The new Depths of the Damned free update for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has just gone live this morning, and we’ve had the chance to check out the new map The Spillway ahead of its release. Here’s a brief look into what awaits in the Water Cartels domain, and what sorts of atrocities lurk in the dank underbelly of the Hive.
The new mission, The Spillway, has the rejects descending into the unseen depths of the Hive at the behest of the Tertium nobility. This mission is accessed through a new campaign node in the mission terminal, with two existing maps providing a narrative lead-in.
Arriving into the mission, players will be in familiar territory, infilling at the Torrent water facility. The leader of the Water Cartel, the Ragged King, has provided the rejects passage through the area, and shares communications alongside Sister Prine.
As you and your team make your way deeper into the spillway, you will encounter a twisting network of tunnels and passageways that split off into different directions. This is a new mechanic introduced in the map, as you can choose which path to take instead of it being linear. One is considered the ‘safe’ path, while the other is laden with danger. Your team can also split up, meaning you aren’t beholden to one person making a rash decision. Further into the level, you’ll need to make the perilous decision again, but this time there are three pathways instead of two. I really enjoyed seeing how the devs are experimenting with new mechanics in these maps, and it really adds to the replayability which is certainly welcome in Darktide.
Visually, the map leans more towards the classic experiences from the base game rather than some of the more recent additions we’ve had that explore the outskirts of the Hive. This time we are going deeper into the belly of the city than we’ve ever seen before, and it’s a nice return to form. Another thing I appreciated about The Spillway is that as you progress deeper into the tunnels, Nurgle’s corruption becomes increasingly present. The environment twists into fleshy masses, with eyeballs and teeth sprouting up from every crevice of the damp hallways. This comes to a head as you approach the boss at the end of the level, the Prophet of Decay.
This powerful Psyker wields the dark power of the grandfather, and will require coordination from your team to take down. This boss has some similar mechanics to the Karnak Twins, with the boss targeting certains zones of the arena you have to avoid, but spices it up with new attacks as well. The Prophet can launch three orbs into the sky that will track to your allies, dealing massive damage if not destroyed in flight. He can also project a wall that splits the arena in two, meaning you may be temporarily cut off from your team if you’re out of position. The boss himself isn’t really that much of a danger, as when his shield drops he drops helplessly to the ground in the middle of the arena, allowing your team to assail him with melee attacks. To me it felt more like a mechanical boss fight rather than a strategic combat focused encounter, but it was still fun to play.
After the bloody remains of the psyker hit the floor, I was overall happy with this new map. In a game like Darktide, replayability is everything, and while new classes are certainly some of the most anticipated pieces of content, it’s always great when a new map gets added into the sandbox. I also enjoyed how we got to see more of the cartels here, expanding the worldbuilding of one of the recently added classes. The Depths of the Damned free update is live today, so gather your holy weapons and get slaying.
