Homeworld 3 review from someone who treasures HW as perhaps the best game in 25 years (w/ minor spoilers)
I almost need a "thumb sideways" button but I can't give this game a thumbs up.
Why should you listen to me?
For background, I beta tested Homeworld for Relic back in '98-99. I've played every single PC Homeworld game. I've sunk hundreds of hours into playing vanilla Homeworld, Complex, and Every. Single. Star Trek mod that anyone has ever made for Homeworld and Homeworld: Remastered.
That's to say: I adore love Homeworld/Homeworld 2. Over 25 years of PC gaming, they may be my all-time favorite games period!
Of course, I bought the "Fleet Command" edition. In truth, I did it to encourage the developers to keep pumping out more Homeworld.
Alas, the only thing I want right now is a complete and amazing mod toolkit so that this game can quickly become the substitute and successor for the original.
A little history: Homeworld (and Remastered) thrived with its mod community. The original game was not designed for modding. Yet so many intrepid individuals out there struggled their way through cracking the binary format(s?) of the game. And, at least, as I understand it, some of the game behavior is scripted in Lua, a less common but publicly available programming language. Just go look at the Workshop for Homeworld: Remastered. The number of different total conversion mods out there is staggering. The love put into so many of those mods is utterly mind-blowing!
In a nutshell, HW:3 plays a lot like Homeworld (the original) but, if anything, dumbed-down
significantly from the original but with 2024 visuals--except for the cut-scenes that oddly look rendered using vintage 2000 technology. The game mechanics lack the depth of any of the HW sequels. The campaign is linear and, at times, glitchy (I'm looking at you, asteroid mission and you, the one cut-scene where some of the lines repeat causing me to wonder if I'm suffering auditory hallucinations or if their QA missed something like that).
The gameplay is not particularly innovative or deep. The default pace of combat itself tends to be faster than previous Homeworlds. Though, in single player, you can change the game speed. However, the default speed can be overwhelming compared to previous Homeworld games, which can make multiplayer frustrating.
For fans, while it should not be surprising It's not Homeworld: Complex (or EVO), I expected to see more of the depth, introduced by HW:C and HW:2, For instance, there are no subsystems on ships; you can't target engines or weapons. Ships either blow up or they don't. There's no defense field frigates and no cloak generators.
My hope is that the mods (Star Trek or The Expanse, anyone?) will make this game shine. But right now? Unless you're a true super-hardcore Homeworld fan, who needs their Homeworld story fix, you should hold off.
On the plus side: it doesn't crash as often as a NASCAR driver like Helldivers 2 or the original Homeworld, for that matter.
Ultimately, I'm disappointed that Homeworld 3 plays like a dumbed-down version of Homeworld 1. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising, what with game studios increasingly desperate to get that larger market share which means appealing to a broader audience. But that means that if you long for the depth of Homeworld 2 or Complex, you're waiting for mods.
The modding tools aren't out yet.
And, so, thumbs down.
I want to preface by saying that I am not in anyway saying your opinions on the game are invalid, just different from my own.
Decisive thumbs up from me.
I was always more of a Homeworld 1 fan. I enjoyed Cataclysm (and HW2 even less, though that still makes it my 3rd favorite game of all time), but HW1 was always my favorite. Homeworld 3 may very well end up being my #2 favorite Homeworld game. The game-play feels very HW1-esque (which I prefer), but with clever innovations like terrain. HW3 having physics-based projectiles rather than dice-rolls is a welcome change. Also, absolutely not torn up about ditching subsystems at all. Only thing I miss is local hyperspace. Also, completely subjective, but I like the story. They got the original writers for HW1/HWC and the HW Historical and Technical Briefing, and it shows.
I think game IP reboots are hard. I think the best analogy is first time you hear a new album from your favorite childhood band, it isn't going to move you and tie into the nostalgia you've built with their previous work. Sure, maybe covers of their old stuff work (e.g., HWRM), but new stuff may be hard for folks to get into. I think for some folks if they let it sit and give it time, they'll come to appreciate a reboot on its own terms.
Hard agree with you so far, with the caveat that I've only been able to put a few hours into the game. Darn kids!
I've also been playing HW since 1999 - not beta though, I was but a wee lad awestruck by space combat. HW was my first game I played online with anyone. I spent countless hours in the game, messing with mods and appreciating the music and atmosphere. It fueled a love of Prog Rock (my dad was amazed to hear Yes playing a song in game) and sci fi in me.
I also was not a fan of the sub systems in HW2 - it felt convoluted and clunky to me. I was quickly overwhelmed. The squadron system was also less than stellar.
So far, I'm having a lot of fun with HW3. I need to really dig in more, but I'm with you.
Haven't played, curious to see what they've done. I probably have an odd view of what is interesting about the series. I like when unique mechanics matter more (capture ships in 1, subsystems in 2), but also don't love tedious stuff (formations struck me as mostly annoying in 1). Mods are of course glorious.
That all said, I really also like the Multiplayer of 2 and deserts. High level games, ESPECIALLY, in deserts, are wild to watch, and can be edge of your seat interesting with a lot of varied strategies.
I'm pretty sure i'll be getting 3, as there sure as hell isn't much else like it. I'll be keeping an eye out for "dumbed down", but I always find that description suspicious as I don't trust most people to really identify that vs just streamlining out the annoying crap while keeping the depth.