Homeworld 3 Preview: Homeworld Bound

There's a great barrier to entry with most RTS games. Often the sheer amount of stuff that's happening at once on the screen is enough to make your head feel like it's about to explode. When I first sat down to play Homeworld 3's tutorial, I felt I was going to be needing a lie down after five minutes.

Initially, like the mothership you're trying to defend, you'll be bombarded. Not with missiles or lasers, but with facts about the game, the 20 different camera options, and more. However, after a few minutes, it's pretty easy to find your groove, and in the hour-long play session that we had, it felt as if we'd picked up enough to get invested in this beloved franchise.

We didn't get to dive into Homeworld 3's story in this session, but were instead focused entirely on the War Games co-op mode, which allows you and up to two friends to take on a few challenges, earning rewards for each mission you complete and building up your upgrades until you face off against a final boss. It's RTS meets roguelike, essentially, and it not only feels like a good way to get you started without throwing a boatload of lore at you, but it also will definitely act as a draw for you to keep on playing once you've beaten the game's story mode.

If you're into your space-faring strategy, something akin to Stellaris, Homeworld 3 should jump out at you from the beginning. I'm not one who usually goes to the far reaches of the galaxy for my kicks, but I found that the game drew me into the unknown of distant space. The graphics are good enough to have as a desktop background and I particularly liked Homeworld's brand of sci-fi. In everything from the ship designs to the animation for when you enter hyperspace, it's unique and does a lot to make you feel like you're not just watching two lots of spaceships blast each other to smithereens but that you are actually trying to defend your home or rid a certain part of space from evil.

The ships aren't just pretty to look at, and once you've built up enough resources you'll be able to deck yourself out with an armada. From the smallest Recon vessel to the overpowered Beam Assault Frigates, each ship is unique in the way it attacks and moves. You'll quickly get accustomed with which sort of ships you want to take into battle, whether it be the slower, lumbering hulks or the quick, wasp-like vessels. They all serve a purpose and really to stay alive you're going to want to pack a bit of everything.

There is somewhat of a learning curve in Homeworld 3 and while it can be simple enough to pick up, some options I left entirely alone throughout my playtime with it as they just seemed like a can of worms I did not want to open. I can't really say then that Homeworld 3 is a strategy game that's going to pull in gamers who've never even put the three letters R, T, and S together before, but it is an experience that looks as if it's one to watch for existing fans of the genre. Whether you've played from the first game or you just want a new sci-fi universe to explore, Homeworld 3 is looking promising right now. Whether it'll remain so is unknown, but if you like watching ships blow up and have always wanted your own space armada, it may be worth your time.