Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Reviews
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.
A great tactical RTS with all the gorgeous aesthetics and atmosphere of the original series.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a prequel to the famed Homeworld Strategy series. It follows its inspirations closely, but adds its own touches to create something new and wonderful.
Deserts of Kharak is a triumphant return to Homeworld, just minus the space part.
It's a widely held belief that good sound design can make a good game great, but the sound design in Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak makes a great game incredible
Desite a lengthy list of issues that might annoy players such as the inability to rebind keys, a dearth of multiplayer maps, or potential potholes, Blackbird Interactive has successfully developed a worthy contribution to the Homeworld franchise with Deserts of Kharak.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a deep, exciting, varied RTS with all the right tools.
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.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a fantastic Homeworld game, and a fantastic RTS game in its own right. It's a great middle point between the classic formula and the rather intimidating full three dimension movement of the franchise, as well as just being a damned good RTS in a time when games in the genre are an increasingly rare sight.
Deserts of Kharak is a radical departure from previous franchise efforts, but most of what makes Homeworld great survived the transition.
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.
In many respects, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharah had the potential to be a really tough sell to longstanding supporters of the Homeworld brand. Yet somehow it managed to not only meet expectations, but exceed them in a surprising number of ways. This is far from a reinvention of the RTS genre, but it is certainly a much needed rebirth for this series. At long last, the king has returned.
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.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak offers up one of the best RTS campaigns in years alongside some great gameplay mechanics, though its multiplayer and skirmish offerings leave much to be desired.
This is the definition of a real-time strategy game for real-time strategy game fans, and will satisfy those looking for a solid single-player RTS experience
Short campaign, steep price, but this homeworld-in-the-desert has style in spades, and a solid, albeit simple, RTS core.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While the story sometimes sticks too close to familiar ground, Deserts of Kharak is a fun and challenging RTS title that's a worthy addition to the Homeworld franchise.
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.
Deserts of Kharak boasts an unprecedented beauty in its setting and world design, and its hand drawn-style cutscenes only add to that.
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.