Homeworld originally debuted in 1999 and marked the first fully 3D real-time strategy game, allowing players to build a persistent fleet of interstellar ships as they journeyed through the void of space. The sheer scope, scale, and detail of it was unprecedented at the time, and earned the game high praise and a sizable fanbase (as well as a pair of sequels).
However, there’s no denying that the franchise has been pushed to the margins in recent times - even the prequel Deserts of Kharak is well over six years old now. Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Software are hoping to change that with Homeworld 3. With the game’s development in the home stretch after three years and a worldwide pandemic, Screen Rant went hands-on with the playable build of Homeworld 3 and walked away impressed.
The developers were immediately excited to discuss all the technical advancements of Homeworld 3 and its capabilities in Unreal Engine 4. The series is returning to outer space after two decades, and the team has been able to make many of their design dreams a reality. Of course, that means much larger fleets and more units than ever before, with a far greater degree of individual detail and graphical options like raytracing. But Blackbird also wants to evolve the Homeworld formula in a meaningful way: more advanced maneuvers and behaviors, significantly denser maps, and a whole new system of terrain-based combat.
The playable build of Homeworld 3 included two different missions from the early hours of the game, each selected to show off new gameplay elements. After jumping into the first mission, the vastness of Homeworld was more impactful than ever with vivid nebulae in immense skyboxes and striking light effects. The mission itself was a simple matter of docking the mothership, but it introduced a number of small but crucial changes to the series. The increased size of the map and the far greater amount of debris in it made visibility much more important, so scouting through asteroids with multiple probes and squads was essential. The new ability to select any individual ship (no matter how small) also allowed for clever tactical maneuvers and stealthy setups. Most importantly, though, Blackbird has streamlined background work like resource collecting and defense to make gameplay faster without dumbing down Homeworld’s core mechanics.
The bigger ideas of Homeworld 3 were on full display in the second mission. A hulking derelict station needed to be brought back online, and the map was even larger than the previous one. Sending resourcers out to repair the station revealed its cavernous insides, and ships could fly through to avoid detection in the expanse. It was here that the new enemy maneuvers and better AI came into play - hostiles will use the game’s extensive cover options to create ambushes or set traps. As threatening (and cool) as this is, the player can also use cover to coordinate their own strafing runs or flank enemy forces. All of the innovations combine to make Homeworld 3 look and feel more direct, dangerous, and dynamic than any other entry in the series. Blackbird also confirmed the return of online multiplayer as well as a new roguelike co-op mode, so one can only marvel at the possibilities that all the maps and maneuvers will bring to players in the full release.
Homeworld 3 is certainly coming along well, but there were still a handful of control bugs and audiovisual glitches during the demo. Gearbox and Blackbird were upfront about the work that is still being done on the game, but nothing significantly impacted the experience. While Homeworld 3 has plenty of polishing left to go before its launch in early 2023, it seems that fans will not be disappointed. Those who have waited 20 years to continue their journey through the Homeworld universe have plenty of reasons to be excited for the future.
Homeworld 3 will launch on Steam and Epic Games Store in early 2023.
