Recent reviews by Jay [Y]

As a veteran Homeworld player and enjoyer, here's my take on the game.

+ fun gameplay, a lot like previous titles
+ absolutely gorgeous graphics, very detailed ships
+ fantastic new environments
+ campaign contains diversified objectives (e.g. survive in an asteroid storm, defend an enemy onslaught etc.)
+ no major, game breaking bugs
+ great soundtrack

* campaign feels somewhat easier than previous titles, e.g. resources surplus (I played on medium difficulty only though)
* no more subsystem-targeting like in Homeworld 2

- pathfinding of ships is sometimes buggy
- (as of review) only two factions
- generally less mystery and less religous vibes
- mediocre, short story
- minor gameplay elements are lacking, e.g. there is no waypoint order, if you order ships to stop firing because you want to capture an enemy ship they don't stop

Controversies and other information:
* controls? I've had no issues with the controls, it's mostly like in the previous games
* price? will drop over time, if you think it's too expensive just yet, but want to play it anyways, just wait a couple of months
* roadmap till 2025, includes free maps and challenges (+ more unspecified content) and 3x paid DLC, each with new factions

Overall, I am having a lot of fun with the game. I'm still a little sad over how they didn't include the mysterious, almost religious vibe in the game, like they did in Homeworld 1 and Cataclysm/Reemergence. If they had, this would have improved the atmosphere drastically. It's still intriguing, but it feels somewhat different compared to the previous titles.

7/10, might change depending on the future DLC

This game is an actual masterpiece.

It's one of those games that combine many different aspects from other fantastic games and franchises and forges it into something entirely new and unique. It's not a no-brainer horror game that tries to scare you with cheap jumpscares. It is invokes a feeling of existential dread and is very thought-provoking. The environments are desolate and frightening. The music expresses solitude and regret. I've played a great number of different games for many, many years, with varying artstyles, but I have rarely seen a game with such a unique and fascinating artstyle. The transitions between scenes and combinations with shifts in perspective, texts, music, videos and environments are the best I have seen on an Indie-game in a very long time.

Don't let yourself be fooled by the graphics. It might look like a game from the PS1-era, but when playing, you will soon notice that technologically it is much more advanced than any of these. The troubles you had with these games in terms of character movement and animations do not apply here. The gameplay is modern and silky smooth.

Now if you read this review up to this point, you'll have noticed that from a story, artstyle and gameplay kind of view, you will not regret playing this, but what about the genre?
As I mentioned in the beginning, the game combines many different aspects from other games. It combines melancholy on a Silent Hill-level, with occasional steps in a similiar horror-style. The inventory system resembles the one of the modern Resident Evil games (limited space), however it doesn't often end up forcing you to make "cargo" runs in which you have to backtrack to places you've been before all the time, having dumped all your weapons and healing items (does happen rarely though). I don't play a lot of horror games because I don't like jumpscares, which in this game, there are none (or at least none that stuck to my mind).

+ compelling, thought-provoking and melancholic story
+ smooth gameplay
+ interesting riddles that are not frustrating
+ absolutely fantastic choice of music
+ frightening, desolate environments
+ unique overall artstyle that includes images, transitions etc.

(-) inventory: you can only carry up to six items, which sometimes are too few, causing you to either leave behind loot or run back and forth to chests

Generally, I greatly enjoyed this game and recommend to play it.

Best survival/base-building game you'll ever play. Perfect for killing time. The other reviews about Factorio being a time sink are really true, this game is very addictive. Start in the morning and suddenly you'll find yourself in the middle of the night when finally quitting the game.