As a fan of Warhammer 40k and CRPGs, I enjoyed Rogue Trader. It was the first Owlcat game I actually finished, but I just can't recommend it to anyone. Because this game is a mess. Here are my thoughts right after reaching the end for the second time.
Let's start with presentation. I wasn't paying attention to the game during Beta stage, but it feels like Owlcat created "just enough" content to push it to release, and this feeling of "just enoughness" never left me. There's lack of... everything, really:
-GFX assets
What's the difference between several unique Medium Armor sets you have? They share the same icon - you have to check the tooltip.
Most of the talents either have no picture at all or share the same one - once again, you gotta check the tooltips.
-Voiceover
In-battle barks are reused so often they became memes inside the community.
Party banter is just... there, existing in a vacuum.
Most dialogues are silent until they are suddenly not. This one hurts because VAs did a pretty good job (especially with Cassia and Argenta), but the amount of spoken lines is so small one can't help but wonder why Owlcat even bothered.
-Polish
Goofy animations, a-posing, interface bugs are so prominent you will learn to ignore them.
It's not like those are game-breaking critical issues, but this really sets the tone of the game.
Let's get to the design.
-It's overwhelming, but also simplistic
The amount of archetypes is ridiculously small. For a good chunk of a game you will have 2 or 3 core abilities to rely upon, but they are surrounded by a plethora of talents to choose from. Talents bombard you with numbers and complex modifiers, making early leveling a chore with unobvious payoff. But that does not matter, because...
-Balance is non-existent
You will eventually pick up 90% of all available talents and start clearing rooms before Turn 1 is concluded. The game tries to counter it by introducing fatter enemies with bullshit abilities.
Story.
-Vastness of a sea, depth of a puddle
There're lots of things happening on the background during your journey and everything neatly ties up in the end, but the way the plot is presented is kinda messy and disjointed.
Your companions' character arcs happen in their own little bubbles and abruptly end without any satisfactory closure.
Reactivity withers up and dies during act 2. World type? Previous Career? Triumph? Darkest Hour? Most of the decisions? Previous events? Rarely (if ever) brought up until the ending slides begin to roll.
It seems that Owlcat had some interesting ideas, but in attempts to make them work they ran out of money and/or time. Still, I think their recreation of Warhammer universe was pretty spot-on, even if some enemies were just too ridiculous for a mere human Rogue Trader. Locations were small, but packed with little things and were pleasant to look at. Sound design was also great. But the rest is... yeah.
Let's start with presentation. I wasn't paying attention to the game during Beta stage, but it feels like Owlcat created "just enough" content to push it to release, and this feeling of "just enoughness" never left me. There's lack of... everything, really:
-GFX assets
What's the difference between several unique Medium Armor sets you have? They share the same icon - you have to check the tooltip.
Most of the talents either have no picture at all or share the same one - once again, you gotta check the tooltips.
-Voiceover
In-battle barks are reused so often they became memes inside the community.
Party banter is just... there, existing in a vacuum.
Most dialogues are silent until they are suddenly not. This one hurts because VAs did a pretty good job (especially with Cassia and Argenta), but the amount of spoken lines is so small one can't help but wonder why Owlcat even bothered.
-Polish
Goofy animations, a-posing, interface bugs are so prominent you will learn to ignore them.
It's not like those are game-breaking critical issues, but this really sets the tone of the game.
Let's get to the design.
-It's overwhelming, but also simplistic
The amount of archetypes is ridiculously small. For a good chunk of a game you will have 2 or 3 core abilities to rely upon, but they are surrounded by a plethora of talents to choose from. Talents bombard you with numbers and complex modifiers, making early leveling a chore with unobvious payoff. But that does not matter, because...
-Balance is non-existent
You will eventually pick up 90% of all available talents and start clearing rooms before Turn 1 is concluded. The game tries to counter it by introducing fatter enemies with bullshit abilities.
Story.
-Vastness of a sea, depth of a puddle
There're lots of things happening on the background during your journey and everything neatly ties up in the end, but the way the plot is presented is kinda messy and disjointed.
Your companions' character arcs happen in their own little bubbles and abruptly end without any satisfactory closure.
Reactivity withers up and dies during act 2. World type? Previous Career? Triumph? Darkest Hour? Most of the decisions? Previous events? Rarely (if ever) brought up until the ending slides begin to roll.
It seems that Owlcat had some interesting ideas, but in attempts to make them work they ran out of money and/or time. Still, I think their recreation of Warhammer universe was pretty spot-on, even if some enemies were just too ridiculous for a mere human Rogue Trader. Locations were small, but packed with little things and were pleasant to look at. Sound design was also great. But the rest is... yeah.