Recent reviews by Feuerfuchs308

The people prevailed. This game and community is amazing.

The pals yearn for the mines.

Wanna guess how many of those hours were spent in the editor troubleshooting?

Stellaris is one of those games that stole my heart, time, and some of my social life. As a sci-fi writer and RTS/Grand strategy enthusiast a game like this is an absolute goldmine to me. It's the perfect blend of good writing while retaining relatively good gameplay elements. I'll break down some pros and cons of this game for the sake of brevity.

Pros:

allows for near complete creativity and ownership of your empire

good technological/societal progression systems

beautiful graphics and a great soundtrack

settings allow YOU to set the pace of the game during the game and before with settings

multiplayer is great if you're just wanting to vibe with your friends

Cons:

While the ship design system is great for what it is, certain components and doomstacking late game tend to become meta between updates and overhauls. I wish there was a wider variety of customization, doctrine, and tactics you could employ with your fleets and ship types

after playing for a while stories/anomalies can be repetitive. I'd recommend using mods at that point to add spice

Planetary combat system is a bit boring for my tastes

new players can be overwhelmed by the various resource demands and progression systems. Take your time to learn it and use the tutorials/guides

I highly recommend GHPC for anyone looking for a highly realistic armored warfare experience, but you hate getting dunked on in War Thunder. It features accurate crew-call outs (only for NATO at the moment), highly detailed ballistics and vehicle models, and the general chaos and mayhem of warfare. The only HUD elements you get is whatever your respective vehicle is equipped with and information you would know if you were actually inside the vehicle (ammunition count/type, vehicle speed, azimuth)

For new players who do not have experience on other tank games or with real experience on armored vehicles it can be quite daunting. There are community guides which can be extremely helpful in understanding what the heck is going on. Read them, they will make your life easier. I will offer a few pointers to get you started though:

1: Cover and concealment are tantamount to survival. Just as a person would use a wall, tree, or foxhole as cover from incoming fire, an armored vehicle needs to use the terrain around it to survive. This can range from a tree-line, a hill, battle position, or building. Use cover and concealment, the enemy's guns are just as big if not bigger than yours; you are not invincible. (Unless you're in an abrams in the defilade, then you're unstoppable)

2: Scan. I cannot express how important it is to scan through the gunner's thermal optics. It will help you pick out targets at a distance and give you an idea of the enemy's positions. Do not just sit in the thermal optic though, the gunner's sight is like looking through a straw and can result in your ready rack getting sent into orbit.

3: Listen to your crew and learn what their call outs mean. Your TC will make call outs once he sees an enemy. Listen closely and follow their directions (generally) Sometimes the crew will get overwhelmed and make mistakes, at this point you need to decide what is best for your survival. Best practice is to engage the greatest and nearest threat first, then work from there.

As someone who greatly appreciates RTS games but has never heard of the Homeworld series I was frankly blown away by Deserts of Kharak.
I'll give my BLUF as this is a bit of a long review: Kharak has an interesting story, atmosphere, and world. Gameplay is fun and dynamic, with some unique mechanics such as the factor of having a mobile base, and utilizing terrain and combined arms tactics to win.

Firstly, the story is awesome. I generally don't expect a lot out of the stories in RTS games but Homeworld has two critical elements. 1) The protagonists are quite charming. While I don't necessarily have a deep connection with them I can certainly sympathize and understand their motives.
2) The world-building is great from the perspective of a new player to the series. It feels well-established and unique in its own right. The only thing I've found lacking is my understanding of the antagonist faction, what their religion is and why it motivates them to do what they do. Although this could be because I haven't completed the campaign or because i'm new to the series.

Gameplay is smooth and fun. The concept of having a mobile base in which you have to manage some resources is refreshing. The use of terrain to gain a positional advantage is key to success. Whether that's drawing heavy units over a hill with a LAV as bait or setting railguns up on a key pass to block off that area, the tactical element of this game is prevalent. I will add, that in my limited campaign experience that aircraft can be pretty cheesy if the enemy doesn't have air defense.

All-in-all Deserts of Kharak is a great game with an immersive atmosphere, great gameplay, and a decent story.

Have you ever wanted to shoot insurgents in the face with a variety of weapons ranging from your soviet grandfathers' Mosin Nagant to your super decked out M4? (No you don't need kills to unlock cool attachments, this isn't COD)
Have you ever wanted to BRRRRT a group of militants in a distant country while defending a farmhouse?
Have you ever wanted to blow up weapons caches with a cell phone and some mortar shells?
Have you ever wanted to get yelled at by your platoon leader because you're fifty meters away and he needs to talk on the radio?

If you said yes to any of these questions, then you need to buy this game, no questions asked. This is the ultimate democracy spreading simulator.

Very fun game, starts out a bit difficult, but that's the neat part. You tend to refine your strategies in the beginning and as you build your way up you're able to expand your horizions. I started out on this game and struggled. I was tempted to quit playing but I grinded it out and it's very rewarding and enjoyable now.

Only issue I have is that the bullet drop is a bit extreme, and the ACOG scope was nowhere near on zero with the reticle. Rounds kept hitting high, someone oughta fix that ASAP. The best part of the game is the fact that it's in development. It's very neat watching a game develop from a very primitive and humble start into a great game. It's a very different experience.

I used to play this game as a kid when it first came out i got it again and it is still fun i highly reccomend it if your bored or just want to have fun!