Homeworld 3: A Revolutionary War Games Experience - Exclusive Hands-on Preview

Homeworld 3's developers at Blackbird Interactive have clearly put in a lot of effort to ensure that the latest installment in the series lives up to the beloved Homeworld name. According to Game Rant's hands-on preview, they have largely succeeded in this endeavor. While benefiting from the advancements made in real-time strategy design over the past twenty years, Homeworld 3 still manages to capture the authentic feel of the classic experience that long-time fans of the series know and love.

The focus of Game Rant's hands-on preview was on Homeworld 3's single-player and up to 4-player multiplayer PvE roguelike mode, War Games. In War Games, the narrative revolves around a battlefield simulation designed to train fleet commanders in handling various combat scenarios. However, beyond that, there isn't much of a story as players progress through the roguelike mini-campaign.

When entering the War Games lobby, players must make a critical decision in the Homeworld game: choosing their fleet's color scheme and emblem. The customization options are not extensive, but they are sufficient. Each player in our lobby had a completely unique Hiigaran fleet, as it was the only faction available in this preview. The color picker provides a wide range of colors and saturation can be adjusted with a slider. Players can select their primary color, trim color, and emblem color from a variety of options.

Additionally, players must choose their starting fleet in this area. This choice significantly impacts the gameplay of the approximately 45-minute run. Each fleet has its own specific build list and starting bonuses. Initially, only the Strike Craft Fleet is available, and unlocking other fleets is a key aspect of the roguelike mode's progress. Successful and unsuccessful runs both contribute to the player's profile experience, and leveling up unlocks additional starting fleet choices. While having locked starting fleets adds goals for players to work towards, it would be beneficial to have more options available from the beginning. Currently, a lobby of new players will all begin with the same build. Thankfully, leveling up is a relatively fast process. Our profile gained several levels in just a few hours, granting us access to more fleet options.

At the start of the game, each player begins with a carrier and the ships from their starting fleet. In our case, we had a few interceptors, scouts, and one of the new resource controllers introduced in Homeworld 3. We noticed that each run typically follows a similar pattern, which is common in real-time strategy games. The first step is to immediately construct additional resource controllers, then build escorts to protect them and establish a solid economy. The key challenge in War Games is effectively managing resources since they and the ships carry over from one mission to another, ultimately determining the success or failure of a run.

Players must constantly juggle the task of defending their resource controllers from unexpected attacks while simultaneously progressing through the randomly generated objectives on each map. This challenge becomes significantly easier when playing in multiplayer mode, as it encourages enjoyable cooperative gameplay. Throughout our gaming experience, we frequently encountered situations where a player would allocate some of their fleet to protect a teammate's resource nodes if they happened to be in close proximity. The consequences of losing these resource controllers can be utterly devastating. We witnessed this firsthand in one particular match, where a teammate lost their sole resource controller and subsequently lacked the means to obtain another one. As a result, they spent a significant portion of that gameplay session unable to replenish their fleet.

In terms of randomly generated objectives, there was a good range of tasks to undertake, even though our preview only showed a small portion of the content that will be available in Homeworld 3 upon release. Players may be required to intercept a convoy, utilizing Homeworld 3's innovative new terrain system to create blockades and cover chokepoints. Another objective might involve capturing and holding multiple nodes throughout the map. Each objective presents unique challenges that are better suited to certain fleet compositions, and it was satisfying to coordinate with the team to create a well-rounded armada. Each run concludes with a boss fight, although it was somewhat underwhelming. On multiple occasions, our team quickly defeated the final boss, possibly due to some fortunate encounters with the roguelike power-ups known as artifacts in War Games.

Successfully completing objectives rewards players with a variety of random artifacts to choose from, and Blackbird has done a commendable job in making each choice feel significant. Instead of mundane bonuses like "+5% Shields," artifacts have the potential to completely transform gameplay. For instance, one artifact greatly extends the range of the ion frigate but disables its vision. This introduces an intriguing sniper-spotter dynamic that adds a lot of excitement to the game. Other artifacts may involve trade-offs. In one instance, we equipped several artifacts that significantly increased the damage dealt and taken by assault frigates, leading us to focus on a fleet of powerful but vulnerable assault frigates supported by healing crafts in the backline. The game provides a helpful compendium that allows players to explore the available artifacts they may encounter, and there are numerous impactful synergies waiting to be discovered.

Engaging in War Games as a solo player poses minimal challenges as the difficulty adapts accordingly to the team size. However, it is still advisable to join forces with others whenever feasible. This is because the random objectives, diverse fleets, and choices of artifacts contribute to an immensely enjoyable cooperative gameplay experience in real-time strategy.

Homeworld 3 boasts an impressive visual experience from every angle. We dedicated several minutes at the beginning of each mission to zooming in, captivated by the intricate details of the ships, the awe-inspiring skyboxes, and maneuvering the camera through the immense space hulks scattered throughout the levels. The grandeur of large-scale battles is truly a sight to behold. It's worth mentioning that the physics-based simulation of each projectile adds to the astonishing cinematic quality, with dogfights between strike craft and the strategic positioning of frigates behind debris to evade missile attacks reaching a level of immersion that may even distract you. Of course, if players desire a more straightforward understanding of the map, resource nodes, objectives, and sensor coverage, the iconic tactical overview mode of Homeworld is just a click away.

The UI in the series' latest iteration is a significant improvement, being more intuitive and less obtrusive without being overly simplified. Players can easily manage control groups, assign different formations, and keep track of their population levels and construction. Additionally, many hotkeys remain unchanged for players who are familiar with Homeworld 2. In terms of controls, there is a wide range of configurable options, including multiple camera control schemes and fully customizable shortcuts. There are also numerous accessibility options available to further personalize the appearance and feel.

Real-time strategy games with roguelike elements are few and far between, but Homeworld 3 has successfully introduced a roguelike gameplay loop that doesn't feel like a gimmick or an afterthought. War Games offers a complete upgrade from the more typical skirmishes against AI opponents in the genre. Hopefully, this will inspire future real-time strategy games to be more experimental in their approach to PvE content. Although our time with War Games was brief, it left us wanting more. With the promise of even more content upon full launch, it's evident that War Games has the potential to become the go-to choice for many players.

Homeworld 3 is scheduled to release on PC in February 2024.