Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Homeworld: Deserts Kharak not only sets a new standard for RTS games, it proves that there is a lot more the genre has to offer yet.

Deserts of Kharak is a triumphant return to Homeworld, just minus the space part.

Despite the low-profile launch, at least when it comes to marketing, Deserts of Kharak deserves all of your attention. It's pure RTS bestowed with an amazing mission design, and it will take you back to the golden age of the genre. Multiplayer servers are underpopulated, but hopefully word-of-mouth will take care of that.

Homeworld was always about loneliness. It was always about clarity and focus. Kharak isn't new in that regard, but it is special. It shows us that when you get things right -- and excel -- that formula isn't easy to exhaust. Kharak does its part to add to that, though. Its use of voice acting and efficient visuals is a brilliant addition that's far from superficial. It helps narrow the scope of what you need to manage, so that it can load you up with as much as your brain can handle. It’s a fast, daunting experience that's tough to shake, making Kharak as intoxicating as Homeworld has ever been.

A great tactical RTS with all the gorgeous aesthetics and atmosphere of the original series.

Even though it’s set on the surface of a planet, Homeworld: Desert of Kharak brings you all the fun, the strategy and the sense of dimensions of the Homeworld saga. One of the best strategy games of the year, flawled only by minor bugs.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak tells one of the better science fiction narratives I've seen in a real-time strategy game. While the campaign is short, I enjoyed most of the Homeworld-inspired gameplay. Skirmish and multiplayer modes beef up the content, but the overall content-to-price ratio doesn't quite even out. Minor gripes aside, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is one of the more compelling real-time strategy games I've played in some time.

Put simply, I love Deserts of Kharak. It succeeds where so many RTS games fail, giving a multitasking commander all of the information, unit options, and control flexibility needed to remove needless barriers between what your brain wants your army to do, and what it’s actually able to execute at a moment’s notice.

Although Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak doesn’t reinvent the wheel, there is no denying that it is a superb example of how modern Real Time Strategy games should look, feel and play. Accessible, intense and hauntingly beautiful at times, it manages to present a gripping tale of agony and desperation through one of the best single player campaigns the genre has ever witnessed.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a fantastic Homeworld game, and a fantastic RTS game in its own right. It’s a great middle point between the classic formula and the rather intimidating full three dimension movement of the franchise, as well as just being a damned good RTS in a time when games in the genre are an increasingly rare sight.

Deserts of Kharak, as a experience, is outstanding, engaging and recommended for all the Homeworld fans. We think the multiplayer could've been even better, but it's very enjoyable as a whole.

This is far from a reinvention of the RTS genre, but it is certainly a much needed rebirth for this series. At long last, the king has returned.

As a RTS Homeworld: Deserts Of Kharak doesn’t actually have much new, but it’s still one of the better releases for the genre in a long time. In many ways it feels like a modern Westwood classic, but most importantly it evokes the same feelings of complex strategy that you might have had when playing the original Homeworld games.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a good mainstream real-time strategy title that offers a solid prequel story and shows that the core ideas of the series can easily be adapted for planet-based warfare.

A rock solid take on the RTS genre, and a game not trying to be something it's not.

Dignified strategic return to the roots of older legendary games. Because of story, audiovisual and gameplay Deserts of Kharak is an absolute must-have not only for the RTS-positive players. [Issue # 261]

Despite a somewhat muddled ending, this single player campaign is one of the best in recent years.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a surprisingly good strategy game that does justice to the series and to the genre. I didn't seem that this desert version of a famous space RTS will be worth your time but as it turns out, Blackbird Studios delivered a worthy game that is beautiful and extremely playable.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a great game and it can be even more further down the line, it is definitely worth a purchase for all classic Homeworld fans looking for nostalgia or those looking for a new RTS it is a very good option all around.

Deserts of Kharak is a single-player focused RTS game designed for lovers of the waning genre. If that’s what you’re looking for, it won’t disappoint, but the campaign is rather short, and the multiplayer options don’t do much to keep your interest piqued.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a glorious RTS with a wonderful campaign and a less than impressing skirmish and multiplayer department. Still, with a sublime gameplay and a spectacular technical department, it is one of the best RTS in the market.

It's very hard to stop playing Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, even if there's just a few units, skirmishes are small, and the locations are not very diversified. It's simply a great RTS, with and interesting story, nice graphics and engaging gameplay.

It has a short campaign and a steep price, but this homeworld-in-the-desert has style in spades, and a solid, albeit simple, RTS core.

Still, Homeworld: Desert of Kharak is an accessible and well-made strategy game with outstanding production values and a legitimate claim to being part of the legendary franchise.

While the story sometimes sticks too close to familiar ground, Deserts of Kharak is a fun and challenging RTS title that's a worthy addition to the Homeworld franchise.

Homeworld is not an easy name to tackle, and yet Blackbird Interactive did a great job, maintaining some of the brightest ideas seen in the series, and adapting its gameplay in order to support the new location. It is not as memorable as its predecessors, but it’s still a strong and narrative driven rts, that will be appreciated by fans of the genre.

Deserts of Kharak achieves its goal: It’s made me tentatively excited for a forthcoming Homeworld 3. By staying largely faithful to the aesthetic of the originals, by recreating the harsh lived-in realism of that universe and the do-or-die exodus and the vast scale of the classics, Deserts of Kharak manages to feel like a proper part of Homeworld canon—even though it’s set on the surface of a planet.

Deserts of Kharak boasts an unprecedented beauty in its setting and world design, and its hand drawn-style cutscenes only add to that.

Fans of old school real time strategy gaming will find hours upon hours of enjoyment in Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak.

The transfer of Homeworld from space battles to ground battles works very well. Great campaign, but AI and balancing problems disturb the fun.

This is good strategy, nothing more, nothing less. While it captures the spirit of the original in terms of art design and direction, it shows a few annoying deficits like faulty AI, lack of content and tight control options.

Homeword: Deserts of Kharak achieves its goal: to be a fantastic tribute for the original series. As a RTS, HDoK hasn’t much new, but is a fun game for the hardcore public of this genre.

Let’s treat DoK as a group therapy session for developers who still hung over something unfinished in the old Homeworld. Now that they’ve got it out of their systems, hopefully they’ll make something to rival its fame, instead of retracing familiar steps. [Issue#206, p.66]

People who brought us HD editions of original Homeworlds now offer a good RTS with an engaging but rather short (9 hours) story. [03/2016, p.40]

This game offers the same feel as the genius games of Relic Software, thanks to an amazing visual style and excellent audio. However, the controls, simple AI and framerate problems make this game pretty tough to thoroughly enjoy.

Great strategy game that, unfortunately, isn't worth its asking price. Basic multiplayer and skirmish modes fail to offer any longevity after you're done with the campaign.

It is a throwback in many senses, not just to the history of its own series, but to images of war that came to us already cold, already distant.

Blackbird Interactive clearly understands what makes Homeworld such an esteemed series, and for the most part Deserts of Kharak delivers. Only a relative lack of content somewhat lessens an otherwise excellent RTS.

Deserts of Kharak is a worthy successor to mythic Homeworld. We're on a deserted planet, but the strategic action feels like the original game. It has an epic campaign and a solid variety of units combat, but multiplayer suffers from a lack of content.

While the multiplayer is mediocre at best, the campaign more than compensates for fans of the series.

The development team did a good job in transferring the typical Homeworld-feeling and gameplay from Space onto a planet’s surface. The campaign is designed pretty well and is entertaining, combined with a fantastic soundtrack and nice effects. Unfortunately the AI isn’t acting as clever as it should be. Skirmish and multiplayer, though disappointing, offer little content and are just poorly designed.

While not Homeworld as we know it and featuring bugs and a few issues, Deserts of Kharak is still a strong entry for the franchise and a strong RTS. Offering variety to the fast-paced twitch strategy games that are prevalent, the slow paced, tactical approach on offer here is a welcome change.

Ultimately, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a bit like a trip to the beach. Sure, the sun’s beaming and you’ll have a great day’s fun, but you still can’t escape that feeling you’ve got sand up your Kharak.

After 12 years it is great to see the return of a beloved strategy series. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak offers a decent campaign along with great graphics and intense battles, but lacks on the skirmish and multiplayer modes.

The return of a classic builds its foundations not only on nostalgia, but works fine also on the ground. The campaign draws you in no matter the issues with controls and AI, but the satisfactory lifespan could be achieved only if the devs give the game more support and open the game to mod community.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak feels like an exercise in seeing how much mileage Blackbird could get from one environment, and it succeeds in that regard. There's enough strategic options and vehicles to tinker with to make it interesting for at least 10 hours. But Deserts of Kharak feels like it should be just a bit more. You can only travel through the desert for so long before you need to hit an oasis.

Deserts of Kharak is a worthy addition to the Homeworld series, but as a unit-focused RTS it can feel a little flat and predictable until about three quarters of the way through the thirteen missions. It’s really not until late in the game that the missions become more challenging and interesting.

It has more in common with the original Homeworld than it first seems, but this new real-time strategy works best as an introduction rather than a continuation.

Though it lacks some of the nuance and complexity to make the most of some of its ideas, Deserts of Kharak captures the essence of the Homeworld series. Fans of the classic originals will find a familiar form of real time strategy adapted to a new setting, and telling another tale of a lonely carrier fighting through to its destination against the odds.

An interesting enough take on the genre that's let down by boring looks and frustrating little niggles.