- Publisher: Owlcat Games
- Release Date: Dec 7, 2023
- Also On: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jan 19, 2024The bugs get worse as the game goes on with frequent crashes and other problems spiking up in the third act and beyond. These are the same kind of issues that Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous had at launch, and fortunately in both cases the games subsequently became more stable and polished with future updates. So you may want to wait a little while before picking up Rogue Trader. However, even with the bugs, Rogue Trader is an excellent CRPG set in one of my favourite sci-fi settings, and I would be remiss not to give it a glowing recommendation.
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Dec 21, 2023Despite a relatively large number of bugs and occasional outdated visuals, Rogue Trader remains a fantastic and massive RPG that is a clear must-play for all fans of the 41st millennium. It shouldn't be missed by enthusiasts of grim narratives and intricate turn-based combat either. Rogue Trader is filled with epic moments, decisions that shape the fate of entire star systems, and brutal rawness that makes delving into the world of Warhammer and the God-Emperor worthwhile.
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Dec 20, 2023While 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 overencumbered, 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.
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Jan 19, 2024Warhammer 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.
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Dec 7, 2023As a reviewer, I cannot handwave this experience away even if Owlcat Games is a studio well-known for their strong post-launch support, yet rating the game on what I’ve actually played through would also be unfair to its final build. This is why this review comes out unscored with an update to follow once I had enough time and a chance to test some of the pricklier parts of the game that were problematic in the early version to compare the performance. Once done, this section will be dedicated the overall technical state of the game and the final thoughts.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 40.000: Rogue Trader is another good RPG made by Owlcat Games, which captures the spirit of the original game.
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Dec 15, 2023Despite any flaws, in whatever gameplay area they might be found, Rogue Trader was undoubtedly created by people with passion and knowledge of the setting and lore, who sought to create an excellent Warhammer RPG and, for the most part, they succeeded.
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Dec 11, 2023Warhammer 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.
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Dec 6, 2023Few 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.
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Dec 7, 2023Rogue Trader is a late highlight for those looking for challenging combat and an exciting, if text-heavy, story.
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Aug 23, 2024Despite 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.
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Mar 2, 2024As someone whose only experience with Warhammer 40,000 is through games, I still adored the writing, combat, and music in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. It has also been a joy to play on Steam Deck especially with the newest major update. If you skipped out on it at launch to wait for a few updates, I can safely recommend Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader right now. I hope it does well enough to get a nice physical release in the future.
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Jan 8, 2024In general, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader should be a great experience for any Warhammer fan or someone who likes turn-based RPGs. It’s strong enough to stand on its own feet in either genre but comes together for an overall good experience, even if it might not be the best RPG to come out recently.
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Jan 8, 2024If you've eaten too much after this year's extraordinary role-playing buffet, you can easily let this serving go by in the first instance, but if you have an appetite for more and an interest in the universe, Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader is definitely worth a recommendation.
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Jan 3, 2024At last W40K universe has a CRPG game. Even for those who are not W40K fans, this is a great game.
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Dec 18, 2023Warhammer 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.
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Dec 15, 2023Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an ultra crunchy, 130-hour space epic with excellent writing and combat, but unfortunately, also a lot of bugs.
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Dec 14, 2023One of the best video games ever created about the Games Workshop universe.
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Dec 14, 2023The massive isometric RPG from the popular universe is primarily very controversial. It offers rich content, but some elements in the game are impractical and unnecessarily complicated. Even so, Rogue Trader deserves the attention of fans of the genre.
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Dec 14, 2023Warhammer 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.
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Dec 6, 2023If 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.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader nails the gory battles and gloomy atmosphere of its source material, but sometimes feels too big for its own good. Not everyone will enjoy Rogue Trader’s meticulous depth, but those who have the patience to trawl through bugs and over-complicated menus will be rewarded with an intergalactic epic.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 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.
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Dec 6, 2023This is the Warhammer 40,000 experience that I’ve wanted from a video game for two decades. A game that gleefully wallows in the medieval futurism of its setting. A game that isn’t about winning wars on the battlefield, but focuses on all of the grim-dark insanity that goes on behind it all.
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Dec 6, 2023With 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. However, while the lack of innovation isn't a major setback thanks to its high-quality campaign, the presence of bugs and frustrating mechanics prevents it from being a must-have for all RPG enthusiasts, limiting its appeal beyond Warhammer 40,000 and Owlcat Games fans.
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Dec 6, 2023Rogue Trader delivers everything you'd expect from an RPG set in the vast Warhammer 40,000 universe. A dark atmosphere, numerous cruel choices, excellent companions, exploration of the galaxy and its dangers, good tactical combat and even some rather successful space battles. Realization is also quite good for a game of this genre, but it's far from mainstream, with a lot of text to read on the one hand and daunting character progression on the other. Our biggest regret is that, like many other games, Rogue Trader will probably come out full of bugs that will take a while to resolve.
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Dec 27, 2023The well-made adaptation of the Rogue Trader setting is essentially a must-have for RPG fans, but unfortunately suffers from too many bugs.
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Game World Navigator MagazineApr 23, 2024Rogue Trader has some serious bad luck coming out so soon after Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a good story-driven game with meaningful choices, memorable characters, brutal battles and rich character-building system. But it’s hard to get into it after experiencing the colorful and user-friendly world of BG3. [Issue#263, p.72]
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Jan 9, 2024As it stands now, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is good. The story is interesting, the quests are plentiful, the characters are well rounded, and there's plenty of depth in the RPG systems. The game is also flawed. The attack roll system can produce infuriating results if you aren't thinking with dice in mind, the quests can feel too similar in the late game, and the lore is awesome but so dense that the learning curve for newcomers is rather steep. It's also very buggy, but at least that part is getting ironed out by the day. Despite that, the game is fine as-is, but based on Owlcat's track record, if you give the developer a little more time to fix up the game, it can be one of the highlights in a year that's already packed with great RPGs.
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Dec 24, 2023Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader is a huge, deep, vast, sprawling CRPG that's sometimes a little too ambitious for its own good.
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Dec 14, 2023Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader does a great job of putting you in the shoes of space royalty. You travel around galaxies and explore new areas while addressing issues that plague your rule. Combat is strategic and encourages you to use the strengths of your companions. Exploring new galaxies and harvesting resources immerses you in the role of Rogue Trader, encouraging you to be the ruler you want to be. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of information to learn for players new to Warhammer 40K and the maps aren’t very helpful. But if you are willing to spend the time to learn and experiment, there’s a fun strategy RPG waiting to be explored.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader delivers a solid option for players who are looking to lose themselves in the darkness of the franchise’s universe.
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Jan 16, 2024Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader was, besides Baldur’s Gate 3, my most anticipated game of 2023. Owlcat did an amazing job on Wrath of the Righteous and I expected that they would nail the Rogue Trader fantasy. Unfortunately, a lot of changes, bugs and a severe lack of voice acting completely ejects me from the immersion that is necessary for any 40k game. The deep progression system, while very confusing and not beginner-friendly, makes for a unique playthrough each time, but the very slow and boring combat hinders the pacing of a somewhat great CRPG.
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Dec 11, 2023Warhammer 40,000 is such a great universe and being a Rogue Trader is probably one of the coolest experiences you can have in it – as such, I really want to love this game and want it to succeed, especially after Baldur’s Gate 3 brought such momentum to the genre. Owlcat has failed, for me at least, to make the most of this opportunity. I have confidence that this game will be a fantastic CRPG a year from now, if the developer puts in the effort to calm the machine spirits, but at the moment I simply can’t heartily recommend it to anyone that isn’t a fan of the studio’s previous games or a fellow Warhammer 40,000 nut, and that’s really a shame. I hate that I can’t stop playing it. Slaanesh is making me do it, I swear.
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Dec 8, 2023Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader is an excellent title for those looking to dabble their strategic toes into an ocean of lore. Mixing different factions from the franchise with a deep character customization menu creates a fulfilling and immersive experience. It may be difficult to get into at first, but with enough time and reading you'll be commanding the battlefield like a champion of the God Emperor himself!
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers a dream CRPG for Warhammer fans if you can get past its bugs.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an audacious love letter to Games Workshop’s dystopian sci-fi setting, offering a bleak yet compelling portrait of the iconic universe. However, engaging combat and gripping decision points are let down by abundant bugs and a mechanical depth that can be off-putting at times.
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Dec 6, 2023Warhammer 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.
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Dec 6, 2023Rogue Trader gets 40K's atmosphere right, but it's buggy and the rules are a mess.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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Dec 22, 2023Another fantastic CRPG from Pathfinder's creators, and is also one of the best Warhammer 40K games ever. [Recommended]
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Dec 6, 2023Rogue Trader is a dense, vast game, and much of it has clearly been crafted with love for the expansive lore of the 40K canon. While there are small annoyances and clunky features along the way, the political intrigue, cast of characters, and moral choices have me hooked. For 40K fans, this is a rare treat — a game that digs past the heroic facade of bolters and battles and taps into the grimdark dystopia that makes this particular sci-fi setting so damn compelling. [Impressions]
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Dec 6, 2023Had I tried to write up Rogue Trader for embargo, I suspect I would have disliked it a lot more. Much as I try to distance myself from pressures cultivated by review conditions, having a game this gigantic lobbed at your calendar inevitably leads to burnout and impatience. Rogue Trader is a lot more entertaining when you can dip in as you please, providing you keep copious notes, but even then, there will be moments when you feel overwhelmed. The game’s appetite for the pomp and pageantry of Warhammer 40,000 is at once its best and worst quality. Sometimes, it’s a gorgeously Gothic gateau noir that teems with strange and different flavours, such that you can spend hours guessing at the ingredients. But sometimes the flavours obliterate each other, and you just feel like you’re trying to swallow a cathedral.