Summary

• Fun tactical battles with smart level design offput by weird AI decision-making.
• Excellent art design complements stunning environments.
• Story has moments that stand out, but writing is lacking.

Homeworld 3 has been a long time coming, as fans of the real-time strategy franchise have waited for over two decades to continue the story of the Hiigaran people and learn what became of Karan S'Jet. Developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Software, the latest entry in the series revels in its cinematic scale, delivering grand galactic vistas populated by behemoth space crafts battling for resources. While that may be enough to satisfy some, Homeworld 3 doesn't do enough to elevate itself when compared to its Progenitors.

Set 20 years after the events of Homeworld 2, the story follows Imogen S'Jet, Karan's protégé, who assumes the role of Fleet Commander of the Khar-Kushan, a massive vessel that serves as a mobile base of operations among the stars. Having lost Karan S'Jet in a mysterious quadrant of space known simply as The Anomaly, Imogen is desperate to find her mentor and hopefully learn what became of her people. It's a militaristic story that takes more inspiration from Dune than Star Wars, sticking to its self-serious tone even when the narrative's events become a little silly.

Homeworld 3 Is An Epic RTS

Its Sheer Scale Is Unmatched

Homeworld 3 doesn't exactly break new ground when it comes to the RTS genre, as players will use their main base, the Mothership, to create and deploy a variety of smaller units while juggling the task of gathering resources and shooting down enemies. It's a straightforward process that's made more interesting by its fully 3D environments that task Fleet Commanders with ordering their allies to move around an area with very few physical restrictions. It's initially daunting, with the control scheme likely presenting an early challenge for newcomers, but once it's grasped, the result can be electrifying.

The ability to freely move ships around space allows for more complex tactical maneuvers, as units dip behind floating debris to ambush opponents to flank a lumbering frigate by going over its head rather than the expected left or right. It helps that every battlefield, be it a derelict shipyard hanging in orbit around a Hyperspace Gate or a constantly shifting asteroid field, is rendered with precise attention to detail. Homeworld 3's art direction is top-notch, contrasting the sheer vast openness of space with the massive ships flying around its vaccuum, creating a sense of awe during most conflicts.

The single-player campaign serves as a decent introduction to Homeworld 3's systems, but it's just a pity the actual narrative isn't all that compelling.

It also helps that its mechanics are relatively simple to understand, even if one's not too familiar with the RTS genre. Missions take on a variety of forms, tasking players with defending the Mothership while it docks for repairs as one objective before deftly shifting into an all-out assault on an enemy base. The single-player campaign serves as a decent introduction to Homeworld 3's systems, but it's just a pity the actual narrative isn't all that compelling.

Homeworld 3's Story Is Grand, But Not Very Interesting

Dialogue Is Largely Relegated To Technical Reports And Exposition

To put it bluntly, Homeworld 3's story is a dull exercise in both continuing the saga of the Hiigaran people while also softly rebooting the entire franchise. Despite being set up for some interesting arcs, characters like Imogen S'Jet and Intel Officer Isaac Paktu serve to largely dump exposition onto the player, and instances where they're allowed to express some personality are unfortunately drowned out by an over-the-top villain who's never as scary as the game wants her to be. Its presentation is made worse by some awkwardly animated pre-rendered cutscenes that would have looked outdated by 2014 standards.

There are moments where the narrative does shine, but these are largely ed by some fun mechanical twists. Warping into the aformentioned asteroid field makes for a fun endeavor, as players have to tactically move the Mothership between massive chunks of space to avoid damage rather than engaging in combat. The tension of the situation makes for a standout moment in the story as everyone holds their breath and looks to Imogen for safe age, but it's immediately let down by other contrived plot points and tired genre tropes.

Homeworld 3 Is Just A Little Too Janky

Some Systems Need More Work

It's a good thing that Homeworld 3 does so well in presenting its interstellar views because players will be waiting around in them for long stretches of time. The game's pace can be painfully slow as even the fastest of ships take ages to reach a desired location and while that may help emphasize its scale, it's not a formula that works for long stretches of time, particularly in multiplayer. The co-op War Games mode and PvP skirmishes can be fun but generally speaking, they're tedious experiences that usually end the second someone has enough units to swarm their opponent.

It doesn't help that the game's AI is also notably wonky, as units require extensive micromanagement - they can't think for themselves whenever they've completed a task. Units will often completely drop an order with no explanation and even though they've been assigned a job or target, ships sometimes just won't execute their mission. It can result in some frustrating losses, especially when it's no fault of the player that Homeworld 3's pathfinding and AI don't want to cooperate at the best of times.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

3/5 - "Good" By Screen Rant's Review Scale

Homeworld 3 is a disappointing experience that's made all the more frustrating by how closely it occasionally strays to greatness. Its art direction, musical score, and level designs are generally excellent, facilitating some grand moments of strategic warfare and chaos, but its poorly written narrative, awkward cutscenes, and uneven AI always sneak up to ruin the fun. Franchise veterans may well enjoy reuniting to the Hiigaran fleet, but the series' return needs some much-needed improvements before it can access a wider demographic.

Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.