The Warhammer Game I’ve Always Dreamed of Is Rogue Trader<br>

Games like Warhammer are hilarious. For obvious reasons, the most popular are the battlefield simulations. Your favorite units from the tabletop may now be played on screen in the Dawn of War and Total War series, and turn-based strategies are a terrific addition to games like Mechanicus and Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters. From the comfort of your sofa or gaming chair, it’s just like the game you play at your neighborhood game store.

And then there are your illusions about power. These are first- or third-person shooters, such as Boltgun to a lesser extent, Darktide, Necromunda, and Space Marine. Though the execution of these is more varied than that of their large-scale counterparts, Space Marine has established itself as a cult classic, Darktide offers some redeeming qualities for true 40k fans despite the awkward and obtrusive live-service elements, and Boltgun is a fun throwback to bygone eras.

I’m not really into any of these anymore. Although I enjoyed Darktide’s details, I am unable to add any more live-service games to my library, especially not ones this broken. Although Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters was fantastic, I wish there had been more of a story. When I was younger, I played Dawn of War for hundreds of hours, but these days, I try not to waste too much of my little spare time on it. The same goes for the tabletop game: I much prefer the boxed games from Games Workshop to the massive conflicts that occupied whole teenage weekends, with hundreds of figurines strewn all over my poor mother’s living room floor.




As I no longer play large-scale conflicts, I no longer acquire entire armies. I purchase single miniatures that catch my eye or pique my curiosity, then I paint them so I can show them off. I read Warhammer novels far more often than I paint Ork Boyz, which may indicate that I’m becoming older. And those are the stories I miss from both the screen and the tabletop: brave Inquisitors battling the Warp’s horrors and peculiar Ogryns making strange alliances.

Go ahead and play Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. This role-playing game, developed by Owlcat Games, is as literary dense as the majority of Dan Abnett’s books. There is also a ton of lore, backstories, and customization available. Oh, and if you want to, fighting as well. The Closed Beta of the game is just getting started, but so far it seems like the best Warhammer experience I’ve had in a long time.




I could write a whole article on the character creation, so I’ll start there. Along with the standard possibilities for scars, body proportions, and face forms, it also has the Warhammer flair of augmetic modifications and Imperial tattoos. Then, though, it includes a D&D backstory with a strong Warhammer theme, which influences the character’s abilities and stats as a Rogue Trader in addition to providing you a sense of the person you’re creating. Although character creators like this are frequent in role-playing games, this is the first instance of one that I’ve seen in Warhammer. You are quickly drawn into this universe by the backgrounds and how they affect your character’s powers, even though not all roleplaying options are complete (this is still in beta testing). These savory bios serve as the ideal introduction to Rogue Trader’s universe, regardless of your level of experience with Warhammer.

The tactical gameplay of Daemonhunter combined with the detail of Darktide is found in Rogue Trader. In a nutshell, the bleak splendor of your spacecraft’s cathedral is 40k, and the combat, which is based on abilities and grids, is tactically deep. There are still lots of ways to assist my party members who are more focused on fighting, even though my trader isn’t really skilled in this area. Rogue Trader resembles a 40k D&D mod with a rich lore overlay. It goes beyond simple reskining or hypothetical scenarios such as “what if Total War but Orcs” or “how about CoD but Space Marines.” It feels like a more genuine part of this world because, at its core, it is Warhammer.


Too frequently, Warhammer games overlook the fact that a large portion of us play for the setting rather than the fighting, but Rogue Trader does a fantastic job of both. It’s not nearly as radical or well-written as Halo Infinite, but it’s more Disco Elysium than Halo Infinite, and it doesn’t feel at all like a Warhammer game. I’m creating a 40,000 word novel on my own, using every conversation option. I am creating a 40k solar system with each trade I make. I’m achieving my 40k goals.