Amazon offers products from hundreds of top brands at great prices. Shop low prices on holiday essentials. Free shipping, exclusive discounts, and more.
- Amazon Kindle
Hold 1000s Of Books, Weeks-Long
Battery, Glare-Free Touchscreen
- Today's Deals
Low Prices on Popular Products
Free Delivery on Eligible Orders!
- Prime Same Day Shipping
Unlimited One-Day Delivery
Available in Selected Areas
- Gift Cards
The perfect gifting solution
Give the gift they’re sure to love
- Amazon Kindle
Search results
Feb 10, 2024 · Review by Caelyn Ellis Contributor. Published on Feb. 10, 2024. 55 comments. Follow Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Rogue Trader nails the 40k setting and provides an appropriately...
- Contributor
- Caelyn Ellis
- An ultra crunchy, 130-hour space epic with excellent writing and combat, but also a lot of bugs.
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Screenshots
- How are you going to play your Rogue Trader?
- Len's Top 10 CRPGs
- Verdict
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Review
- More Reviews by Leana Hafer
- IGN Recommends
By Leana Hafer
Updated: Jan 31, 2024 7:40 pm
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 11:53 pm
A lot of RPGs assume you're just some nobody with a sword trying to make their way in a strange and hostile universe. And there are few universes as large and hostile as Warhammer 40K. That's why I was so delighted that Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader puts you into the shiny, step-on-me boots of a titular Rogue Trader, the heir to the von Valancius dynasty and a very powerful member of the high nobility in the Imperium. Getting to roleplay someone of such status and wealth across more than 130 hours of gritty, tactical combat and superb quest writing is a fresh power fantasy for this setting and this genre. I just wish it wasn't plagued by more annoying bugs than there are daemons in the Warp.
Breaking away from the Pathfinder rule system Owlcat reproduced with almost self-defeating fidelity in its past two games, Rogue Trader pays homage to some of the classic Fantasy Flight Warhammer 40K tabletop RPGs, but this is really a new system built from the ground up. And that intentionality has allowed it to simply work better in most cases. I will warn you that it is still a very crunchy system, though. If you're coming here straight from Baldur's Gate 3, Larian's interpretation of D&D will seem like a soft, gooey nougat that melts in your mouth by comparison.
Ability descriptions in Rogue Trader can feel like reading an academic paper on differential equations, and the wordy, overly-detailed way the tooltips are presented doesn't do it any favors. I eventually got a handle on it and came to enjoy the depth it offers, but it's intimidating until you learn its visual language. And it never stops being kind of a research project to understand what a new talent actually does on first inspection.
Rogue Trader pays homage to the tabletop, but this is a new system.
“
Dogmatic - I do everything by the book, as The Emperor commands.
Heretical - I serve the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and love hurting people.
Iconoclast - This galaxy is messed up but that doesn't mean I have to be.
Pragmatic - Whatever makes the most sense in the moment. I don't live by a code.
One of my favorite elements of this combat system is how powerful support characters can be. I made my Rogue Trader, the esteemed Katarin von Valancius, an officer who not only hands out buffs, but can also give allies free actions. This ended up making me the lynchpin of the entire party even though I rarely ever fired a shot or swung a chainsword myself. That’s why I have Yrliet, an ancient elven ranger with a sniper rifle, Argenta, a warrior space nun, and Ulfar, a freaking werewolf in power armor, after all. I'm never going to be as cool as any of them, so helping them do violence even better is a great niche to find myself in. Setting up a combo where Ulfar cuts several people in half or Yrliet one-taps the enemy commander from across the map is endlessly satisfying.
The highly positional space combat is well done too, and plays out much like a naval engagement with lots of maneuvering and lining up broadsides. And a fairly involved colony management system reinforces the idea that I am a powerful ruler within this sector, even though some colony of the stats, like Security, didn't seem to matter much.
The best CRPGs to play in 2024
Rogue Trader’s music is generally strong, and fits the tone of the 40K universe perfectly with its ominous chanting and pseudo-medieval gloominess. The problem is, Owlcat still hasn't really figured out how to use music dynamically to amp up a scene. A lot of huge, impactful moments deflate like a balloon because they're lacking the wicked or triumphant audio stings that would help them land so much harder. Beyond that, the sound design is top-tier, from the satisfying rapport of a bolter to the high-quality voice acting – what little there is of it.
Even in such a banner year for RPGs, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader stands out as one I wouldn't want to have missed. Excellent writing, great combat, and the chance to get up close and personal with some of the most interesting and exciting elements of the 40K universe makes for a stimulating gore-feast of a journey. Its systems are a complicated ...
Review scoring
great
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.
Leana Hafer
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Early Access Review
Stargate: Timekeepers Review
Dec 12, 2023 · Here, we are going to help you decide if Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is the right game for you. This includes a review, time expenditure, costs, and what fellow gamers think about Rogue Trader. In the end, you should feel confident in deciding if the game is personally worth it.
Jan 10, 2024 · Owlcat's fantasy RPG Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is huge and complex to a fault, with enjoyable writing and combat but many slow bits and obscure flourishes.
- edwin.evansthirlwell@rockpapershotgun.com
- News Editor
Dec 6, 2023 · Expect to pay: $50/£43. Developer: Owlcat. Publisher: Owlcat. Reviewed on: Windows 11, Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAM, RTX 3080. Multiplayer? Online 6-player co-op. Link: Official website. We've just...
- Weekend/AU Editor
- Jody Macgregor
Jan 17, 2024 · Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S) Developer: Owlcat Games Publisher: Owlcat Games Released: December 7, 2023 MSRP: $49.99. A gothic interstellar...
People also ask
Is Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader a good RPG?
Is Rogue Trader a good 40K game?
Can you play Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader if you are colorblind?
What is Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader?
Is rogue trader based on a Warhammer 40k tabletop RPG?
Is Rogue Trader a good game?
Dec 6, 2023 · Pros. +. Deep and satisfying combat that’ll please genre veterans. +. Plenty of tough decisions and role-playing opportunities. +. Memorable and engaging companion characters. Cons. - More bugs...
.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp&q=how%20good%20is%20warhammer%2040%20000%20rogue%20trader%202&ck=5D2DBA8F72A77B29C98CACF09804C1E5&idpp=rc&idpview=singleimage&form=rc2idp "how good is warhammer 40 000 rogue trader 21")
.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp&q=how%20good%20is%20warhammer%2040%20000%20rogue%20trader%202&ck=49A6BF4EA186F79DD496CFA8E3B256AC&idpp=rc&idpview=singleimage&form=rc2idp "how good is warhammer 40 000 rogue trader 22")
.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp&q=how%20good%20is%20warhammer%2040%20000%20rogue%20trader%202&ck=09F6401EC0489C5D82D023D82D7A8807&idpp=rc&idpview=singleimage&form=rc2idp "how good is warhammer 40 000 rogue trader 24")
.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp&q=how%20good%20is%20warhammer%2040%20000%20rogue%20trader%202&ck=C6E7593C42BE87878762EF35F30425A4&idpp=rc&idpview=singleimage&form=rc2idp "how good is warhammer 40 000 rogue trader 25")
