Just remember, at GATE, we're all a family!

If you're reading this long after the release of this game, things very well might have changed. There is a lot of promise in this game, but choosing to release this game in this manner does not fill me with much confidence in their ability to improve the situation.

There are a lot of issues at launch, and I feel that Fatshark is putting the cart before the horse here. The content is currently pretty anemic, and several features that were teased for launch just aren't in the game. While weapons and combat feel excellent, the number of weapons in the game fall below the promised amount. Crafting is barely present with several features being listed as Coming Soon!" Meanwhile, a fully implemented cash shop was added to the game for launch complete with FOMO marketing tactics like timers on the items. Meanwhile, the community manager is on their discord saying things like "crafting doesn't fit the setting," and "the game shouldn't be treated as early access."

A lot of core mechanics drastically changed while the game was in the early access beta, yet players are still experiencing poor performance and crashes. This makes me feel like the game really does belong in early access, as the core game mechanics are still not fully understood by the devs. Additionally, quality of life features that were in Vermintide 2 are not present in the release version, despite being sorely needed.

Long story short, I think Fatshark have taken all the wrong lessons from the games as a service model, don't have the development acumen to iterate effectively on their established design. While engaging with the community to see if there is goodwill there, I kept seeing people point out that the original Vermintide still has a splash screen that says "Mods coming soon!" This fills me with fear that the only way we'll get the needed features for this game is in a Darktide 2, or a paid DLC.

As far as free games go, this hits the mark in several regards:

-Non-aggressive monetization
-Access to all the game content without paying
-No competitive advantage for somebody who does pay

The game itself is really clever. It's basically a very short format TCG with a lane mechanic. Each game, random conditions are set for each lane, and revealed over the first three turns of a match. Decks are only 14 cards, and games can run between 4-7 turns based on the conditions set in the lanes.

Due to the limited deck size and run of the game, it's pretty easy to tune your deck to perform pretty consistently. Card abilities and lane conditions both compliment each other in a myriad of smart ways that can subvert your expectations the first time you see them.

There really aren't many games out there that fill the niche that this game does: a co-op team game where each role has unique responsibilities and mechanics. While the devs have done an admirable job making it possible to play this game with bots, this game really shines when played with your regular game group on discord.

When trying to bring friends into the fold, I've been surprised how many friends bought this game, but didn't find their group for play. This breaks my heart, and I feel like this game deserves and "Among Us moment." I find myself wishing some big streamers would start playing it together, because I feel like if just enough people knew how fun the ship to ship combat can be while barking status updates and calls to action between the crew.

At high difficulty things can get really hectic. You can feel like you're on top of the world one moment, and a well timed hit on your ship can open you up to being boarded. Before you know it, you have a enemies on your ship, flipping switches to power down your warp core or diverting power away from life support. This chaos will send your crew scattering for solutions that will halt your damage potential and open you up for a counter offensive.

Of course, the best part is all these tactics are available to you as well. Is a ship too powerful for your guns? Maybe you can infect it with a virus to momentarily disable their shields and allow you to board and stall them out. Once you wipe their crew and disable their systems you can stop them from regenerating in the healing atrium, you can then choose to take their ship as your own. Alternatively, you can beam back to your ship and use a extractor to pull that shield that you couldn't break, or that main cannon that tore you to shreds.