgency – stuff is only sold for a few hours. It’s terrible and preys on the weak-willed. Not to mention the fact that the shop store is working without a hitch, but apparently, that game is missing a ton of features that were announced before hand, like for example crafting. Weapons are also missing, and God knows what else. The game also crash for a lot of people, and as mentioned has terrible performance for some. In conclusion, an interesting premise with okay gameplay and atmospheric graphics, absolutely trashed by predatory monetization. Welcome to modern gaming, folks!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Blog 