OwlCat Games, a Cypriot development house with team of developers united by the love of RPGswill allow this June 1 to try for the first time the Beta of their new game, title that we of GamesVillage we had the pleasure of trying a preview, that is Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader. It’s about their third game since Pathfinder: Kingmaker e Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous but their first is the first CRPG set in the legendary grim darkness of Warhammer 40K’s far future. It’s not the first time that the public has tried Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader, in fact on December 7, 2022 OwlCat Games released an alpha version of the game. The game was showcased during the PC Gaming Show 2023 Preview on November 17, 2022 giving viewers a taste of what it truly means to be a Rogue Trader. Along with the trailer, the Steam wishlists for the highly anticipated title have been opened.
What is Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader and above all what is Warhammer 40K?
Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader is a turn-based CRPG set in the grim darkness of the distant future. The player will take on the role of a Rogue Trader, scion of an ancient dynasty of audacious corsairs, who reigns over his own merchant empire and explores the fringes of imperial space with the blessing of the Emperor himself. Thanks to their Warrant of Trade, the Rogue Trader is endowed with privileges and power beyond imagination, as well as the task of expanding the borders of the Imperium. At their disposal is a gigantic vacuum of immense power and countless servants and staff ready to do their lord’s bidding. For those who don’t know Warhammer 40K, it is the sci-fi version of Warhammer Fantasy; the first allows for a game related to the concept of skirmish and modern warfare, and uses more advanced weapons and tactics than the fantasy version.
It focuses on a setting that draws inspiration from many stereotypes of sci-fi and adventure fiction. The game revolves around 1:65 scale i.e. 28–32 mm high miniatures produced by Citadel Miniatures, representing soldiers, creatures and war machines. The first edition of the game, called Rogue Trader, was published in 1987. The person responsible for drafting the original rules was Rick Priestley. This first version was all about simulating small battles between relatively small squads of toy soldiers. The world of Warhammer 40K is a gothic sci-fi world. The central and most famous element of the Warhammer 40K universe are the Space Marines, anachronistic combination of sci-fi super-soldiers and medieval monk-knights, among the best soldiers of the Imperium of Humanitya dystopian and decadent version of the “classic” intergalactic states and undisputed protagonists of the scenario.
How do I start Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader Beta?
Beta, unlike Alpha, starts at the beginning. In fact starting a new game, the game grants the player a little explanation of the world and setting which allows even those who don’t know much about the world of Warhammer 40K to still be able to immerse themselves in their setting. Then we move on to character creation, Owlcat Games allowed us to be able to choose between 3 types of classes already created for the public:
They’re kiddingwhich represents the archetype of soldierequipped with powerful ranged weapons and skills that revolve around increasing one’s firepower and repositioning.Darriuswhich represents the archetype of the adeptequipped with a short-range pistol ma armed in turn with unique abilities to allow you to hit enemies with crowd control or damage them.Bahardorwhich represents the archetype of warriorequipped with a powerful melee weapon and possesses abilities that increase his physical strength, endurance and other abilities that allow him to close the distance against enemies.
The classes are well balanced and perfect for introducing us to the game world, each one reflects a different type of game so that each player can choose the one that best suits him. In addition, in case you want to have something more personal, Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader also allows you to create a custom character so you can personally choose the class characteristics of your character.
Boltgun last shot fights
Does not exist CRPG without combat and, as presented in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader? Ground combat is turn-based and the player needs to use the huge range of skills in order to be successful in a confrontation. To move within combat, characters must use i Movement Point (Movement Points) or use a character skill to be able to dash to one point. To perform actions such as attacking, the character will use gli Action Points which serve to limit the actions that a player can do in a turn, for example shooting the pistol will cost 4 Action Points and after completing this action the player will have to either pass the turn or use some of his skills in order to regain Action Points. It’s a great way to make the game simple and not make a single turn last forever. Even before engaging in combat, the player is allowed to move his team as he prefers in order to allow him to create his own strategy for each encounter, but you have to pay attention to your positioning, as there is friendly fire within the game, so if an ally is within range of the weapon you have to look for a way around him otherwise you risk hitting him and negatively affect the course of combat.
Furthermore, within Warhammer 40K there will be not only fights on the ground, but also real space battles between ships. The movement and combat system is similar to land battles, but you have to consider the enormity of spaceships that need several maneuvers to turn considering the range of weapons at the same time, which makes the whole a huge strategic game about how best to position your spaceship to get even the slightest advantage over your opponent.
Test setup:
Test setup:GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
CPU: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11400F @ 2.60GHz
RAM; CORSAIR Vengeance RGB Pro Series 32GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 32GB
NVME SSD: 500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus
Operating System: Windows 11
Monitor: LG 24GL600 – F
Piattaforme: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Owlcat Games
Developers: Owlcat Games
Release date: TBA
Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader is a turn-based CRPG set in the grim darkness of the distant future. It is the first game set in the Warhammer universe by OwlCat Games and it takes us on an incredible adventure in a dark and ruthless universe where we will play the role of the Rogue Trader, a unique individual in the Imperium of Mankind, a human civilization that spans the galaxy that he lives through a dark age of eternal war and terror, besieged on all sides by xenos, heretics and existential horrors. He is a combination of independent explorer, star trader and powerful feudal lord, operating on the edge of known space, moving freely across the Imperium, beyond and above most Imperium laws and limits. . The setting and the suggestive music made this a very interesting experience. The fighting style between both humans and spaceships is very immersive, making the player choose his moves cautiously. The story that although simple is full of interesting characters in a vast and varied environment that makes the player even more involved with the human and political scenarios within it. I can’t wait to try the game again when it releases and see what else can be found inside.
