I always knew I would be pulled back into Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon. Despite thoroughly enjoying the game, I’m constantly playing games for a living, and it was probably a bad time to also start Baldur’s Gate 3—and like anyone who has played it can attest, once it gets its hooks in you, your life is gone.
But the Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Nightmares & Visions DLC was the perfect excuse to jump back into the excellent horde-based shooter, offering not only a brand-new game mode that builds on the established formula but also a complete revamp of the Ogryn talent tree. This gave me a solid reason to step away from my Psyker for a moment and try something new.
Like with many of my DLC reviews, I won’t waste too much time rehashing how the game plays or what the story is. If you need a refresher, go check out my initial review of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and then come back here—I’ll wait. Anyway, my experience with the Nightmares & Visions DLC was a bit mixed. For the purposes of this review, I was given access to every character at max level, with a full suite of top-tier equipment. This made it particularly easy to jump into the new Mortis Trials game mode, where players fight through waves of enemies in visions induced by the ship’s Psyker, Sefoni.
“The Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Nightmares & Visions DLC was the perfect excuse to jump back into the excellent horde-based shooter.”
It’s a fitting game mode, given that the core experience of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is inherently horde-based. Fighting through waves of enemies in a small arena builds upon the already solid foundation the game has established, increasing both tension and challenge. While players can attempt each of these modes with their talents intact, the Mortis Trails introduce an additional layer of strategy by allowing players to choose an Indulgence at the start of each run. These Indulgences grant unique buffs that become stronger upon completing every third wave.
It’s an interesting approach to this type of game mode, as players must consider not only their teammates’ builds and advantages but also which Indulgence would best suit them for the duration of these massive fights. As I mentioned in my previous review, I built my Psyker to function as a glass cannon—using my abilities as much as possible to regain Toughness by reducing Peril. However, since I was paired with a team full of Veterans, I opted for the Voltaic ability, where ranged attacks have a five percent chance to electrify. This paired well with one of my abilities, where elemental effects provided a damage boost.
Afterward, I decided to try building an Ogryn to my liking since their talent tree had been revamped “to expand viable melee builds, introduce stronger tank and support options, and improve ranged combat effectiveness.” Since I typically don’t go for tank classes in games, I was curious to see how well I could work with the new builds, and I have to say, it was pretty fun. For starters, the Ogryn is a formidable character by size alone, giving players a distinct sense of towering over enemies and powering through each level.
“It was pretty satisfying stomping through areas and turning enemies into clouds of red mist.”
I built my Ogryn to be as classic a tank as possible—drawing a lot of aggro with attacks and his special ability while shrugging off gunfire like it was nothing more than mosquito bites. With a combination of melee strikes and a massive Boomstick shotgun, I was stomping through areas and turning enemies into clouds of red mist. I’ll admit, it was pretty satisfying.
However, the Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Nightmares & Visions DLC also revealed something I wasn’t previously aware of during my initial review—the apparent lack of a balanced single-player experience. It may be because the PC version I was given was for review purposes, but in all the games I tried, I was never paired with other human players. Much like Left 4 Dead, I figured this wouldn’t be a problem.
However, it very much was a problem, as my level 30 character was consistently placed alongside level one bots, never forming a balanced team. Whether I was playing as my Psyker or Ogryn, I was almost always matched with two or three other Veterans or occasionally a Zealot, but never a full team comprising one of each class. I was completely unaware of how ineffective the AI bots really were, taking far too long to pull me out of special enemy traps and displaying very odd priorities. This was manageable in the early missions, where the game expects you not to have decent weapons or armour, but for any of the more advanced missions—forget it.
This issue persisted within the Mortis Trails, where once again, my level 30 character was placed alongside two level one Veterans and a Zealot. This setup worked for a few waves, but our team was soon overwhelmed by the game’s increasing difficulty. I understand that Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is meant to be a co-op game, but I couldn’t comprehend why the game wouldn’t take my character’s level into account and balance accordingly—especially considering it has a single-player option.
However, this minor gripe aside, the Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Nightmares & Visions DLC does add a decent suit of fun and challenging new features to the game, and unlike some games, doesn’t try to have the gall to charge close to $20 for it. I had a lot of fun getting back into this, and I’m sure diehard fans itching for a new reason to vaporize Hertics will enjoy it too.
