Over a week ago, developer Owlcat Games released the premium DLC for turn-based cRPG Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the first out of the two announced. You can purchase Void Shadows separately or acquire it as a part of the Season Pass, which would also grant access to the other DLC, Lex Imperialis, when it becomes available in December 2024.
Those who have played Owlcat’s previous works, Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, know that the studio does not have a stellar record when it comes to the DLC. Most of the additions released for Pathfinder either followed a separate cast of characters, or were of a roguelike genre. There are a couple of notable exceptions, of course, but the facts remain: previous DLCs had been met with various levels of welcome, never really getting everyone’s love at once.
However, you’d be pleased to know that the studio used all previously gained experience, learned their lessons from player feedback, leveled up, and reached new heights with this DLC. Void Shadows is hands down the best expansion produced by Owlcat Games so far, and a must-have for anyone who enjoyed Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, or plans to try out the game in the future.
But what sets it apart from previous creations of the studio? Read on to find out, but beware: there are some spoilers to the overall outline of the DLC, without diving too deep as to the identity of the bosses you will encounter, endings, etc.
This is our (very late, but I had to beat the game anew) Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader – Void Shadows DLC review.
On paper, here’s what the DLC contains: two new archetypes, a new companion with her own romance and personal quest chain, new enemies, new areas, and the story that’s integrated into the main narrative. All in all, about 15 hours of new content, as stated by Owlcats themselves.
All true, and you don’t have to start a new game to enjoy the DLC. You can load your saved game from somewhere after Commorragh, recruit the new companion Kibellah, and experience the storyline without interruptions before jumping into the endgame. However, you will only scratch the surface of what the DLC and the major patches since the launch have to offer.
Either with the DLC, or the major patch that goes with it, the game introduced many new little nods to your Rogue Trader’s previous actions as well as your Origin & Darkest Hour. My Noble that experienced the Shadow of Torment was not having a good time at basically any point though the campaign. Compared to the two, the Triumph (such as Apex of Brilliance) seems to have received fewer mentions.
In addition to Kibellah, your own Lord Captain can also try the new archetypes: Bladedancer and Executioner (also available to Warrior, thus to Abelard). It is a swift, agile, melee-based Archetype that properly utilizes damage over time and that will deliver pain to your enemies up close and personal. It is also the most fun I’ve had with Rogue Trader’s melee combat, and that includes immortal Abelard punching eldritch horrors in the face to introduce Lord Captain.
Kibellah herself is also one of the earlier characters to join your retinue as soon as Chapter 1. If you are loading a save set later in the game, there will be a brief lore acknowledgement provided as to why you haven’t encountered the cult of the Bloodspun Web before.
Gaining a new companion so soon naturally means that there will be a lot of new interactions between her and the rest of the crew, as well as her personal reactions to the main events and side quests that you won’t see otherwise. Just bringing Kibellah to Footfall to attend the cremation of the old pirate is worth starting a new game for.
It also somewhat changes the balance when it comes to the earned experience and gear, giving you a kickstart in early game and ensuring you can easily unlock the Exemplar archetype by the time you get to Chapter 3, get some extra stats, which makes the experience there much smoother. You can also bring Kibellah with you, of course, both to know her better and to have a personal holy assassin ready to tear your enemies apart at your disposal.
As the Rogue Trader of the Von Valancius dynasty, your character swiftly inherits the Voidship from the dearly departed Theodora. It is a literal flying fortress, with hundreds of thousands of people toiling day and night to ensure that it can withstand traveling through the Warp and continue to function in the Realspace.
However, the base game limited the Lord Captain’s interactions with the crew outside your direct retinue and a couple of notable figures such as the High Factotum, making the scale feel much smaller in-game than it is on paper.
The DLC seeks to remedy that by introducing new important players from your ship’s staff such as the Astropath, the Master-at-Arms, the Infernus Master, the confessor, and more. You will also be able to visit new areas that were previously unavailable: Freight Line, Voidship Shrine, Astropathic Choir that has one of the best OSTs I’ve ever heard, and more that will unlock through Kibellah’s quest and the DLC’s storyline.
The new NPCs are not just there to stand around, not only do they actively participate in the DLC story, they will also have mini-events and side-quests that will show you day-to-day life of your Voidship and what your crew has to deal with. Some of these are also limited to the early game, such as the new Astropathic Station VX-02-537 in Chapter 1 (so before arriving on Footfall). These come with unique rewards, giving an extra incentive to start the DLC content as soon as possible.
Now that the pluses of starting a new game with the DLC content have been covered, let’s talk further about what Void Shadows have to offer, starting with the most noticeable: a new companion.
The DLC allows Rogue Traders to recruit Kibellah, the Second Spinner of the Bloodspun Web, a Death Cult sanctioned by Theodora that ruthlessly hunts spies, rebels, heretics, and other unsavory types that live on your Voidship. Sometimes they also ritualistically murder innocent people because their Tenets have pointed them out.
One might wonder: what is it that Kibellah can add to the party, in the narrative sense? The niche of a religious cultist, I mean, zealous daughter of the Emperor is already well-occupied by Argenta, there is a masochistic rogue-like fighter presented by Marazhai, and Lord Captain is well-guarded by Abelard and doesn’t really need an extra shadow to follow them around.
However, Kibellah is quite a unique mix of the traits above (and many more!) that feels distinct from any other companion. There is a certain death ideation that is unique only to her and not shared by others, she appreciates those who you’d think she might abhor, and is overall not what you’d expect from her.
Her personal quest allows you to explore the dealings of the Death Cult that exists on your ship, and is tied to the main storyline of the DLC. Which, in turn, is seamlessly integrated into the overall narrative and sheds some light on a hostile presence that’s been barely explored in the base game: Tyranids.
The base game had you run into the traces of these insectoid-like creatures a couple of times over your playthrough, such as running into a Genestealer in an abandoned bunker, and then encountering the “Ooops! All Exterminatus” storybook event on Dargonus related to a minor cult. This time, you will get a close and personal look as to how these monstrosities operate.
Without going into spoiler territory, Chapter 4 DLC content had been some of the most interesting that the game has to offer, with plenty of quite difficult encounters to boot. The events of the expansion and your decisions will get extra attention in the ending slides as well, so pick carefully!
To sum it up, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader – Void Shadows is the best DLC content produced by Owlcat Games up to date. It is seamlessly integrated into the base game, and expands the world in a multitude of ways: from new reactivity to new characters, zones, and story.
The developers have taken previous criticisms to heart, especially when it comes to the technical state of the game and the overall amount of bugs. Mostly, I ran into small visual glitches, with some of the more serious but not game-breaking bugs including Kibellah’s refusal to keep her helmet on, and one of her abilities routinely not dealing damage (had been fixed already).
If you were looking for a reason to try out Rogue Trader or to start another playthrough, there likely won’t be a better one until the release of Lex Imperialis, the second DLC, slated for December 2024.
Note: an early access key for the DLC was provided for the purposes of this review, but the author is also a verified owner of the game and the Season Pass.
Similar to:
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Wildcards
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous – The Last Sarkorians
