I’ll dot the i’s right away, I’ll say: I haven’t played the first two parts of Homeworld. And only in “Eldritch Blast 5e” I learned about their existence. The reason I started with The Desert of Kharak is because it is a prequel. This means the beginning of the story. It would be silly to play the prequel after the first or even the second part.
It’s strange, but these are the feelings and emotions that this musical accompaniment caused me. To my delight, you can buy it on Steam.
But, it’s time to talk about the game.
World and plot
Very little is known about the world of Kharak itself, but more than enough so as not to ask questions about what exactly is happening here. We are presented with three factions: Coalition, Siidim, Gaalsien.
- Coalition: An alliance of clans that has set itself the goal of survival through a technological process. Kharak is dying, the desert is coming, food and water are decreasing every day. Therefore, the coalition launched an unprecedented space program, because of which it was criticized by some religious cells of society. Which led to a short civil war and the formation of the theocratic proto-state of Gaalsien in the deserts. In battle, they rely on the strong armor of their vehicles and powerful weapons.
- Siidim: a state allied with the Coalition. Unlike the Coalition, it lives closer to the deserts, which is why it constantly encounters the Gaalsien raiders. Thanks to this, I managed to adapt some of their technologies. But, Siidim’s industry is too weak to ensure the interests of their state, and therefore they rely on supplies from the Coalition. It is extremely militarized and has its own interests. The leadership of the Coalition does not trust them, and the leadership of the expedition warned about this.
- Gaalsien: a theocratic proto-state. Main idea: belief in the great Saadzhu-ka, the creator. The Coalition’s decision to leave Kharak is considered blasphemy. This is what caused the split and a short-term civil war. Thanks to technologies found in the desert, they were able to make a soaring engine and advanced cooling systems. However, the religious attitude towards the ships of the past did not allow them to disassemble them and study their design.
And now, the year 1110 comes from the beginning of the local chronology. The situation with food and water resources has reached a critical point. Therefore, the Coalition decided to gather an expedition deep into the deserts, where the satellite network discovered strange energy anomalies. Learn more from F95Zone.
It should be said that this is not the first expedition that was sent deep into these territories. But they were all stopped and destroyed by Gaalsien. Unfortunately, this anomaly is the last chance for the inhabitants of Kharak to survive.
And that’s more than enough. The motivation of the characters is not questionable. As well as the fact that the strategy is focused on the characters. To be honest, I don’t really like it when developers do that. When instead of the interests of the state or organization, we have the interests of individuals. But here, the developers acted wisely, in my opinion.
- They tore the heroes away from the rest of the country.
- The main characters are the scientific and administrative leaders of the expedition.
Graphics and sound
The game is made on the “Unity” engine. And she looks very beautiful, with a couple of reservations. If the desert looks one hundred points, then here’s an aircraft carrier of eighty points. And the usual technique … let’s say you can look at it, but there is nothing particularly outstanding in its display. Models do not irritate the eyes.
Separately, it should be said about the staged videos. This is a kind of cartoon with paints with slow motion animation. They are pleasing to the eye and complement the plot. To be honest, I would love to watch a full-fledged cartoon based on this game.
The audio part is also very well done. Negotiations, sounds of gunshots and everything else is extremely pleasing to the ear. And about the musical accompaniment, I have already said above.
Game process
Classic RTS without base building function. But, this moment, as I said above, is due to the plot. The entire production process takes place on the aircraft carrier, which also replaces the research center. And, plus to this, it performs its main function: it carries air wings.
The actual aircraft carrier, called “Shadow Blade 5e“, is the center of the gameplay. He is our base, he is the main tool in this expedition. It also contains the entire leadership of the expedition, so I don’t advise you to lose it.
The main combat units are vehicles of different firepower and armor thickness. So, among combat vehicles, there are two main ones:
- Light combat vehicle (LBM): no liveliness in battle, but high speed, ideal for driving off rail guns. Gaalsen’s counterpart: sandwalker: an even less armored vehicle, but with a much higher speed.
- Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV): The speed is quite low, but the defense rate is high and the guns are medium. Analog: assault ship.
Also, there are heavy vehicles, which are called cruisers in the game.
- Battle Cruiser: Medium protection, carries quite powerful weapons. Analog: honorary cruiser.
- Artillery Cruiser: Carries artillery batteries. No survivability, but a very high firing range. True, the shells are slow, so you can run away from them. Analog: siege cruiser.
- Support cruiser: repairs units, serves as a warehouse for resources, has good weapons and armor, is slow. Analog: production cruiser, does not repair, but creates new ground units.
Aircraft carrier and aviation:
- By itself, the aircraft carrier can fire powerful missiles at long distances, more precisely, to any point on the map.
- Stormtrooper: fast flying unit. In service with missiles. Analog: an interceptor, the task is to destroy enemy air equipment.
- Strategic Bomber: Flies slowly but carries a large and powerful bomb.
- Air Artillery Battery: No explanation required.
In addition to combat, there are also special units of equipment:
- Extractor: Extracts resources.
- Shuttle: A special building unit. Can create special reconnaissance aircraft. Air defense points and firing points, as well as mine the terrain.
Artifacts also affect the game process. Alien ship systems that can be integrated into the systems of local residents.
As you can imagine, nothing special. Two factions with standard tactics. One: hit and run, and the other: build up firepower and push. The game is read literally immediately. But that doesn’t make it worse. And the tactical map creates a unique combat experience.
disadvantages
Balance. As it seemed to me personally, the Coalition is still a more powerful nation. Yes, this is not bad for the company. But you can see it in custom battles.
The game sometimes turns into a slide show. I do not know, maybe this is a problem for me personally, but the system requirements fully corresponded to the game.
Casual: As I said, the strategy is extremely simple. Yes, for me this is not a problem, but it can scare someone away. However, at a high level of difficulty, AI can be exhausting.
Output
Yes, in terms of game mechanics, the game is nothing special. But! Great music. Nice graphics. Dune atmosphere. Good drawing of staged videos. Interesting characters like in Firebolt 5e. A fascinating company for 8-10 hours, worth it to complete this game at least once. But I can say for sure, this game sold me the first part of the series.
