Homeworld Remastered Collection Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Homeworld Remastered Collection
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
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Homeworld Remastered Collection action

As another assault frigate blows up against the background of a supernova, I am so enthralled by the spectacle that I fail to spot the massive squad of enemy fighters and bombers that aims to take out my destroyer, the linchpin of my offensive efforts.

With many of my frigates already damaged, I try to execute a fighting retreat while my Mothership produces more interceptors and drone frigates to face the new threat, but the distance is just too great for my relief force to cover quickly enough.

My destroyer is now out of the game and the enemy has gained momentum, so I decide to start the level over again and implement another strategy in order to try and get my people to the home they deserve.

This is just one of the moments when Homeworld Remastered Collection manages to mix gameplay, graphics and story in unique and interesting ways, and it's great to see the two classic titles included brought to modern times by the team at Gearbox.

Story

Homeworld Remastered Collection allows gamers to play the first or the second title in the series both in their upgraded and their classic form, permitting them to experience two of the most emotional and grandiose narratives ever told in the video game medium.

The first title tells the story of some mighty people who have been brought low and are once again searching for their home and their rightful place in the galaxy, which involves the destruction of an entire world, plenty of other sacrifices, and a lot of space warfare.

Fans already know the details and it would be a shame to spoil them for newcomers, and even after so many years, the initial Homeworld title still managed to impress, not so much with its storytelling or dialogue, which are restrained and deliver mostly via black and white cutscenes, but with its atmosphere.

Homeworld Remastered Collection beauty
Homeworld Remastered Collection beauty

The game manages to make the player aware of the mix of hope, revenge and loss that power the Hiigarans as they seek to reach their ancestral home, and it's easy to create a connection with the race and their struggles.

Cataclysm is unfortunately not part of Homeworld Remastered Collection, which means gamers do not have a chance to experience its focus on smaller scale action and deal with the threat of the Beast.

The story of Homeworld 2 is more complex than that of the original and the result is not necessarily better.

The main threat of the Vaygr never feels truly important and the entire narrative is more clinical, with a smaller emotional impact, although the pace and the stakes do increase towards the end, when the Progenitor mystery is solved.

The stories of Homeworld Remastered Collection are video game space opera at its best, and it should be a pleasure for both fans and new players to experience them on modern computers.

Gameplay

Homeworld Remastered Collection still feels revolutionary it terms of gameplay, with its wide open battlefields where ships can engage each other from a variety of angles using a wide range of formation and tactical approaches.

The central element of the game is the Mothership, able to build all other units and the nerve center of the fleet, guided by a being that has fused its consciousness with an Artificial Intelligence.

Players will harvest resources, create units, choose the best types for the jobs they need to perform and then guide them during combat, trying to minimize losses and conserve resources as they defeat their enemies and prepare for the unknown of the next hyperspace jump.

In part, Homeworld relies on a rock-paper-scissors system, but there are a lot of special abilities and combinations of units that can achieve a particular aim, and the game never asks the player to adopt one strategy or other in order to progress.

Because the battle space is so open, Homeworld encourages players to try out new strategies and the missions, especially those with special conditions and objectives, can be surprisingly hard to complete.

Even for a gamer who knows some of the twists and how to approach each situation, failure is always a possibility because as fleets grow larger the attention of the gamer is stretched thin and it is easy to misjudge a particular battle.

Failure can be a little frustrating, but the difficulty of Homeworld never feels artificial and it's a joy to restart a level and try out another strategy to move closer to success.

Solid use of grouping, tactics and stances is essential for success, especially in the final few missions of the two campaigns.

Homeworld 2 does feel a little more complex than the original title in the series, but I tend to prefer the purity of the first experience and its focus on making the most of limited resources.

Gamers can also try their hand at one-time matches against the CPU in order to test their strategic and tactical prowess.

Graphics and audio

Homeworld Remastered Collection looks and sounds great, managing to make two titles that were launched in 1999 and 2003, respectively, look appealing for a modern gamer, especially for one who has not experienced their beautiful environments and carefully crafted ships before.

There's no other title that manages to make space seem endless, mysterious, filled with possibilities and dangers.

The style of the ships might not be as impressive as it was ten years ago, but the various pieces of hardware are still detailed, well textured and impressive during combat, engaged in the ballet of destruction that defines so many missions of the two Homeworld titles.

Homeworld Remastered Collection has some pretty battles
Homeworld Remastered Collection has some pretty battles

I love pressing F to zoom in right behind a ship as it launches an attack or to get close to a capital vessel which is sacrificing itself so that the Mothership can stay safe in a dangerous situation, and my only regret is that it's hard to simply observe Homeworld in action because so much of the game requires the use of the tactical view.

The second title does have an edge in terms of quality, but both look much better than their age would suggest.

The two games also use sound in simple but efficient ways, with ship chatter designed to draw the players’ attention from battles and give quick status updates that are important in the middle of major engagements.

The music also manages to convey the immensity of the challenge the players are facing as they seek to reach their goals, and it also focuses on the mystery and hope the depths of space hold for the races that aim to explore it.

Multiplayer

Homeworld Remastered Collection aims to mix the multiplayer for both titles into a single system and the development team admits that this is a work in progress by slapping a big beta warning on it at the moment, citing the complexity of dealing with the code that has been used for the strategy titles over the years.


The Good

  • Engaging stories
  • Complex and exciting space battles
  • Variety of units and tactics

The Bad

  • The interface can be a little difficult
  • Cataclysm is not included

Conclusion

The Homeworld Remastered Collection offers players access to two of the best space-based strategy titles ever created and allows them to do so on modern machines, with no worries about compatibility or other hardware problems, which means that the fan community should be grateful for the work Gearbox has put in.

The stories of the two games are as good as they were on launch and the gameplay continues to be superb, even if a little more work on the user interface would have been welcome.

The big regret is that problems surrounding the Cataclysm expansion were not solved and that it has not received the same treatment, so that the current package could truly offer a look at everything Homeworld related.

The successful remastering effort that Homeworld has undergone will be cause for celebration for most fans of the series, and it will be interesting to see how it affected the development of Shipsbreakers and the possibility of getting access to a third full game.

The launch of the Homeworld Remastered Collection is also a good moment to talk about how we should handle content that was loved in the past and which is not easily available to gamers at the moment.

The team at Gearbox that worked on the new package clearly loves the title and wants to make the community happy, but in an ideal world, gamers would have also been able to get just the two classic titles as a separate package for a much lower price.

That being said, Homeworld Remastered Collection is a great way to experience two great games, appealing to both long-term fans and those who discover them for the first time.

story 9
gameplay 9
concept 10
graphics 8
audio 8
multiplayer 7
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 

Homeworld Remastered Collection Images (20 Images)

Homeworld Remastered Collection actionHomeworld Remastered Collection character designUnit close-up in Homeworld Remastered CollectionHomeworld Remastered CollectionHomeworld Remastered Collection cutscenes
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