Warhammer 40,000: Darktide vs Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is an action-adventure FPS game from Fatshark (2022) while Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is an RPG strategy game from Relic Entertainment.
Quick answer: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution rates higher, 7.6 to 6.9 on the GamingPickz Score.
What each one is
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is filed under Action-Adventure and FPS. In contrast, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution under RPG and Strategy.
Take back the city of Tertium from hordes of bloodthirsty foes in this intense and brutal action shooter. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the new co-op focused experience from the award-winning team behind the Vermintide series. As Tertium falls, Rejects Will Rise.
Command any of the six unique factions in the next standalone expansion of the critically acclaimed Dawn of War real-time strategy franchise. Choose to build a massive army or lead a small squad of elite heroes into battle and experience a single player campaign customized to your favorite race.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The game's story, written by experienced Games Workshop authors Dan Abnett and Matt Ward , focuses on a squad of "Rejects", prisoners conscripted by the Inquisition, investigating a Chaos uprising in the Hive City of Tertium on the industrial planet of Atoma Prime. The player character begins as a prisoner (their crime determined as part of the character creation) aboard the transport ship Tancred Bastion , which is transporting the leadership of the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception According to Metacritic , Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has received "mixed or average reviews", based on 68 reviews. As of 22 January 2023, the game faced sharp player falloff and negative reviews on Steam for the perceived unfinished state of the game and a lack of communication surrounding updates or improvements. The loot and crafting systems have drawn criticism, described by Rock Paper Shotgun as "[a] fantastic FPS ruined by a rubbish MMO ". (Wikipedia)
Plot
Dawn of War II: Retribution takes place ten years after events of Chaos Rising . Sub-sector Aurelia is now suffering from conflict between Ork pirates called the Freebootaz led by Kaptin Bluddflagg to pillage the sub-sector, the arrival of the Eldar of the Craftworld Alaitoc led by Autarch Kayleth to seek about a prophecy and recovering an ancient artifact, a Tyranid Hive Lord restoring the remnants of the Hive Fleet Leviathan and to the link of the Hive… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game received generally positive reviews upon release. It received an aggregated score of 81. 65% on GameRankings based on 36 reviews and 80/100 on Metacritic based on 52 reviews. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Warhammer 40,000: Darktide | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.9/10 | 7.6/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (72%, 138,182) | Very Positive (90%, 13,115) |
| Critic aggregate | 74/100 | 80/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | Not listed |
| Install size | 72 GB | 8 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2022 | — |
| Developer | Fatshark | Relic Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide vs Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Warhammer 40,000: DarktideAction-adventure FPS gameWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionRPG strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Warhammer 40,000: DarktideHorror, Team-Based, CombatWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionWarhammer 40K, Strategy, RTSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Warhammer 40,000: DarktideScore 6.9 · 72% on Steam · 74 criticWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution ✓Score 7.6 · 90% on Steam · 80 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide138,182 reviews · 10 add-ons · 72 GBWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution13,115 reviews · 8 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide$9.99Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionNot listedRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide ✓PlayableWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: RetributionUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueWarhammer 40,000: Darktide and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution (GamingPickz Score 7.6)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution (8 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (138,182 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Warhammer 40KCo-opActionAtmospheric
Where they differ
HorrorTeam-BasedCombatClass-BasedHack and SlashZombies
StrategyRTSTacticalMultiplayerSci-fiGames Workshop
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Warhammer 40,000: Darktide | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel i5-6600 (3.30GHz) | — |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | — |
| Install size | 72 GB | 8 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide · Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and 0 for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution in scope?
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has drawn 138,182 Steam reviews, ships 10 add-ons and installs in 72 GB. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution has drawn 13,115 Steam reviews and installs in 8 GB.
Is Warhammer 40,000: Darktide or Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution rates higher (7.6 to 6.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide or Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Warhammer 40,000: Darktide or Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution?
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution rates higher, 7.6 to 6.9 on the GamingPickz Score. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.