You know there’s something about an RPG that makes you want to keep coming back long after you’ve finished its main story. Maybe it’s the characters you’ve grown attached to, or or simply the feeling that there’s still another adventure waiting just around the corner. I’m not quite sure which. But, whatever the reason, the best RPGs have a way of making their worlds feel difficult to leave behind. Owlcat Games seems to understand this particularly well with Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Its upcoming final expansion, Processional of the Damned, is giving me another reason to appreciate the studio’s approach.
December 8 will mark the release of Processional of the Damned, Rogue Trader’s final DLC and major adventure. What interests me most about it is the way Owlcat has chosen to deliver their final voyage. The studio has consistently woven new content directly into the main story, and this new DLC is sits right at home with that philosophy. A final expansion should feel like one last gift to the people who have invested so much in a game, and Owlcat seems determined to make this one count.
One of the greatest pleasures of a sprawling RPG is watching its world gradually become familiar as you venture through it. Places that once gave you pause, become old stomping grounds. Notably too, well written companions start feeling like genuine friends, which sounds weird if you’ve never experience it. I’ve always found that sense of attachment to be one of the strongest reasons to revisit a game. The Koronus Expanse is an especially fitting setting for this, given how much room Rogue Trader gives players to explore its strange corners of the galaxy. There’s always another mystery to uncover, or another dangerous situation to stumble into, or another questionable decision waiting to be made.
Processional of the Damned gives players another opportunity to experience that feeling, introducing a new storyline and companion without pulling them away from the campaign they’ve already invested in. Stella’s arrival and the expedition into a massive graveyard of abandoned voidships sound like a suitably strange adventure for the setting, but I’m more interested in what her addition means for the overall experience. New companions are among the most exciting things an RPG can offer because they change the dynamic of an established party. Getting to know someone new and seeing their personality emerge through the journey can be just as rewarding as uncovering another major storyline or location.
The new content also gives more opportunities to experiment with your party, including a new melee-focused archetype and a Madness mechanic affecting companions. Those additions are certainly welcome, but they aren’t what makes this expansion particularly interesting to me. It’s the fact that players won’t have to wait until the end of the campaign to enjoy them. There’s a world of difference between adding another adventure after the main story and making the existing journey feel more complete. Owlcat has chosen the latter, and I think that’s exactly the right way to give Rogue Trader its final send-off.
RPG expansions sometimes feel like an excuse to revisit a successful game without necessarily adding much to what made the original experience special. Other times, they’re so substantial that they almost feel like entirely new games bolted onto an existing adventure. Neither approach is inherently wrong, but I’ve always appreciated developers who understand that continued support can be about more than simply giving players another destination to visit. A great expansion should make the world feel richer, and ideally leave the original experience better than it was before.
Owlcat has done something I wish more RPG developers would consider with Rogue Trader. By integrating its expansions throughout the main campaign, the studio has given players a reason to experience the adventure again with fresh content waiting along the way. It’s a surprisingly meaningful distinction. A new companion introduced halfway through a campaign has far more opportunity to become part of the player’s story than someone who only appears after everything else is finished. The same goes for additional quests and encounters that become part of the natural rhythm of an adventure. Rather than feeling like optional material stapled onto the end, the expansions become another part of the world players have already come to love.
With Dark Heresy on the horizon, there’s another adventure to look forward to, and I’m eager to see how Owlcat further builds upon its experience with Rogue Trader. Still, I don’t want the excitement surrounding its next project to overshadow what this game has accomplished. Not every game needs an endless stream of updates, but Rogue Trader makes a compelling case for allowing a great single-player experience to grow well beyond its original release. If Processional of the Damned really is the final chapter, Owlcat is giving its acclaimed CRPG exactly the kind of goodbye it deserves.
Are you fan of RPG expansions adding all new content to the original campaign? Do you prefer standalone additions at the beginning or end? Let us know your ideal expansion in the comment section below!
