What’s your most anticipated game of 2024? Frostpunk 2 is high on a lot of peoples’ lists. Hollow Knight Silksong, while we don’t know if it actually will come this year, is certainly one to anticipate. Personally, I have a morbid curiosity about Silent Hill 2 Remake. But one of this year’s most wanted has already just launched. The return of a classic RTS game series, and genre cousin to the likes of Command and Conquer and Ages of Empires, despite the prelude and all our hopes, it’s having a hard time on Steam.
Barring the prequel Deserts of Kharak, Homeworld 3 is the first major new entry in the RTS game series since 2003. Developed by Blackbird, which took over the license from Relic Entertainment, under publisher Gearbox Software, the strategy sequel was previously among the 25 most wishlisted games on Steam. Boasting a beautiful sci-fi setting, expansive building and customization options, and a new story, a day after release, Homeworld 3 is nevertheless struggling on Valve’s store.
Based on figures from SteamDB, of the 1,351 player reviews posted for Homeworld 3 so far, only 58% are positive. On the Steam store page itself, both these figures are lower – 887 reviews, 53% of which would recommend the strategy game. As a result, Homeworld 3 currently has a user rating of ‘mixed’ on Steam, as players share criticisms of the story and the game’s scale compared to its predecessors.
“I just finished the campaign and to be honest, I am beyond disappointed,” one player writes. None of the mystery, impending doom, and sense of vastness that the previous games’ stories had.” “The game is gutted compared to previous entries,” another player says. “There are gameplay features missing. It’s just a worse game than Homeworld 1, Homeworld 2, and Homeworld Remastered in all aspects.”
At its peak on Monday May 13, Homeworld 3 attracted 9,153 players on Steam. Blackbird has already shared a large post-launch roadmap, which includes free new material in June and August and two paid DLC packs in July and October. Potentially, these additions and updates can earn Homeworld 3 some more positive responses. We’ll have to wait and see.
Whether you’re a big Homeworld fan or want to try something different, get the best strategy games on PC. Alternatively, think a little bigger with the best 4X games ever made.
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