Warhammer 40K: Darktide's closed beta is live but you can still apply
Ahead of November release
Warhammer 40K: Darktide's closed beta is underway, which you probably already know if you're one of the people granted access to test the co-op shooter. If you don't have access however, there's still time as you can still apply and more players will be let in over the course of this weekend. You might also enjoy watching some streamers play so you have a better sense of it ahead of its release in November.
Developers Fatshark released a brief video intro to the beta:
The beta began yesterday and runs until October 16th. You can request access over on Steam, where more players will be granted access in waves. Key drops are also enabled for certain streamers over on Twitch, if you want to hang out there and hope you get a key that way.
Darktide has been delayed several times, most recently back in July when these tests were first announced. Ed had a chance to play it at Gamescom though and found it fun, if familiar:
I'm unsure if gun feel and sumptuous sledgehammer smacks made up for a mission that hadn't particularly pushed the warboat out, you know? It was as you'd expect from a game of this type, a la Vermintide or Left 4 Dead: find the switch, upload the data while fending off waves up the wazoo, carry three barrels while fending off more waves up more wazoos. Maybe missions later down the line mix things up considerably, or our demo was purposefully predictable to keep things simple at a big show and showcase the core of the game, but I was hoping for a touch more evidence that the wave-bashing genre had progressed a bit.
My suspicion is that the wave-bashing genre has not progressed, but also that it doesn't matter. I like bashing waves with pals. Darktide is currently aiming for release on November 30th, with a base edition costing £33/€40/$40.