14 DAY TRIAL // Gang members with bladed weapons slash in vain at my warrior, who parries their attacks. They are out of cover, which allows my Techpriest and Navigator to take them down from long range, before using their own skills to heal allies and boost their damage.
My own character is in the melee, dodging enemy attacks and moving toward an enemy sniper that can pose long-term problems. On the way, she launches a grenade at a cluster of opponents and uses her skills to find and exploit weaknesses in other enemies. I will end this fight with no casualties of my own and a solid loot haul.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is both developed and published by Owlcat Games. I played an alpha version of it on Steam. The game is an ambitious mix of role-playing, tactical combat, ship battles, and planetary exploration.
The story starts with the player character suddenly thrust into the role of Rogue Trader in the Koronus Expanse. This area of space is theoretically under the control of the Imperium of Man. But because of the Maw and the weird nature of the Warp, central control is limited and a number of factions are vying to consolidate power.
Gamers need to look to their own systems, purging heretics and managing their output. The Rogue Trader title is not all about commerce. The Lord-Captain controls a powerful voidship and has a range of companions, including a Techpriest, an Adepta Sororitas, a volatile Psyker, and more. The game’s writing adopts the pompous eloquence of Warhammer but also has touches of irony and humor.
The game is focused on exploration and discovery. The voidship is the home base, giving players a way to move from system to system and evaluate planets for resources and encounters. The Warp is dangerous and shifting, which means players have to discover routes by scanning and then evaluate the danger they put the ship in when moving from one system to another.
The ship will also engage in combat with enemies, using a turn-based system with abilities for crew members. Battles are turn-based and involve solid positioning, good use of shields, and firing arcs.
Certain locations present short text-only adventures for the player to engage with. Others allow for exploration and interactions, featuring the main character and a party of companions. There are plenty of conversations and pretty often violence becomes necessary.
When this happens Rogue Trader delivers complex tactical battles. Characters can move and attack once during their turn. But much of the depth comes from the range of special abilities. They can weaken enemies, boost allies, add extra actions, and more.
The game does a good job of capturing the weirdness of the universe it’s working in. I like how its mechanics interact and I look forward to exploring the backstories of some of the companions and working on their personal quests.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader looks solid, given the ambition and the theme. Don’t expect a focus on particle effects and massively detailed models. But all characters have well-defined looks and the game understands and reflects the weirdness of the universe. The system exploration sections could use an extra coat of paint. The sound design is also good, with music that enhances the atmosphere and crunchy combat effects.
Conclusion
Some of the systems might seem a little underdeveloped but they combine to offer a unique take on Warhammer 40,000. I had to stop myself from playing too much of Rogue Trader in its current alpha state because I plan to spend a lot of time with it when the 1.0 version arrives.
A preview code was provided by the publisher.
