Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Reviews
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.
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.
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.
An immense, clever and often fascinating deep dive into the Warhammer 40K world that has its fair share of obfuscation, filler and inelegance.
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.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers a dream CRPG for Warhammer fans if you can get past its bugs.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a fun RPG with stellar writing that truly captures the dark future of eternal war. Choices and options aplenty never detract from or feel ill-suited to the setting, and a clever layout makes this a solid entry point for any Warhammer newcomers. There are a number of bugs to be wary of, with progression issues popping up from time to time.
CRPG fans heavily invested in Warhammer 40K will thoroughly enjoy Rogue Trader, but there’s enough backstory and written lore to bring newcomers up to speed and into the fold. Rogue Trader is generous to a fault with combat and sometimes the momentum stalls in the naval combat or over-lengthy tactical battles. Overall, Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader is an engaging turn-based RPG and another reminder of how rich the Warhammer universe can be.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader treats the Games Workshop board game license with respect, granting the opportunity of fully immersing into a universe that fully meets the expectations of franchise's fans. Owlcat Games has crafted a role-playing video game that guarantees a fair amount of freedom of choice with concrete consequences both in the development of the plot and in the balance of power within the Koronus Expanse. It's a shame for the technical state it is in, otherwise we'd have a masterpiece in our hands.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is the sort of game that the Warhammer 40K setting has long needed. A disgustingly massive, social calendar swallowing CRPG offering, Rogue Trader's numerous presentation issues aren't enough to distract from its galaxy-spanning odyssey into Games Workshop's most famous and beloved setting.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an excellent adaptation of the Warhammer universe into a genre that some may expect not to work. A compelling RPG with a strong understanding of its original property, it’s a great example of the classic C-RPGs of the 1990s and early 2000s. Although it perhaps does nothing revolutionary, it provides an intriguing and exciting adventure, especially for fans of the tabletop game.
With the great amount of love for the setting that was poured into the game evident from every line of dialogue and every little detail, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is one of the best games based on the universe created by Games Workshop, and a solid tactical turn-based role-playing game that can provide hundreds of hours of fun.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a CRPG worthy of its grimdark sci-fi setting, offering players engaging tactical turn-based combat and an immersive adventure. It lacks polish, and we encountered some frustrating bugs, but deep class customisation and an exploration of the setting like nothing before means there's plenty to recommend for fans who are willing to take the plunge.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a gem for CRPG lovers and fans of the Warhammer universe. Although it suffers from some technical imperfections, the depth and immersion it offers make it a remarkable title within the vast catalog of games based on this iconic franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader's adventure across the dangerous Koronus Expanse is full of fun sci-fi lore and companions, but it's buried beneath wonky balancing, tedious spaceship battles, and quest-breaking bugs. Perhaps after numerous patches, Rogue Trader will one day become a strong addition to the CRPG genre.
Despite my unearned misgivings at the game's initial announcement, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader somehow became likely my favorite title so far from Owlcat Games. Likely due to a combination of well-designed turned-based gameplay, a better focus of gameplay systems that don't needlessly detract from the core experience, and simply waiting for a few additional layers of polish to give the title a chance to be represented in the best manner possible. While still a little uneven in terms of gameplay progression and technical proficiency, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an engaging game that's brimming with things to discover and a uniquely compelling narrative that is at times both hopeful and poignant.