Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Reviews
A long awaited Warhammer 40K CRPG executed superbly not only in terms of combat but also story, atmosphere, and character building.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader is an astoundingly complex game that perfectly conveys the feeling of living in the 41st millennium. Its story is entrancing from the get-go, the characters are diverse and memorable and the gameplay will keep you hooked to your screen for hours on end. It's a must-play for diehard Warhammer fans and a great entry point for prospecting Warhammer fans. As far as Warhammer games are concerned, it's a definite 10, and a new benchmark for storytelling in the franchise.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a little rough around the edges but it’s also the best rendition of the Warhammer universe brought to gamers. It’s perfect for those who are new to Warhammer and DND veterans who want a rich story to experience. Sadly, the ship battles are a drag, but everything else, from the brilliant voice acting to the overall gameplay, more than makes up for that little blemish on the experience of a game.
While lacking the polish and production value that saw the genre float into the mainstream this year, Rogue Trader is a refreshing CRPG experience that values everything that makes games like these so special. It's impossibly expansive, full of rich characters and stories, complex without being over-encumbered, and so much more that doesn't fit into a snappy conclusion. Owlcat has really gone out of its way to bring the Warhammer 40K universe to life here, and in doing so, it's created one of the most memorable RPGs of the decade.
Rogue Trader is a near-perfect encapsulation of 40k. Its dark-but-pulpy story puts you in the position to make tough choices with no right answers, its combat is a healthy mix of TTRPG and game balance, and the amount of content on display is jaw-dropping. The Emperor has blessed Owlcat Games.
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 a phenomenal roleplaying experience offering an immersive story and an impressive, highly-connected web of features and systems. The soundtrack, writing and voice over are all deliciously over the top, and gameplay provides a new step forward in a tactical cRPG genre, rewarding positioning, teamwork and attention to details. If you are new to the Warhammer franchise, the game can serve as a perfect stepping stone into the universe.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader not only promises, but delivers the very thing it was designed to be – a meaty, authentic Warhammer 40k game that feels right at home in its RPG trappings.
Despite any flaws, wherever they might be found, Rogue Trader was undoubtedly created by people with passion and knowledge about the Warhammer 40,000 setting and lore, who sought to create an excellent Warhammer RPG and, for the most part, they succeeded.
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.
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
Few fictional universes are as dense and impenetrable as that of Warhammer 40k. Owlcat Games (previously known for Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous have managed to create a gripping story of the darkness that lurks in man, accentuated by stellar writing and a combat system that masterfully increases in depth as the game goes on. Despite some bugs and technical issues, this easily counts among the very best delves into the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium.
Review in German | Read full review
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.