I haven’t played Warhammer 40k Darktide in years. I can’t tell you exactly when I last loaded up Fatshark’s first-person shooter, but I practically had to blow the dust off the menu screen when it eventually loaded up, creaking and wheezing with surprise exertion. As Omnissiah’s favourite son, I’m here to test out the new Skitarii class and put this biomechanical soldier through their paces in the infested underbelly of Hive Tertium.

But first, I have to endure the opening cutscene. Darktide’s cutscenes are unparalleled when it comes to realistically-rendered depictions of the 41st millennium, but the introduction to the Skitarii DLC is particularly gruesome. A Tech-Priest is intent on recruiting a new soldier to send into the horrors embedded within the Hive Cities of Atoma Prime. Thankfully, she has numerous willing recruits.

The grisly scene in question begins when the volunteer Skitarii disrobes. We are confronted with the grim reality of war in the 41st millennium: a scarred, grey body with cables snaking along fleshy furrows and all manner of servos and fans implanted directly into the chest and ribcage. This is the exact Cronenbergian reason why Adeptus Mechanicus piqued my interest when approaching the narrative of Warhammer 40k. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot to take in when loading up the game for the first time in years.

Praise The Omnissiah

I haven’t played Darktide for so long, not because it’s bad, but because my tastes have changed. I play fewer live-service games full stop, and those I still play, I play less. I’m more Mechanicus 2 than Space Marine 2. Give me a chunky narrative to read 100,000 words of deep lore rather than an incremental upgrade that means my Big Sword now does 0.2 percent more damage to poison-based opponents.

You picking up what I’m putting down? However, the pull of the Omnissiah is strong—my love of the Machine God (and its dark cousin) has been well-documented on these pages—brought me back, and once I’d sculpted my new Skitarii main to my precise flavour of disgusting, I donned my robes and headed into the Hive City to bring irradiated justice to the foul worshippers of Chaos therein.

After trialing each of the Skitarii’s weapons, I came to a simple conclusion: the Galvanic Rifle is a standard rifle. Boring, powerful, and reloads in a manner completely at odds with my expectations. The Phosphor Pistol is more useful, but the tick damage isn’t strong enough to compete with the best ranged weapon in your arsenal, the Arc Rifle.

Let’s be honest, we all want to shoot bolts of lightning that jump from cultist to cultist, and the Arc Rifle perfectly fulfils that fantasy. Brace the Arc Rifle for a bonus bolt of lightning spreading to the horde in front of you and reroll for the blessing that offers another jump, and you’ll be culling the hordes with ease.

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This also pairs well with the Arc Scourge, which is effective against enemies with the ‘electrocute’ debuff applied to them. Naturally, all Arc weapons apply this to foes, so doubling up works well. The Power Sword will definitely see play, too, but the Arc Scourge would be my go-to melee weapon if it wasn’t for the chokehold that the Transonic Blades have on me.

Transonic Blades, usually wielded by merciless Ruststalkers rather than regular Rangers, are the coolest melee weapon in Warhammer 40k. As lethal as they are stylish, there’s nothing I love more than running straight into an enemy horde and listening to the twin blades sing. Like a ballerina with razor blades for hands, the frantic melee becomes a graceful dance as even the most formidable foes fall at my fingertips.

Surprise Claw

The Skitarii has a host of bonuses alongside its devastating armoury. The Servo Skull is a personal favourite, as it can complete those annoying mid-mission minigames for you, which would ordinarily take you out of the fight. I’ll still watch an Ogryn fumble the tiny keypad in their uncoordinated hands before offering to help—I may be logical, but I’m not completely devoid of humour—but keeping the entire squad in the fight at all times is a distinct advantage.

And then there’s the Chordclaw. The Skitarii’s special ability may be its best. The brutal mechanical appendage grabs opponents with scything talons, decapitating lowly grunts and dealing major damage to bigger bullies. Seriously, three hits from the Chordclaw can take out a Crusher on the hardest difficulty. Use this ability as often as you can, if only to see its gruesome animations.

Once you get the hang of switching between the Transonic Blades’ two weapon profiles and utilising your Chordclaw, the binharric chant of the Omnissiah starts to make sense. The data-psalms speak to you, and the prayers you bestowed upon your machine limbs on the Mourningstar come to fruition. This is an incredibly powerful being to unleash on Hive Tertium, so long as you can forget what horrors lie beneath your dusty robes.

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Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

FPS Action Science Fiction Systems 3.0/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 75/100 Critics Rec: 63% Released November 30, 2022 ESRB M For Mature Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence Developer(s) Fatshark Publisher(s) Fatshark
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