While your carrier can also upgrade and be upgraded, you also have to manage its internal functions. This means rerouting power to various systems to best suit the needs of the current situation. This mobile carrier really adds a great deal of depth to the frantic situation that the game often falls into. There is no mini-map onscreen, instead you drop into a map screen that shows elevations and unit movements because of how much is going on. You really have to understand how things work and plan movement patterns, trying to think two or three steps ahead. It’s all extremely rewarding, but also build well on itself without just throwing you in neck-deep. The story also helps this, and it’s also extremely engaging.
I normally review games for work, and play games for fun to truly enjoy them. Homeward: Deserts of Kharak was a work game, but one that I took my time with because of how much I enjoyed it. The audio is also top-notch, even if you probably won’t be humming any tracks outside the game. Where things really work is in the details. Units chatter over coms about all sorts of technical things, and this really adds to the immersion. Winds sweep through the stages, and all the little feels and whistles keep everything actively and lively. The voice acting is also quite good, with characters being well-defined and emoting well.
Now, that isn’t to say that Homeward: Deserts of Kharak is a perfect game; it isn’t. While this isn’t a true Homeward game (more a prequel side thing) it’s still a lot of fun, but the biggest issue is that it’s pretty short. If you know Homeward, or are an RTS veteran, you’ll probably be finishing this one in under 10 hours. That in and of itself isn’t a deal breaker (length doesn’t make a good game), but chances are you are going to hit the end game and be wishing desperately that there was more here. A bigger issue to hardcore RTS fans will be the baddies themselves, which probably comes into play with the length.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak at times felt like a casual RTS game. The enemy AI often feels like they are being commanded by a commander that gets bored pretty easily. Enemy units are predictable and really need some help doing smart things. Im’ not one that likes losing (who is), but I went so long without even fearing for my units. Early on I played it really safe and slow, but that generally ended up with me absolutely decimated the enemy troops. There are also a great many people speaking on the bugs that pop up from time to time, but I was pretty lucky and haven’t had anything that hurt the game.
One thing that is a bit lacking is the multiplayer aspect of Deserts of Kharak. I’m not a big multiplayer person, but an RTS is one genre that I do enjoy jumping into to test my skills. There are only a handful of maps for play at the time of this writing, and that just isn’t nearly enough to build a community on. Lastly, and the thing that aggravated me the most, was the camera control. It’s always awesome to zoom in on individual units and groups to see them battle it out, but don’t expect to zoom out to a comfortable place. Right off the bat I was wondering why I couldn’t pull the camera back father than it would let me. This makes the game feel cramped, even during the most open moments.