Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Trailers
Consequences Showcase | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Official Release Date Trailer | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Companion Trailer | Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader
Critic Reviews for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an ultra crunchy, 130-hour space epic with excellent writing and combat, but unfortunately, also a lot of bugs.
Rogue Trader gets 40K's atmosphere right, but it's buggy and the rules are a mess.
Rogue Trader nails the 40k setting and provides an appropriately massive narrative filled with meaty tactical combat, though some bugs and poor performance hold it back.
If you’re a 40K fan or just looking for a combat-heavy RPG outside of the normal fantasy fare, Rogue Trader will make a welcome addition to your library. It dives deeper into the setting and lore than any other video game to date, showing that it’s clearly a game by fans, for fans. Owlcat gave us multiple Pathfinder RPGs - hopefully, we’ll see more adventures in the Koronus Expanse in the future as well.
Although it’s tempting to compare it to Baldur’s Gate 3 given that they both came out during the same year, it’s obvious that Rogue Trader builds upon the legacy of much older CRPGs and should be judged by its own merits. And by those merits, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a surprisingly solid title that manages to stand out from the crowd during a year that’s been jam-packed with incredible games.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader is a huge, deep, vast, sprawling CRPG that's sometimes a little too ambitious for its own good.
In the end, the moments of jank and the less-than-gripping combat didn’t diminish my experience or my desire to play. I still enjoyed leveling my character. I still enjoyed building my party, especially where skills were concerned. I was also impressed by the intuitive nature of skill checks. When making a check, the game will automatically select the character with the highest rank in that skill to carry out the check. It’s a small touch, but a nice one. Ultimately, this is an easy game to recommend if you like RPGs that put their narrative forward and build their characters in meaningful ways. It may not find a home in everyone’s collections, but it will be a shining star for fans of the setting who appreciate a narrative focus.
Rogue Trader is gargantuan and annoying on occasion, but haunting and wonderful through and through. It captures what makes Warhammer 40,000 so captivating and horrifying through its presentation, setting the mood in a way that keeps me enthralled through the worst of it. If Owlcat is anything, it’s a studio that creates RPG diamonds. It hasn’t made one without rough edges just yet, though I hope it eventually perfects its craft.
