Owlcat Studios loves DLCs. Pathfinder: Kingmaker got several after its launch, then Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous got even more. They were varied and sufficiently different from one another, some of them were even stand-alone, having you experience the events that couldn’t have been possible with your main party.
But while this approach is interesting in and of itself, we always felt that addons that are integrated into the main story were always more interesting. We even asked Owlcat about this directly in our interview.
For Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the studio went the route of adding everything into the main campaign, which is very much appreciated.
Companions
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has already received two expansions: Void Shadows and Lex Imperialis. Both brought new storylines, quests, and locations, as well as a new playable companion each. Kibellah from the first DLC is a particular fan favorite due to her playstyle and… inclinations.
The Infinite Museion also gave us a new character – Eogunn Februs. He’s a tech priest unlike any other. We already had one working for us in Pasqal Haneuman, but unlike him, Eogunn is a much more outgoing person, eager to joke, laugh, and otherwise articulate his emotions, which is unlike any other servant of Omnissiah.
But his eccentricity isn’t limited to his jovial nature. He has a deeper, much more sinister layer to him. You see, the thing about most Tech Priests is that they claim that flesh is weak, and you need to augment yourself to better serve the Emperor and/or the Omnissiah (it’s not all that straightforward, long story). Eogunn takes this to such extremes that one could even reasonably accuse him of Heresy. Capital “H” Heresy.
Nevertheless, Eogunn is a very welcome addition to the team of mainly self-serious individuals, and can more than hold his own in combat. Just don’t expose him to the direct line of fire: he may be bulky and heavily armed, but he’ll keel over in just a few hits, as he’s mainly a backline support, unlike our axe-crazy Pasqal.
Surprises don’t end here in the Infinite Museion, as the accompanying patch 1.6 brings a long-awaited update to Uralon the Cruel, the Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, recruitable in the later stages of the main campaign. He’s now a fully-fledged companion with lots of changes, the ability to summon demons to his side, and lots of unique traits and items.
Story
The story of The Infinite Museion has us dive deep into possibly the best quest chain in the entire game. Unlike the previous two DLCs, the third addon gave us a direct link to the already established lore, expanding it and deepening the story of the von Valancius dynasty.
Void Shadows was a great DLC with a phenomenal character, and its questline was a very good exploration into Kibellah’s order, as well as the hidden threat that the Rogue Trader faced.
Lex Imperialis wasn’t as good, going in the direction of stacking things on top of the story in a bit of a clumsy way, even if the ultimate payoff was more than worth it.
The Infinite Museion is laser-focused on wasting zero time or resources on anything other than expanding the lore. If anything, that even felt somewhat jarring, but this could be attributed to having played most of the game before, with nary a mention of the events that kick-started the story of the DLC.
This, however, will not be a problem for someone starting the game fresh. The Infinite Museion is woven into the fabric of the game’s main story, and just like the previous two add-ons, it is available through several chapters.
The Necron Overlord Trazyn the Infinite, the owner of the titular Museion, is a great addition to the game’s already stellar character list. He’s as much of a deviation from the norm as Eogunn, but in a different, even more interesting way.
I’d hate to spoil any bit of the DLC’s story, but I would definitely recommend getting ready for something other than just a brutal and unfeeling Necron killing machine.
Gameplay
Gameplay is where The Infinite Museion truly shines, as it adds a very important and game-changing system to an already systems-heavy game. However, the difference it makes cannot be overstated.
I’m talking about the new Augments system. You see, Eogunn is not just an eager fighter, he’s somewhat of a… vivisectionist, and knows the ins and outs of the human body. So with his help, you can add a plethora of cybernetic augments to your party members. Some of the companions that had these enhancements before the addition of this system will now be able to fully utilize them with all their upsides and downsides.
Yes, these Augments don’t just make you stronger. They invariably come with some kind of negative effects on top of the positive ones. On top of this, they make you more susceptible and vulnerable to any kind of shock damage.
But positives heavily outweigh the negatives, as the Augments you will be finding throughout the game could be playstyle-altering, even allowing you to do crazy, previously unheard of stuff.
Eogunn, of course, has his own set of already-equipped augments, and Pasqal, also being a Tech Priest, follows suit.
The Augments system is the most upheavaling change that has happened to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader since its release, even bigger than the addition of Blade Dancer and Executioner along with Kibellah.
Many of the older builds will need adjusting, and several new ones will surely appear when the community takes a deeper look.
Presentation
The Infinite Museion is easily the most cinematic piece of content Owlcat has ever done, the upcoming Expanse game notwithstanding. Here, we get several high-production-value cutscenes that push the in-game engine to its very limit while doing Warhammer 40,000 the justice it deserves: Grandiosity, required pretentiousness, and expected brutality all in one.
Unfortunately, during my playthrough of the DLC content, I encountered several bugs and performance issues, but it seems like the developers were on top of it, and after downloading the retail version patch, the game stabilized.
The overall impression I got is that the Infinite Museion DLC is a major practice run for what the studio can do in its upcoming Warhammer 40,000 game, Dark Heresy. Better quests, better visuals, more varied and deeper gameplay elements – it’s not often that you see stuff like this added in the third out of four planned DLCs.
If you want more Rogue Trader, or if you haven’t started your journey in the Koronus Expanse yet, absolutely get this DLC.
9 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - DLC 3: The Infinite Museion review Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - DLC 3: The Infinite Museion is another great entry in the Owlcat's DLC portfolio. It expands on the Rogue Trader dynasty lore and gives us the biggest gameplay shakeup yet. Pros
- Great storyline that expands the lore.
- Phenomenal system and gameplay changes.
- Cool boss battles.
- Improved cinematic presentation.
- Expanded Heretical options.
Cons
- Some of the late levels are a bit tedious to complete.
- Some minor bugs.
A copy of this DLC was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PC.
