The space RTS aims to please with its War Games mode
With Homeworld 3, Relic’s classic space RTS looks set to join the pantheon of returning PC gaming gods. Blackbird Interactive (the new studio, helmed by many of the original Homeworld devs) invited me to test-drive War Games mode, one of its big new features: a roguelike-inspired PvE mode for strategists in a hurry.
While no slouch as serious competitive games, the Homeworld series was always carried by its grandiose vibes, surprisingly powerful storytelling and spectacular, messy space battles. If that sounds even slightly intriguing, I recommend picking up the recent Remastered bundle of Homeworld 1 & 2, plus the GOG release of Homeworld: Emergence, the excellent but un-remastered middle game in the series.
These are classic games, and a hard act to follow. And while I can’t speak to the quality of the writing and campaign design in Homeworld 3 (the demo only included a short tutorial and a slice of the content from the new War Games multiplayer mode), I’m very happy to say that this is unquestionably Homeworld. The ships look immediately familiar, but are sharply textured and the hulls smooth and rounded when zoomed in on. The sound effects are punchy and sometimes overwhelming, just as I recall.
GAMES OF WAR
While the meat and potatoes of any Homeworld is the story campaign, Homeworld 3 is adding a new, third option to the mix: War Games. A PvE mode playable solo or in three-player co-op, it puts a light rogue-lite spin on the traditional co-operative ‘comp stomp’ format, and plays out quickly enough for a session to be done in under an hour, culminating in a ‘boss’ encounter against a heavy capital ship. After a few sessions, I can definitely see the appeal.
THE SOUND EFFECTS ARE PUNCHY AND SOMETIMES OVERWHELMING
A War Games run has players picking from one of several starting fleets, and then completing a trio of small missions, each on their own map. Each map has a limited pool of resources to harvest, a random set of objectives to complete and artefacts to collect, plus continually escalating enemy spawns that will eventually overwhelm players unless they hustle. As such, it’s a bit of a scramble (each map taking only 10-15 minutes) to grab the loot you can, build what forces you want and complete objectives as efficiently as possible, then hyperspacejump into the next encounter.
While the missions aren’t especially deep what I found added the most variety to a War Games run was artefacts, the strongest nod towards modern roguelike design. Each one collected gives you a randomised list of three perks to pick from. Some unlock a new unit type, others giving a bonus to a class of units, or increasing the limit of units you can command of a particular type. They’re quite significant upgrades as well, defining the strategies and unit compositions I’d use e
