When Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was first announced, there was a lot of excitement. A legendary franchise like Warhammer 40 000 has a universe unlike any other, with a setting that is perfect for RPGs, and indeed there have been Tabletop RPGs based on the setting before. One of these Tabletop RPGs was Rogue Trader, and it is this title that has been adapted into a turn-based CRPG from Owlcat games, but does it live up to the hype?
Rogue Trader manages to stay true to the 40K lore and gives us a great look at the grim darkness of the 41st millennium and the Imperium of Man. Rogue Traders are those individuals who have been authorized to explore and trade with other races, known collectively as Xenos, whereas most in the Imperium are forbidden to interact with aliens due to Xenophobia being enforced. This can be thought of as a darker take on Star Trek, and it actually works very well in that regard, especially since this is not a game just focused on the Space Marine faction like so many others.
Rogue Trader is set in the Koronus Expanse, an unexplored section of the galaxy that holds many secrets, but for Rogue Traders looking to build their dynasties, there are many opportunities. Owlcat Games did an amazing job making the worlds seem alive, with characters that were well-written and numerous notes, codex entries, and more to flesh out the lore. Fortunately, you never feel overwhelmed with information, and it manages to help you understand enough at your own rate, although the fact that there is an inconsistency if some lines will be voiced or not is an issue that should be addressed in future patches.
As someone who has played the Tabletop RPG, I am happy to say that Owlcat has made an excellent adaptation and while not everything is perfect, due to combat being very unbalanced at times, such as by having some characters too overpowered and some feeling too unnecessary to use, there is a lot to love. The combat is probably the biggest flaw in Rogue Trader since while some of it is competent, there are too many ways to cheese your way through the game without feeling a challenge in this part of the experience.
Fortunately, Rogue Trader is more than just combat and fans of CRPG experiences will find much to love here with masterful storytelling and well-designed quests. There are complex moral decisions to be made, and you can choose to play like a typical character would act in 40K, or try and act as an idealized person, but that is easier said than done and this is where the challenge is to be found. How you address the issues will impact your game experience, and you will find that some seemingly small choices can have a big impact later on.
There are three paths to follow in Rogue Trader, Dogmatic and Iconoclast represent the divide mentioned above, and there is also Heretical, where you begin to use the forces of chaos. Each of these paths has pros and cons, but you are not forced into one right away and you can even switch back and forth for a time before picking one and sticking with it. Each path comes with new abilities and access to equipment that cannot be used by followers of the other two paths, while your companions have their own moral paths to follow and will agree or disagree with your choices based on their own morality.
Speaking of the companions, they are handled well for the most part, although one or two are a bit lacking in terms of their actual use in the game. Still, they are fully developed characters with good writing and voice acting, and they feel authentic to the 40K universe. There is a romance system here, but it is not about getting to have sex with the companions and it is actually very well thought out, with the different romance options needing to be approached carefully. Some may be handled in the manner of a courtly romance, while others are based on mutual understanding of one’s cultural differences ( you can tell I am trying my hardest not to spoil anything, I am sure.
The inclusion of Xenos companions fits perfectly with the concept of a Rogue Trader, and it would have been interesting to see other Xenos as well, such as an Ork or Tau, but DLC is coming so we may get that yet. Overall, the companions do a great job of showing just how vast and diverse the setting is and how different everyone will be. Some characters have different perspectives due to being born on ships, while some are mutants who are treated differently by a fanatical culture.
One thing to love about Rogue Trader is the character builds you can make, with an assortment of origins and backgrounds for your Rogue Trader. These will impact the story and gameplay considerably, with a fanatic playing very differently from a Psyker. You have a great degree of control and customization and that helps not only give the game a lot of replay value, but also a feeling that this is indeed your story.
This may not be Baldur’s Gate 3, but even with multiple bugs that have held back the game, such as visual glitches or some quests having impediments they should not, I actually had a lot more fun this year with Rogue Trader, combat aside. I hope that combat can be fixed in the future with patches and the promised DLC, especially since towards the end of the game, the bugs do become an issue with certain quests and plotlines not being possible, though it will no doubt be fixed, but I also have another hope for the developers. I would rather a sequel not be made, at least not right away, and instead would like to see Owlcat try their hands at some of the other 40k Tabletop RPGs, especially Dark Heresy because that would be a truly magnificent experience to have in CRPG form.
Overall, I do recommend Warhammer: 40 000: Rogue Trader, even with the flaws and bugs, since Owlcat is known to fix its games after rough starts. The experience is still fun and as a 40K fan, this is almost everything I could want in a CRPG. or the first Warhammer 40 000 CRPG, we have an excellent starting point, and things can only get bigger and better from here on out.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
