One of the buggiest, jankiest, most fun rpgs ive played in a good while.

[Is it good for people that are new to 40k?] [Short answer: Yes]
Owlcat really nailed the narrative, and I think the linchpin for that is because of their dedication and devotion to maintaining the spirit of 40k. Of course it doesn't have the time or depth to really introduce a player to all the nitty gritty bits of the canon but for an introduction this is easily one of the best ways to introduce a friend to the IP.

[Does it RPG well?][Short Answer: ...eh usually?]
Combat certainly isn't perfect. The pacing of loot is kind of all over the place. Why is a ton of the cool loot right at the end when there's like 2 fights to actually enjoy it? Not all archetypes are built equal, and leveling is...confusing to say the least. But when it all comes together I found myself having more fun in this combat system than compared to Owlcat's more well funded contemporaries such as Larian (not a dig at Larian, but just saying that Rogue Trader's combat really kicks ass when it works). Of course the disclaimer is "when it works" because there are just so many bugs...more on that later. Loot and mechanical synergy is the name of the game and when you utilize it to your benefit, oh boy, do you feel unstoppable. The momentum system caught me off guard initially but after I learned to lean into it the system felt a lot more fluid and interactable.

In my opinion, the game's weakest points are by far anything that Owlcat tries to introduce that isn't the beaten path equivalent of CRPG features. While novel, having to deal with settlement management every few void jumps got tedious, and voidship combat was...just pretty bad all around (for those looking to not interact with those encounters, Owlcat generously lets you scale difficulty of voidship battles seperately). Void travel itself is going to be hit or miss for a lot of people. I really liked it up until acts 4-5 where I stopped getting unique encounters and it got a bit boring.

Narratively, the peak of the game is certainly Act 2. Act 1 is strong, but Act 2 made me feel like a 12 year old on a new Minecraft world. Basically the whole Expanse opens up to you and you are free to explore to your choosing. Character arcs and dialogue, while occasionally weirdly timed, was basically perfect the whole way through. Characters were written very well and remained engaging the whole way through. Romance was also very approachable, and I felt like I had to give effort while never feeling as if I had to jump through hoops to get a smooch. I wish I could say Acts 4 and 5 were as strong as the first two, but it just feels like Owlcat rushed things too much at the end. Ideally, I would've appreciated another Act 2 situation of exploring and stretching my legs a bit more. But after 66 hours in one campaign I don't see it as a dealbreaker (for reference Divinity 2 took me a little over 100). I just wish it made me feel as excited to round the corner, but I understand that's really a feeling you can instill in a player once especially when funding doesn't let you make a whole new map for an Act. Act 5 is less of an act and more of a 2-4 hour epilogue with like 4 boss fights. Was it fun? Definitely. Did I want more? Definitely.

[Does the game run well?] [Short Answer: It's an Owlcat game]
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who plays Owlcat games that Rogue Trader...has bugs. A lot of em. A whole friggin lot of em. Some minor, like characters losing animations if you queue actions sometimes, and some more serious like quests not updating when they are necessary for progression. While it is far more stable than it was on launch, I still wouldn't expect a game that's completely bug-free. Maybe with the DLCs dropping that'll change for the better.

[So you do you even recommend it? Quit Yapping] [Short Answer: Yes]
Warhammer 40,000 games are historically a mixed bag. You have great heights like the Space Marine title (maybe even titles by the time you read this), but also some bad eggs. I am very happy to say that Rogue Trader most definitely falls into the former. It has its flaws, yes. But it simply oozes so much "Warhammer" that it made me almost start painting miniatures again (my wallet is happy I passed that Willpower check). If you are into RPGs, Warhammer, or are interested in any of the two things. I would definitely suggest picking it up.

-= The Emperor Protects! =-