This evaluate covers the single-player marketing campaign of Homeworld 3. For ideas on the multiplayer skirmish and Conflict Video games co-op mode, see the Homeworld 3 Multiplayer evaluate.
Contemplating Homeworld 2 got here out greater than 20 years in the past (and was remastered in 2015) it’s a welcome shock how little needed to change – and the way little complexity needed to be sacrificed – to convey this basic, large-scale area technique gameplay as much as trendy requirements and ship a visually spectacular and mechanically diversified marketing campaign. Constructing and controlling an armada of strike craft, frigates, and capital ships in full 3D area is actually a bit tricker to wrap your head round than most RTS video games, however due to the power to pause and provides orders at any time you’ll be able to develop into command at your individual tempo. The payoff is greater than value it, and this marketing campaign invitations you to embrace your internal Admiral Akbar and stroll into traps simply to blast your method out.
Utilizing a now well-worn template for soft-rebooting a sequence, this story follows a brand-new character who should search out the unique protagonist after they go lacking – on this occasion, 20 years prior. Regardless of that cliche, Imogen S’jet’s seek for solutions about what occurred to Karan S’jet’s misplaced fleet is delivered with convincing emotion. That features some very affordable battle between her and her second in command as he tries to maintain her on the duty of monitoring down the looming new risk to Hiigara and the galaxy at massive they have been despatched out after within the first place.
Thanks largely to its totally animated cinematics (versus the Homeworld sequence’ conventional hand-painted animatics), Imogen feels extra human and relatable than Karan ever did, regardless of being hooked into the identical fleet-controlling machines, carrying the identical skin-tight wetsuit, and floating in one other goo-filled tank together with her eyes closed. However she will get to stretch her legs and emote extra through the visions she has whereas the Mothership hyperspace jumps between missions, and that’s the place we get to know her a bit higher. In sharp distinction to the huge scale of the city-sized Mothership flying by means of the wreckage of much more gargantuan megastructures, these cutscenes really feel small and intimate; we solely ever actually see 4 characters, so it’s nearly like watching a stage play.
A kind of characters is the antagonist, The Queen, who comes throughout as a bit over-the-top maniacal however chews the surroundings with gusto and conveys a menacing, wild-eyed kind of insanity. There’s clearly one thing not proper together with her – and that enables her to be tragic and sympathetic in sure moments. That mentioned, I did roll my eyes a bit when she recites Darth Vader’s “Be a part of me and rule by my aspect” speech nearly verbatim (she isn’t, because it seems, Imogen’s father). And whereas her use of hyperspace as a weapon sounds cool, it principally occurs off display screen and we aren’t given an actual sense of the way it’s inflicting all this destruction. The one time we see it in motion on a small scale raises a bunch of intriguing potentialities for the way it could possibly be utilized in battle… however then, anticlimactically, it’s by no means seen once more. So whereas the characters work on an emotional degree, the overarching story does find yourself feeling a bit misplaced amid its tangle of lore about area ancients.
When the view zooms out to the battlefield, Homeworld 3 instantly recaptures the sensation of controlling a fleet of starships, and with the ability to choose a gaggle of ships and put them into one among a number of formations – from a delta V to a sphere to a claw – and toggle between three totally different conduct stances is as highly effective as ever. Taking within the particulars as capital ships bombard one another with ballistic weapons and laser beams, their turrets swiveling to trace the fighter craft weaving between them leaving streaks of shade behind, as explosions always go off won’t ever, ever get previous. I’m typically keen to take extra losses than I have to in battle simply so I can zoom in, flip off the interface (a one-button comfort), and benefit from the present.
Positive, you’ll get higher outcomes by meticulously organizing your ships into management teams, optimizing formations, and prioritizing targets to take out threats to your finest ships first (and also you’ll have to on increased difficulties). However when you’re assured you will have the higher hand, there’s nothing improper with hitting F4 to pick each combat-capable ship in your fleet and ordering them to choose their very own targets in keeping with what they’re finest at, and blast the whole lot in sight.
These targets are nearly fully ships of the Queen’s Incarnate fleet, and there are a few moments the place in-engine cutscenes name again to the unique Homeworld by making their fighters really feel like an aggressive pack of animals. There are variations between how the enemy fleet operates versus the Hiigarans, however these are principally related in multiplayer; within the marketing campaign, they’re successfully similar to your individual ships (exterior of how you must hold a watch out for pesky seize corvettes that may nab your frigates when you aren’t watching and switch them in opposition to you). After preventing the Taiidan Empire and the Vaygr in earlier video games, I admit I’d hoped for a extra dramatic departure from the usual enemy fleet template this time, however the Incarnate actually put up an honest battle.
Homeworld 3’s 13 marketing campaign missions, which took me round 10 hours to finish on the default issue, are simply probably the most numerous of the Homeworld sequence, each visually and of their targets. That’s principally due to the brand new route in map design. Earlier Homeworld video games have spiced up deep area with colourful nebulas as backdrops, however are largely set in big empty voids with only a few asteroids floating round in them. Homeworld 3, against this, has so many huge objects to navigate by means of that area can really feel downright claustrophobic and cluttered with historical alien ruins, and sometimes telegraphs choke factors the place the enemy will warp in. They’re nonetheless big maps relative to most real-time technique video games, after all, however scaling again on the scope means there’s quite a bit much less of build up a fleet and sending it on a protracted journey towards a goal, and that’s a superb change that retains downtime to a minimal.
A number of of the mission maps are set inside monumental metallic superstructures constructed by The Progenitor ancients who created the hyperspace cores, that are impressively huge however are typically a bit industrial and flat. Others, nonetheless, take us to very totally different and visually putting areas of area. After the opening sequence has the Mothership lifting off and doing its shakedown cruise inside the environment of Hiigara itself (a primary for this sequence until you rely the ground-based motion of Deserts of Kharak), we get missions in a fast-moving asteroid discipline the place you merely should make it to the opposite aspect with out your ships getting smashed, one other the place you should navigate by means of a crevasse in an infinite ice sheet undetected, lead a small strike group to take out explosive targets with out assist, and extra. (It’s a bit foolish that the power to rotate the brand new horizontal Mothership on its axis exists, however as a fan of the distinctive House Banana design of previous I’m happy that we’re given the choice – even when it’s simply to suit by means of one tight, vertical area.)
Maps incessantly made me cease to understand their awe-inspiring scope, particularly after we’re reminded on occasion that these ships we’re throwing round are literally big and full of individuals. That’s one thing that’s straightforward to overlook while you’re zoomed out and watching inexperienced and pink dots disappear from the tactical map or seeing the distant flash of a capital ship flaming out.
Managing all of that’s no small feat, after all, and the controls for Homeworld have at all times been a bit tough, provided that there’s an entire additional axis of motion to account for than in most real-time technique video games. Homeworld 3 permits you to revert to the digital camera management scheme from Homeworld Remastered Assortment, the place your view is certain to a ship or different object and you may rotate round it, however by default you’re given full management of the digital camera utilizing WASD controls to fly by means of area, with the choice of anchoring to a ship. I feel I principally choose the previous controls, just because it’s fairly straightforward to by accident drift off away from the motion, however I’m glad the choice exists – and in reality, the diploma to which the controls and UI are customizable is fairly spectacular, with all method of toggles for the way you need them to behave.
However it doesn’t matter what you select, getting your ships to maneuver to a exact location can contain swinging the digital camera round so you’ll be able to view it from totally different angles, and that may be irritating to tug off in a rush. Nonetheless, within the single-player marketing campaign a minimum of, the stress to get it proper shortly is totally relieved by the truth that you’ll be able to pause (or gradual time) with the push of a button and fiddle with issues till you’ve positioned your orders precisely the way in which you need them.
That mentioned, whether or not or not your orders shall be obeyed to the letter is one other query. Ship conduct is a bit iffy, and typically I’ve had teams get caught on obstacles, fail to acknowledge they’ve a line of sight on a goal, refuse to seize an object marked as salvageable on the map, or just not transfer in any respect regardless of repeated requests and asking properly. That was very true of getting the large, gradual battlecruisers to maneuver in formation, however since they’re solely unlocked for the ultimate mission that wasn’t precisely a continuing concern. It’s additionally irritating when ion frigates and bombers actually can’t hit the broad aspect of a battlecruiser as a result of they appear to be concentrating on the very tail finish relatively than its middle mass, and from sure angles they persistently miss their pictures.
With the ability to pause additionally principally alleviates one among my predominant gripes with how Homeworld 3’s Hiigaran fighters and corvettes behave on their default impartial stance when approached by an enemy ship, which is to shoot again however not scramble. This leaves them sitting geese, and for those who didn’t discover they have been in peril forward of time, you’ll in all probability be too late to save lots of them – and constructing new strike craft whereas your Mothership or provider are underneath hearth requires you to pick every one because it emerges and alter its stance or giving it orders instantly.
A lot of this terrain has tunnels you’ll be able to go ships by means of to be able to bypass defenses and hit a goal, however I wasn’t wild about these. For starters, they appear like the one method to achieve the missions the place they’re out there, so utilizing them doesn’t really feel like a intelligent maneuver a lot because the one factor I may’ve accomplished – like a tutorial, however nonetheless taking place late within the marketing campaign. After the primary novel time it doesn’t appear all that fascinating, and it type of makes the unhealthy guys look foolish for not laying mines on the exit. Additionally, it may be a trouble to get a formation of fighters, bombers, and corvettes to fly by means of them easily – pausing makes it manageable, however they nonetheless typically get caught on the perimeters.
One other Homeworld 3 concept born of all of those objects floating in area is that it offers you surfaces to stay deployable turrets to. They’re a bit finicky to position – it’s not at all times clear why you’ll be able to put them in a single spot however not one other – however you’ll be able to redeploy them as wanted, so there’s plenty of flexibility. There’s one mission constructed round them that exhibits how efficient they are often for those who handle to show an space right into a chokepoint.
It must be mentioned that, relative to Homeworld 2, Homeworld 3 feels easier. I miss the pliability, choices, and rewards that got here from mechanics like subsystem concentrating on introduced. With out that, the one actual nuance to battering down an enemy’s battlecruiser’s HP bar – past selecting appropriate anti-capital ship weapons to your assault – is positioning your ships to hit it from the rear for a harm bonus. However that’s onerous to do contemplating how a lot ships transfer and rotate round in fight, so the one method to handle it persistently is to totally encompass your goal. Additionally, with out veterancy (the place ships that’ve seen sufficient fight get stat bonuses) to consider, ships really feel fully disposable; you do get to hold your surviving fleet from one mission to the subsequent, however since they’re no stronger all that saves you is a bit little bit of time spent harvesting sources to rise up and operating at first, and you may select to start out with a default fleet as an alternative if you would like. Alternatively, this sport marks a return to constructing particular person fighters as an alternative of whole squadrons directly as we do in Homeworld 2, and that provides a welcome bit of additional management to how teams are composed.
Whereas I appreciated the number of settings and targets all through the marketing campaign, I used to be left wishing it’d taken extra cues from StarCraft 2 in its design on the subject of replayability. There are not any optionally available targets to attempt for on a subsequent run, and since every ship has only one improve to unlock (which makes them really feel compulsory relatively than optionally available) as an alternative of a selection between two or extra mutually unique choices, there’s no actual cause to return again for an additional go aside from the easy problem of cranking up the problem one other notch. It’s type of a bummer to not have that selection out there within the marketing campaign, significantly once I take a look at the ship variants launched within the Conflict Video games multiplayer mode.
That’s very true as a result of Homeworld 3 has the fewest kinds of Hiigaran ships to play with of the sequence, principally because of the truth that there’s just one kind of corvette. It’s actually sufficient to get the job accomplished, however feels a bit skinny when composing a fleet. As a substitute, frigates are the spine of any group, and that’s the place the overwhelming majority of the Hiigarans’ selection and suppleness lies. You get to select from simple assault frigates, long-range missile frigates, ion beam frigates, minelayer frigates, assist (restore) frigates, and barrage (anti-fighter) frigates, and discovering a stability between these is usually the place the fascinating selections behind constructing a strike group come up.