by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
… an intriguing and engaging story expansion that offers a brilliant new character, a solid 15 hours of extra story content and a bunch of new weapons, armour and loot to collect.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader launched late in 2023 to critical and fan acclaim. The concept of setting a CRPG in the grimdark universe seemed like such a great concept that it felt bizarre that no one had done it before, and the end result was a game with plenty to recommend. Oh sure, it was beset by a few bugs and fiddly systems, but generally speaking, Rogue Trader was a success. Now, almost a year later, we have the first piece of DLC, Void Shadows, and the result is an already massive game being expanded in clever and unexpected ways.
Owlcat Games are known for their prolific, expansive DLC, and Void Shadows is no exception. However, you might wonder how on earth a 100-150 hour main campaign is embiggened without feeling bloated. In the case of Void Shadows, the story comes from within your very own ship. Turns out that your player generated Rogue Trader’s space vessel has within its bowels a Death Cult, a cadre of glassy-eyed lunatics who kill and die in the name of the Emperor. In fact, one of these happy stabbers, Kibellah, would quite like to join your retinue and assist in your quest and a few of her own.
What Void Shadows absolutely nails is one of the most important aspects of 40K: scale. The fact that your ship is so mind-meltingly massive that it can house an entire society of killers, rogues, cultists and heretics is so fascinating that it propels most of the new story content in really intriguing ways. The other big plus is Kibellah herself, with her blood-drenched, fast moving combat style, she will almost certainly become a valuable part of your Rogue Trader’s party and a romanceable character to boot, if doom goths float your boat (and let’s be real, they probably do).
On the slender downside, this DLC weaves itself in with the main story, so the best way to experience it, is to start another playthrough and experience it throughout, mainly in chapters two and four. This might be an issue for those without the time to begin another run, but we recommend you do, as many of the bugs that plagued the game at launch have been exterminated and you’re likely to find the experience a much smoother one.
Just make sure to set aside 100+ hours, though.
Ultimately, Void Shadows is an intriguing and engaging story expansion that offers a brilliant new character, a solid 15 hours of extra story content and a bunch of new weapons, armour and loot to collect. Rogue Trader is still a pretty niche proposition, but if you’re one of those who has already enjoyed the likes of Space Marine 2 and want to spend more time in that horrific grimdark future, you’ll love Void Shadows as much as Horus loves heresy.
