LIGHT IT UP

After more than five years surrounded by Vermintide’s skittering, shrieking Skaven, Fatshark has jumped into the grimdark future of Warhammer 40,000. Darktide pits another four brave souls against unrelenting waves of monstrous enemies in a city being corrupted by the power of Chaos. It’s a meat grinder, but you get to be the teeth, chewing through hordes, leaving nothing but dismembered body parts in your bloody wake. And this time, there are chainswords.

There was a teaser trailer in July, but since then Fatshark hasn’t given much away about its next co-op outing. Chatting to the team, it’s clear they’re being careful about what exactly they reveal at what is still a fairly early stage. They want to keep some surprises, but there’s also much that’s still up in the air. They’re asking themselves a lot of questions about Darktide’s final form.

“We are still iterating on it and still trying to find our feet,” says Fatshark co-founder Martin Wahlund. “It’s all about the fun factor and getting it right, and getting the feeling right. We want to welcome Vermintide players, but we also want to make sure that everyone who hasn’t played them is just as welcome, and we need to onboard them in a good way.”

What is clear is that expands on rather than completely reinventing it. You charge into missions with three friends, slaughter your way through enemies—with occasional breaks for some problem solving—and over the course of your misadventures you grow stronger, get better equipment, and maybe tart yourself up with some cosmetic flourishes. Within that familiar routine, however, Fatshark is tinkering away and planning