When Warhammer 40,000: Darktide first introduced players to the grim industrial world of Atoma Prime, it did so with a spectacular train crash in its opening cinematic.
Now, players can experience that iconic moment from a new perspective with the addition of the community-requested Freight Train mission, bringing the game’s story full circle.
Creating a mission aboard a speeding train presented unique challenges for the development team at Fatshark. “Doing a mission on a train is a challenge in itself, and when we started this, we didn’t actually know that we could do it,” says Victor Magnuson, Design Director at Fatshark.
The solution came in the form of an old Hollywood trick—the train itself doesn’t move at all.
“The backdrop keeps moving all the time, so it makes you feel like you’re actually moving. You’re actually on a sort of fake elevator the whole mission,” Magnuson revealed, offering a glimpse into the creative problem-solving required to bring this fan-requested mission to life.
“You’re actually on a sort of fake elevator the whole mission.”
The mission itself puts players in a high-stakes scenario, tasking them with stopping a train that has been commandeered by the Cult of Admonition and rigged with deadly Pox Gas.
“It’s a bit different from our previous missions. It’s shorter than our normal mission, and has a timer element that players will have to beat in order to succeed,” says Magnuson.
“The train is set up as a bomb and headed towards a station, and they need to stop it before it explodes. It has a very different sort of Special Ops feel than many of our other missions.”
Mastery: An overhauled itemization system
This departure from Darktide’s typical mission structure represents part of the game’s broader evolution. While players race against time aboard the speeding train, they can also take advantage of the game’s revamped progression system, which has moved away from randomized loot in favor of a more player-driven approach.
“We are doing a massive overhaul of our itemization systems. We’re changing to a system that we call Mastery, where the more you use a weapon, you will unlock more potential for that weapon,” Magnuson explains. “This will allow players to be much more in control of the weapons that they use and the items that they use and how these items are set up.”
The new Mastery system, coupled with its companion Expertise system for crafting, gives players more agency in how they tackle missions like Freight Train.
Players can now improve their weapons through use rather than chance, unlocking blessings, perks, and new marks for their preferred weapon families.
“We did a class overhaul one year ago to increase the availability of different classes and how you can change within one class. It’s the same approach we’re taking now with itemization. You just pick whatever weapon you think looks cool, play that weapon,” says Magnuson.
This combination of new content and systems shows how Fatshark continues to respond to community feedback while expanding upon the game’s original vision.
From the dramatic train crash that opened the game to now letting players prevent one, Darktide has indeed come full circle—and brought its players along for the ride.
