Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Reviews
I'm not going to beat around the bush here: Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is the greatest RTS I have played since I first started flirting with StarCraft II.
Though it lacks some of the nuance and complexity to make the most of some of its ideas, Deserts of Kharak captures the essence of the Homeworld series. Fans of the classic originals will find a familiar form of real time strategy adapted to a new setting, and telling another tale of a lonely carrier fighting through to its destination against the odds.
Deserts of Kharak boasts an unprecedented beauty in its setting and world design, and its hand drawn-style cutscenes only add to that.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak carries the legacy of the Homeworld franchise, and successfully grounds it to the planet Kharak. The game feels so similar in style and design that any Homeworld player will instantly feel at home playing any of the included game modes. Formations have yet to make a return to the series, and the lack of their inclusion will disappoint fans. Skirmish and Multiplayer lack variable in map selection, but I hope additional maps are added in the near future.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a good mainstream real-time strategy title that offers a solid prequel story and shows that the core ideas of the series can easily be adapted for planet-based warfare.
Deserts of Kharak is a radical departure from previous franchise efforts, but most of what makes Homeworld great survived the transition.
While Blackbird's HD update of the original Homeworld titles may have shipped with a few nagging bugs, this original and inventive prequel reinvents the series in way I hardly even hoped could be possible. It's fresh but familiar. It's Homeworld, but it's something new. Like its story-chronological successors, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is amazing — there's simply nothing else like it.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak tells one of the better science fiction narratives I've seen in a real-time strategy game. While the campaign is short, I enjoyed most of the Homeworld-inspired gameplay. Skirmish and multiplayer modes beef up the content, but the overall content-to-price ratio doesn't quite even out. Minor gripes aside, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is one of the more compelling real-time strategy games I've played in some time.
As a RTS Homeworld: Deserts Of Kharak doesn't actually have much new, but it's still one of the better releases for the genre in a long time. In many ways it feels like a modern Westwood classic, but most importantly it evokes the same feelings of complex strategy that you might have had when playing the original Homeworld games.
I imagine the day Gearbox gave Blackbird Interactive permission to use the Homeworld name was triumphant, but also terrifying. Triumphant because the project involved a lot of the original team members and they got to resurrect their mothballed series. Terrifying because doing so meant making a successor to—seriously—one of the best strategy games ever made, and doing so after twelve years of rose-colored glasses.
'Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak' is a good game and a worthy addition to the lofty 'Homeworld' canon, but its technical issues are a serious concern. Despite the weaknesses in its visuals and performance, it is a strong RTS with a first-class tactical formula and decent narrative.
Homeworld's return is not quite what I expected, in many ways this is a step back for this grandiose saga. However, it is a solid strategy game that any fan of the genre will definitely enjoy. If you haven't already do give the HD remastered of the previous games a try.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Better than ever, Homeworld makes a comeback to show how amazing real time strategy campaigns can be.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It has more in common with the original Homeworld than it first seems, but this new real-time strategy works best as an introduction rather than a continuation.
A reasonably solid RTS that will appeal to Homeworld fans.
While the multiplayer is mediocre at best, the campaign more than compensates for fans of the series. All the worries of "it can't be Homeworld if it's not in space!" should be put to rest, because Deserts of Kharak says otherwise. The asking price is a bit steep for those who are just interested in the campaign, since most won't bother to touch multiplayer. That being said, the campaign is well executed for veterans and newbies alike, proving that over a decade without Homeworld is far too long.
It's Homeworld, but with sand, and it's the best new RTS game in years.