Last year, I had the chance to play Warhammer 40,000: Darktide for the first time to check out one of the game’s updates: “Secrets of the Machine God.” It allowed me to get my first proper look at Darktide as a game, and while I was impressed with the DLC’s new character and area, plus some of the new features, I was pretty underwhelmed by the overall experience. 

Since then, though, a lot has changed. I had the opportunity to play Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, one of the best third-person action games I’ve played in general, let alone one of the best Warhammer games. More games have been announced to join the broader universe, like Space Marine III, Boltgun II, and Warhammer Survivors. More importantly, however, Fatshark has continued to release more updates for Darktide. 

Earlier this year, the company released the Arbites class: an elite group of Arbitrators who uphold the Emperor’s law by any means necessary. To contrast that, Fatshark is about to release the complete opposite: the Hive Scum. If the Arbites are order, then the Hive Scum are chaos. I was once again able to get a preview at the upcoming class, and not only was I impressed with the Hive Scum themself, but also with how far Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has come in the last year. 

The Worst of the Worst

Design Director Victor Magnuson, Producer Juan Martinez, Marketing Head Rodrigue Delrue, and Designer Theodore Brandt provided a presentation to me and others outlining everything we could expect from the Hive Scum when the class is released on December 2. For starters, it’s worth noting that the DLC will release for $11.99, though a Deluxe Edition will be available for $18.99. The latter includes extra cosmetic content for players to sink their teeth into.

When we finally got a look at the Hive Scum in action, one word immediately came to mind: insanity. Everything about the class is designed to be absolutely insane, whether it’s the design, the play style, or even their weapons. For starters, the Hive Scum is designed to be extremely customizable. When talking to the developers, I asked them what their major inspirations were, and they specifically noted The Joker, the Cyberpunk genre, and Arcane, and you can really feel that in the design. 

There are dozens of ways to make your version of the Hive Scum completely unique. I couldn’t help but notice, for example, the number of options there were for the character’s head. Regardless of whether you choose the female or male version, you could get a gas mask, goggles, or even a steel skull for your character to add more personality to your character. This applies to the rest of the Hive Scum’s design, whether it’s the clothing options, the dozens of tattoos, or the multiple new face paint options you can apply to the character. 

As someone who’s a huge fan of the “violent rebel” character archetype, I was particularly fascinated by the Hive Scum’s design. It was really cool to learn a little bit more about the class’s backstory as well: learning that Tertium is the Hive Scum’s “home turf” added a lot more intrigue to the overall character concept, and made me really excited to see how they played off of the other members of your team, especially the Arbites. 

Of course, you can’t really talk about the Hive Scum without bringing up their gameplay. Unlike anyone else in the entire game, this new class is entirely focused on dual-wielding. Whether that means wielding two full-auto pistols or using two shivs, the character feels like one designed to be “excessive” above all else.

When we were shown the gunplay of the Hive Scum, it was hard not to notice just how chaotic their shooting was. They felt like the epitome of spray and pray, shooting without any care for precision yet with the expectation that their bullets would always hit their mark. That concept applies regardless of whether you pick the Auto-Pistols or the semi-automatic pistols. 

The weapon that requires the most thought is one that fires toxins, which does damage over time to all enemies. It can be used in tandem with its special, which changes its fire mode to create a bigger area of effect. Each weapon has a unique special, and in general, if you choose to focus on gunplay over melee, you’ll have great luck with the desperado ability. This new ability makes it so that you can’t be hit by ranged attacks, and you become super fast, plus the ammo used is completely free. It’s extremely effective and made me even more excited to live out my ideal dual-wielding power fantasy. 

On the other side of the spectrum, the Hive Scum has a slew of melee weapons if you’re feeling like getting up close and personal. The class can’t just dual-wield pistols, but he can also wield two shivs, which can be upgraded to either “stab” or “slice.” If you want to do your best impersonation of The Joker, you can also use a crowbar (which, sadly, you can’t dual-wield). There’s also the bone saw, which is coated with toxins to do both damage over time and a more gruesome slicing maneuver. 

Much like with the ranged weapons you can wield, there is a specific combat ability that is meant to complement your melee build. The Rampage ability, when activated, grants you increased melee buffs. Plus, when you hit enemies in your path, the ability lasts for longer. Aside from the two main weapon classes you can use, the Hive Scum also has access to their own Stimm Lab.

With this, they can create different stimms with different effects to use in the midst of battle. This isn’t even taking into consideration some of the characters’ Blitz Abilities, which allow them to utilize a rocket launcher, a chem grenade that infects enemies and causes them to explode, and a concussive grenade which knocks enemies off their feet. 

The Hive Scum is a very elaborate class. You won’t be blamed for being slightly confused by all their skills and capabilities, especially if you’re new to the game. If you are new, there is thankfully a new prologue specifically designed for the Hive Scum, if this is the class you decide to start with. However, if you’re purchasing the DLC as someone intimately familiar with Darktide, then you will thankfully have a free update and operation which will serve as a good testing ground for the new class: “No Man’s Land.”

No Man’s Land

No Man’s Land is yet another new operation added to Darktide. Unlike the Hive Scum, this addition is completely free. Here, you must take on a stronghold taken over by the cult, but along the way, you need to escort a tank and pass through deep trenches at the very edge of the Hive. Many were initially concerned that the Hive Scum signaled that the developers were moving away from the darker tone that they have come to expect from the series, but No Man’s Land has easily swayed those concerns for me personally. 

The new operation is dark and perfectly highlights the “war-torn wasteland” vibe that is customary to the world of Warhammer 40,000. You can see the Hive towering in the distance, cloudy skies that signal the ongoing conflict, and scattered debris that tells the story of what has occurred in the area. Along the way, you meet Knight Commander Dragor, a soldier who helps to guide you on your journey. 

While most operations feature more open-ended levels, No Man’s Land is a lot more linear. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: it adds to the overall tone of the map as you advance forward through a devastated battlefield. It’s also a great way to put the capabilities of the Hive Scum to the test. Whether you want to mow down enemies from a distance or slash and stab up close, enemies will slowly fall to your strength and firepower. 

Seeing the new operation gave me a broader appreciation for Darktide as a game. When I first played it, I expected something more akin to Space Marine: a constant power fantasy where you are the unstoppable force against multiple immovable objects. In Darktide, you are anything but unstoppable. You will constantly face down hordes of enemies, and whether you’re alone or with friends, you will likely be overwhelmed. In that way, it’s a lot more like Left 4 Dead than Space Marine. Yet, I can’t find any issue with that premise, since the overall experience, despite my initial issues, is undeniably addictive. 

I am thrilled to have seen the amount of effort that Fatshark has put into the new content for Darktide, and I am sure that fans and newcomers alike will get a kick out of the upcoming release.

The Game That Keeps On Giving

The new Hive Scum class and No Man’s Land operation are the perfect encapsulation of all the effort that Fatshark has put into Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. The developers have come a long way since Secrets of the Machine God last year, and even further since the game initially released in 2022. The additions of new classes have added so much new life to the release, and Hive Scum continues that trend spectacularly. 

The chaos of the new class feels right at home within the 40k universe. The infinitely customizable anarchist-like style, combined with the abundance of dual-wielding options and the sheer amount of ranged/melee weapons you can utilize, is so much fun to experiment with. The character’s story is also exciting to explore, especially if you’re someone who likes more disorderly characters. 

Even if you can’t purchase the Hive Scum class just yet, there’s always the new No Man’s Land operation to play through. It’s a great example of how committed Fatshark is to maintaining Darktide‘s darker tone and the setting of a world torn apart by war. That word is the ultimate encapsulation of this new update: commitment.  During my conversation with the developers, I learned that they had no intention of ceasing support for the game any time soon.

While that may be frustrating for people hoping for the “next big thing” from Fatshark, I personally couldn’t be happier. What this means is that Darktide will always be there for people to get invested in. Regardless of whether you jump into the game for the first time with the release of the Hive Scum class or if you’ve been playing the game since 2022, you will continue to be rewarded with new, exciting content that continues to build the universe of this brilliant franchise. I, for one, can’t wait to see what Fatshark does next as it continues to support Warhammer 40,000: Darktide into the future. 

The Hive Scum will be available in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, alongside the No Man’s Land operation, on December 2. The game is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Special thanks once again to Fatshark for the opportunity to preview the upcoming release.