Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader's Premise Explained

Summary

Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader breaks away from the typical space marine shooter format and explores a different genre, providing a unique and under-explored perspective within the franchise's world and lore.
Unlike the usual focus on super soldiers, Rogue Trader puts players in the role of wealthy traders with special privileges, tasked with discovering valuable resources and artifacts to benefit the Imperium of Man while making a profit.
With gameplay inspired by tabletop RPGs, Rogue Trader offers a party-based isometric CRPG experience with turn-based combat, branching quests, and a heavier emphasis on commerce and investigation, providing fans with an alternative to traditional FPS entries in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Warhammer 40K traces its history back to the early days of tabletop gaming. Set in the "grim darkness of the far future, where there is only war," the franchise has one of the most elaborate and deeply established settings in science-fiction, having had decades to build its world and lore. There have also been a number of Warhammer 40K videogame adaptations, as the iconography and idea of hulking space marines clad in massive power armor wielding incredibly powerful super-weapons against equally terrifying aliens, demons, and more lends itself well to a gaming experience.

A majority of these titles see players stepping into the shoes of said space marines, blasting the threats to humanity to bits in fast-paced action, often in the FPS genre. Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, though, skirts this standard fare and instead thrusts players into interesting and under-explored territory in terms of both character and genre. Rogue Trader's setup marches to a different beat, and thus offers a unique window into some of WH 40K's more obscure aspects via a lesser-worn genre.

There is also a WH 40K television series in the works, with Henry Cavill attached to the project.

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By Andy Chapman

Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader Isn't a Traditional Space Marine Shooter

Warhammer 40K's Usual Genre Suspect

The nature of the Warhammer 40K IP matches well on the surface with an FPS and seems an easy choice of genre. Just as some recent examples, 2022's WH 40K: Darktide was a frantic Left 4 Dead- style co-op shooter. Warhammer 40K: Boltgun is a retro boomer shooter that released earlier in 2023, reminiscent of Doom and Duke Nukem.

These are only two of the latest titles that married WH 40K to an FPS structure, and there have been many previous ones that did the same. This is not to say that FPS isn't a good fit for 40K games, as it certainly can create some viscerally satisfying experiences. But given the vast history and lore of WH 40K, along with its tabletop wargame/RPG roots, there are many opportunities to expand beyond, which is precisely what Rogue Trader does.

Another upcoming WH 40K title, Space Marine 2, was recently delayed to Q2 of 2024.

Rogue Trader's Premise Splits From Warhammer 40K Standards

While it is firmly grounded in the familiar grim-dark world of Warhammer 40K, Rogue Trader's framework is more unconventional, and sees players taking on a role that isn't often represented. Rogue traders as a faction are not zealous super soldiers, but rather members of wealthy family estates in charge of mercantile operations in the service of the Empire.

They are given special status to explore and access otherwise off-limits and dangerous areas. Living and working in city-sized spaceships, their mission is to seek out valuable resources and lost artifacts across various planets and galaxies that would be beneficial to the efforts of the Imperium of Man, while making a personal profit along the way. This is a far cry from the usual space marine fare.

On the gameplay side, Rogue Trader harkens back to its tabletop origins. As an isometric party-based CRPG, it shares much in common with titles like XCOM, Wasteland, and Pillars of Eternity regarding its systems, mechanics, and narrative or quest design. The background choices in WH 40K: Rogue Trader reflect a more diverse range, showcasing many angles aside from the oft-seen marine one.

Though it includes combat similar to the above titles, Rogue Trader also places a heavier focus on the commerce and investigative elements of WH 40K alongside extensively branching quests, providing a breadth of choice in player agency. Fans looking for a WH 40K game that offers an alternative to more traditional FPS entries may find themselves intrigued by what Rogue Trader has to offer.

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