Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

​

Game Information​

Game Title: Homeworld 3

Platforms:

PC (May 13, 2024)

Trailers:

• Homeworld 3 | Announce Trailer
• Homeworld 3 | Story Trailer
• Homeworld 3 | History of Homeworld
• Homeworld 3 | Behind The Scenes Documentary
• Homeworld 3 | Overview Trailer

Developer: Blackbird Interactive

Publisher: Gearbox Publishing

Review Aggregator:

Metacritic - 79 Average - 24 Reviews

Critic Reviews​

But Why Tho? - Arron Kluz - 8/10

The modernization of the series has yielded amazing benefits that make it feel like the definitive Homeworld experience unless you are looking to go back and experience the whole story for yourself. It isn't easy to make a sequel worth a decades-long wait, but Blackbird Interactive has managed to pull off just that.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Nic Reuben - Unscored

Homeworld 3 leaves me in the strange position where I want to play more of it, but I’ve basically had my fill of the campaign, I’ve got no interest in PvP, and War Games mode is silly difficult in single player. It’s like having a set of really nice brushes but no canvas, so to speak. I guess this is probably where mods come in - the game is supposed to be launching with built in support and tools on day one. I get that "It’ll be great with mods" doesn’t come across as a ringing endorsement, but to reiterate: Homeworld 3 is a pretty good time in a very good sci-fi setting. I can’t recommend it wholeheartedly, but I’m also hoping it finds enough of an audience that it paves the way for a more experimental sequel or expansion in the future - and if you've been longing for 21 years for a followup to Homeworld 2, I can’t see you being too disappointed.

GamingTrend - Ron Burke - 100

Homeworld 3 is everything I hoped it could be. It improves on its predecessors in every conceivable way, and adds meaningful new features including a cooperative War Games mode. I never thought it would happen again, but I’m happy to report…the mothership has cleared the scaffold...we are away once again.

COGcnnected - Lou Sytsma - 95/100

Their roadmap for the rest of 2024 and into 2025 is a testament to that. There will be free DLC drops in June, August and Q4. July and October will see paid DLC made available. In 2025, the free and paid DLC drops will continue. Homeworld fans can take heart the latest game in the series sets new benchmarks for the franchise. The new line-of-sight gameplay mechanics make for even more challenging space combat strategies. The gameplay depth is greater, the customization is deeper, and the replayability is longer. Homeworld 3 oozes quality across all aspects.

Gamereactor UK - Patrik Severin - 8/10

It's clear as day that Blackbird Interactive has a love for the brand. Everything both sounds and looks as you would hope it would, and the overall whole is a step forward from the original in a good way.

Digital Trends - Jason Rodriguez - 60/100

Homeworld 3 did keep me engaged for a time thanks to gorgeous visuals and exciting tactical combat in the vastness of space. Performance-wise, I didn’t notice too many hiccups. With an Nvidia RTX 3080, Intel i9-10900K, and 32GB of RAM, I was able to select high graphical settings without a hitch. Unfortunately, the campaign’s story is a huge step down from previous installments. Missions, whether in the campaign or in multiplayer modes, are plagued by innumerable issues related to unit pathing, controls, and commands. It’s a disappointment that was 20 years in the making.

GamesRadar+ - Rick Lane - 70/100

Homeworld's operatic space combat is as engrossing as ever in its third outing, although a weaker story and a slightly odd cover system dim the shine of its star.

GLHF on Sports Illustrated - Marco Wutz - 7/10

Homeworld 3’s campaign is a majestic space odyssey showcasing some of the innovative spirit of its predecessors and its presentation is stunning. Though its co-op elements are founded on a good idea, the War Games mode feels like it cuts away some of the best aspects of the game in the rush to be a portion-sized multiplayer experience for the modern age. It’s an enjoyable space RTS before being a strong Homeworld title.

Inverse - 9/10

Homeworld 3 is one of the most entrancing experiences I’ve had with a strategy game in years, and proof that the single-player RTS still has an important role to fill.

IGN France - Par Herth - 8/10

An excellent space RTS like few others. A breathtaking campaign, polished single-player and multiplayer gameplay... With its content additions and future mods, Homeworld 3 could become the worthy heir to the mythical saga and a benchmark for the genre.

IGN - Dan Stapleton - 8/10

Homeworld 3's single-player campaign brings the series' epic space battles in for intense, close-quarters combat on visually diverse maps full of enormous obstacles to plan around. At the same time, it delivers an unexpectedly personal story that leans a little too heavily on the cliche of a new-generation protagonist seeking out the old.

Noisy Pixel - Colin Buchanan - 8.5/10

The challenge I described at the beginning of this review is capably met by Homeworld 3, even if its story felt a little simplistic. Its lightweight story did not stop me from being captivated by its depiction of the endless, beautiful void of space. The frustrating, difficult-to-master control scheme has been both modernized and preserved for those who crave the classic experience. It's easily beautiful and satisfying enough to meet the standards of classic players and entice a brand-new crowd of interstellar heroes.

Sector.sk - 7.5/10

Although Homeworld 3 certainly doesn't put the cult strategy series to shame, and space flight has its own charm, it can't be said that it's a leap or a big step forward.

Shacknews - TJ Denzer - 9/10

Homeworld 3 plays incredible from top to bottom, and I think whether you’re a fan of the series that’s been waiting for this or a newcomer that just likes good strategy, everyone who takes control of the Khar Kushan is in for an absolute feast of stellar strategy gameplay.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 7/10

After decades of waiting, Homeworld 3 pushes the beloved space RTS series in new directions with megalithic terrain putting a fresh spin on combat, and a bitesized roguelite War Games mode, but still retains so much of the original tone and style. It doesn't quite stick the landing in some areas, and there's rough edges to improve, but I simply love being back in this setting and series.

Windows Central - Samuel Tolbert - 8/10

Homeworld 3 offers the experience of handling a full fleet with aplomb through tactical gameplay options that live up to and build on the systems of its predecessors. With gorgeous atmosphere and crisp audio design, it's a game that asks big questions of its new cast of characters with some solid writing. Not every narrative decision lands, but Homeworld 3 stands on its own feet as a worthy new entry in the long-running franchise.

Polygon - Cameron Kunzelman - Unscored

I think Homeworld 3 is an acquired taste. I am not sure that the random strategy game player, not to mention just a random human who enjoys games, would be willing to get over some of the rougher points of the game. It is as polished and friendly as a game like this can be, but I think that it can only meet you so far. At the end of the day, Homeworld 3 sells a fantasy of being a genius fused into the machinery of a spaceship who has constant vision and perspective on a vast, 3D battlefield. The game depicts this as perfectly as any game can, and turns it into nail-biting, if plodding, gameplay opportunities.

TechRadar Gaming - Julian Benson - 6/10

While Homeworld 3 looks the part and is a competent strategy game, the chaos of battle obscures much of the nuance of its new features.

GRYOnline.pl - Zbigniew Woźnicki - 8/10

Homeworld 3 continues the gameplay that fans of the series know very well. At the same time, newcomers will easily find their way through the meanders of creating their own fleet - ready to crush all enemies that stand in its way. For strategy fans Homeworld 3 seems to be a must-have title, especially since the developers clearly want to support mods.

Wccftech - Chris Wray - 8.5/10

Homeworld 3 marks a successful return to a long-revered series. Bringing back the successful space strategy series, but improving the combat by a large amount with a more tactical approach, Blackbird Interactive has successfully made their mark. With exceptional tactical combat, made all the more important by the fact that everything carries over, and one bad mistake could cripple you much further down the line. The additional War Games mode only enhances this, making for a very engaging title.

PC Gamer - Fraser Brown - 77/100

Homeworld 3 takes some big swings, but while it's a very good RTS, it never quite comes together in the same way as its predecessors.

Dot Esports - Izabela Tomakic - 8/10

Homeworld 3 will arrive almost 21 years after the previous installment, Homeworld 2, and after you plunge into this deep space strategy, you’ll soon realize it was worth the wait.

PC Games - Matthias Dammes - 9/10

A worthy successor and a great real-time strategy game that captures the special atmosphere of Homeworld, tells an exciting story and offers a lot of tactical depth

 

[Spyxos]

Hmm a little worse than I had hoped.

 

[Hudo]

Oh wow. Didn't expect reviews to come before release. PCGames and Inverse giving out good scores is a good sign. GameStar are giving it a 80/100.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I knew I forgot something lol.

 

[Red5]

It's pretty great they innovated a lot with the map design, turret placement, directional damage but at the cost of open space maps. The story is more personal compared to HW 1 and 2 ,where the focus was on the entire species, that was a bit off putting.

 

[Hudo]

Can't wait to play it. It's one of the highlights of the year for me. Hopefully it's good.

 

[amigastar]

Can't wait to play it. It's one of the highlights of the year for me. Hopefully it's good.

That's what i want also. But honestly it got worse score than i thought it would be. But it could be a hidden gem.

 

[Hudo]

That's what i want also. But honestly it got worse score than i thought it would be. But it could be a hidden gem.

Yeah. I mean some outlets I frequent rated it quite highly, actually. But yeah, overall score could be better. I will still try it, tho. It's fucking Homeworld, after all.

 

[Thanati]

Just fired it up and played some.

It's awesome. It really is a wonderful installment in the Homeworld Universe. Love it!

 

[Metnut]

Reviews seem a lot more positive than the metacritic score. What gives?

Sucks for a small developer to get a bad rap like this when everyone liked the game.

 

[Alpha Male]

Would greatly appreciate if someone could fire it up on the Deck and let us know how it runs...thanks!

 

[Thanati]

Would greatly appreciate if someone could fire it up on the Deck and let us know how it runs...thanks!

Unless you have a keyboard, playing on the Deck would be really tough.

 

[Thanati]

Yeah. I mean some outlets I frequent rated it quite highly, actually. But yeah, overall score could be better. I will still try it, tho. It's fucking Homeworld, after all.

It's awesome. If you like the others (1, 2 an Cataclysm), you're going to love this. I'm not including Deserts, as that was more of a C&C type thing, even though it was still great.

 

[PayoLoko]

Finally!

 

[amigastar]

Yeah. I mean some outlets I frequent rated it quite highly, actually. But yeah, overall score could be better. I will still try it, tho. It's fucking Homeworld, after all.

I still have to play Homeworld Remastered so i can wait with Homeworld 3 and buy it when it's on discount
Oh yeah and i wish you good fun with it.

 

[isual]

don't really care about the price or reviews, but am far more interested in the story.

20 plus years later, is the Beast returned?

 

[STARSBarry]

don't really care about the price or reviews, but am far more interested in the story.

20 plus years later, is the Beast returned?

Nope, because while 100% canon now, the beast is not involved, because that would be far too cool.

Instead it's some shitty soap opera between anouther new faction who essentially do that hyperspace suicide rush in Star Wars as the huge reason they need to be stopped only for them to never ever do it again when it would immediately save their asses and instead just rant on about shit we don't care about instead.

Also, they have a year 1 season pass with multiple factions going to be released. I'm going to be honest they should have launched with those. There is far too little choice. There also seems to be a focus on this "War Games" mode, which is intresting and most of the multiplayer games seem to be hosting as that, but that's only like 4 games.

Suspect this game is going to die quickly and not be talked or played about just like their prior title Deserts of Karak, they introduced all the new stuff long after everyone had moved back to Homeworld and it's mods. Looks like they plan to do the same here.

Only way they gets legs is if the community fixes it with a PDS mod, they have simplified the amount of craft, their roles and removed systems like veterancy and subsystem targeting. Essentially it's the simplest and most bare bones entry at launch, throwing a few new factions with a limited amount of new ships every 4+ months won't change that.

 

[amigastar]

I've heard that the story mode is pretty short, maybe it would be a good idea to release new content like a story as DLC.

 

[Boneless]

I loved the originals, but the demo and reviews left me really wary. A dissapointing reveal. The steam reviews are really bad.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I would have liked the campaign to be a bit longer (its about 9 hours for me). Also the ending to the campaign really sucked.
Spoiler about the end

Spoiler

basically the power of friendship

 

[P:axMagellanic]

Game is complete dogshit by the sounds of it. Expected after that war mode demo, but to fuck up the simple, cheap and effective storytelling style of homeworld as well? Unforgivable.