Recent reviews by Arhurt

What a lovely puzzler that brings the best of a board game experience to a seamless and juicy package. The game feel is on point, music and feedback across the board make every click a joy. The game flows well and I was looking for more at the end of the demo!

I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed early on by all the options, not that I really needed to be that thorough as I beat every level on the first try and with the challenges... but my mental overload trying to keep track of each building potential upgrade and the sometimes sneaky rising costs meant that I usually had to remake plans for some unforseen cost I wasn't expecting.
Could there also be a way to kind of visualise the potential damage you'll do on the line? I kept stopping doing math to figure out how many upgrades I'd need and if I should bomb the line or not, but if that kind of mental stress and pressure is the goal, you nailed it!

Also, I have to make a special callout for the inclusion of the vegetarian mode! Love me some apples!

+++ Warhammer: Rogue Trader - A Love-Hate Odyssey in the Koronus Expanse+++
After 100+ hours and a rollercoaster of emotions, I've finally beaten the story of "Warhammer: Rogue Trader," and I'm left with conflicting thoughts that could spiral me in the clutches of the changer of ways with ease. Only faith in the emperor of the most dogmatic approach can let me recommend this game. But recommend it, I shall.
This game is a paradox, offering a deep dive into the life of a Rogue Trader, ready to chart your own way. this review is a tale of both adoration and frustration.

+++ The Highs +++
+ Narrative Brilliance +
The campaign and its conclusion are nothing short of perfection. The story captivates from start to finish, with a richness that beckons for another playthrough. Despite broken quests and clunky UI, there is a gem of a narrative to play through.
+ Grandiose Systems +
The game nails the feeling of being a true Rogue Trader, where wealth is more about influence and power than coin. It's a fresh take that I greatly appreciated and the sprawling scale of it is something to compliment. You go from bashing the heads of lowly rebels to negotiating and making diplomatic deals to commanding your starship into space battles and managing your colonies all in the same game, and they are all meaningful experiences that add to the aforementioned grandiose feeling. Well done.
+ Stunning Visuals and Environments +
Each of the hundreds of unique locations is a visual treat, brimming with detail and atmosphere. I wish I could go down to eye level on this game, the fixed camera doesn’t do it justice.
+ Engaging Combat and Strategy +
Once you crack the combat system, it's incredibly satisfying to dominate battles through tactical genius.
+ Meaningful Connections +
The relationships you build with your crew and the systems you interact with add a compelling depth to the game.
+ Varied Quests and Playthroughs +
The quests are thematic and engaging, offering distinct experiences based on your choices. Whether you're playing it safe or going full heretical, the game feels different each time.

+++ The Lows +++
+ Difficulty Spikes From Hell +
The game's difficulty can be as unpredictable as the Warp, forcing me to adjust settings just to keep my sanity intact.
(My rule of thumb was 3 unfair reloads = “story” difficulty for the first round of combat)
+ Overwhelming Complexity +
Between leveling, gear selection, and inventory management, the game sometimes felt more like a chore than an adventure. The cheap non-existent icons and confusing (or just lacking) skill descriptions don’t help.
+ Clunky User Experience +
Navigating the game's interfaces often felt like battling an ancient tech-priest's worst design, detracting from the overall experience.
+ Loot Logic That Breaks Immersion +
For a game that excellently captures the essence of being above mere monetary concerns, having to sift through trash for loot felt disappointingly out of place.
+ Lack of Seamless Transitions +
The jarring shifts between scenes, like going from planet to ship, unnecessarily broke the immersion.
+ Broken everything +
The quest bugs are the worst because you never truly know if it is a legitimate quest state and you just lack context or if it's truly broken. It didn’t stop me from enjoying my 100+ hours with it, but I just had to get into a “war is hell” mentality and let go of my desire to have my beautiful quest log clean and finished.

+++ Final Verdict +++
"Warhammer: Rogue Trader" is a game of contrasts and grandiose ambition. It masterfully captures the essence of the Warhammer 40k universe, offering an immersive experience of life as a Rogue Trader with a narrative depth that's rare in the gaming world. However, it's a journey marred by frustrating gameplay mechanics and design choices that can test your patience.
For fans of the 40k lore who dream of navigating the complex life of a Rogue Trader, this game offers a rich, thematic experience that's hard to find elsewhere. Be warned, though: for every moment of awe and victory, there's a potential frustration waiting around the corner. Despite its flaws, I recommend "Warhammer: Rogue Trader" to those willing to embrace its chaotic blend of brilliance and bafflement. It's a love-hate relationship, but for a 40k enthusiast, it's an odyssey worth undertaking and echoes the complex bureaucracy of the verse, it feels like this would be a game made by the administratum itself!

I loved a lot about Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus but cannot overlook its flaws. As such I cannot recommend this game at this time and hopefully see some of my Cons addressed by the developer as they definetely feel like low-hanging fruit for future balance updates.

Pros:
- A true tribute to 40k universe
- Good story, dialogue and characters
- Great art with OK graphics, nice special effects and animation
- Great deal of unit customization and freedom to experiment
- Cognition system is interesting and engaging, rewarding to play with

Cons:
- Too easy and unchallenging after you get a few missions in
- Bad mission balance feels like a missed opportunity
- Procedural/Random nature of missions leads to easy encounters too often
- Badly designed boss encounters

The first few hours of the game feel amazing: The Necrons hit hard and your lack of resources makes even the simplest encounters feel like an uphill battle. As you unlock more tech-priests and get better weapons, though, every mission becomes a cakewalk. Enemies are slow, dumb and predictable. Their stat scaling never really overcoming the easily exploitable Cognition system. Missions become a matter of efficiency and I personally had to set myself the goal of finishing the mission with Zero damage on every Techpriest to find it anything enjoyable. It feels that a few more enemies or even just making them faster and more reactive (overwatch?) could make missions much more challenging and rewarding to beat.

The bosses all feel like early concepts badly implemented. Not once did I first-turn defeat a boss alpha striking with two or three of my decked-out techpriests. I wish bosses had more attacks and actions, activating several times through the course of a single fight. Their concepts felt interesting but badly executed.

All this to say a future balance patch can solve all the issues with the game. Everything else is great and feels like a smart move, from the simple animated character portraites and weird machine-sounds that make dialog to the great UI navigation, the product feels solid. You really do feel like part of the Mechanicus and the storyline and universe are depicted in a great and enjoyable format with hand-made missions and events.

It sadly all falls apart when there is no challenge and the game becomes tedious as you wipe all resistance with little effort.