Sarah and the Wheeled Warriors
If Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak were a student it would be the unassuming person in the corner of the library dutifully studying. They’re not cool or prima facia interesting, but they understand how to play life’s long game and know that the dues paid now will surely yield dividends later on when the full force of adult life comes crashing in. It’s the student that loves classic literature, not out of any attempts at pseudo-intellectual chic but rather out of a genuine appreciation for its ideas and quality of language. All this to say that the developers understand the key elements that made the original Homeworld games so appealing, and do an admirable job at translating those elements into a ground-based Real-time strategy. Blackbird Interactive have a clear love for the series, but their efforts here strike more as the result of being meticulous students of those games as opposed to rabid fans, which upon learning that some of the original Homeworld team worked on it makes all the more sense. There’s nothing here that’s revolutionary and no attempt is made to introduce anything particularly new or unique, but in the context of a prequel to the Homeworld games this is to be meant as a compliment. Deserts of Kharak is quietly pre-eminent, with thoughtful design and an adherence to the best traditions of the genre.
When having to manage large numbers of units, it behoves you to have a clear and intuitive way to manage everything and Deserts of Kharak keeps its user interface uncluttered and easy to understand. No fancy bezels or stylistic flourishes, just all the information you need delivered with as little fuss as possible. There is a minimalist sensibility derived from the original games that Deserts of Kharak takes to heart and ensures that you never feel overwhelmed by the mechanics. Over the course of the relatively brief campaign each new game-play element is introduced with care and has its utility explained and adequately demonstrated by the demands of the mission.
Likewise combat is very easy to keep track of. Selecting units, creating control groups and organising your forces is nice and straightforward, helped in part by the sensor map that grants a quick and clear view of the battlefield. You still need to be quick on your feet with your orders and adjusting tactics to the needs of the battle, but such demands are mandatory of the genre and the satisfaction of victory is a worthwhile compensation for the occasional panicky moment. Where Deserts of Kharak excels is in how by keeping things simple and straightforward it allows for high accessibility without compromising depth or confusing it with convolution.
Key to this depth is the variety of units and the effect of terrain in battle. The open desert would not immediately appear to be the location for great tactical nuance, but the way sand dunes work as both cover and higher ground make them more tactically interesting than the standard impassable mountain or building. Likewise the variety of units makes for a high degree of choice in considering how to approach any given situation. The usual considerations of army composition appear somewhat more critical here as the differences in speed, range and relative effectiveness can be quite severe. Add in the varied objectives for each mission and you have enough minutiae to require thought and skill without the distraction of having to fight the game itself.
Beyond maintaining the Homeworld legacy for intuitive design and unfussy presentation, Deserts of Kharak also manages to keep its tone and atmosphere consistent with its space-faring predecessors. The sense of journey, of survival in a hostile environment, and the sobriety of the narrative give it the feel of a genuine prequel rather than a shameless cash-in. It's unfortunate however in that the plot and writing are so lacklustre, as otherwise this would be an altogether impressive package. Effort certainly went into the cutscenes and the presentation of story, but here it's one of the rare cases where style takes precedent over substance and the hitherto mentioned atmosphere can only take up so much of the slack.
It's also somewhat disappointing that the campaign is so brief, with 13 missions, many of which taking less than 30 minutes to complete. Whilst this does mean that battles tend not to drag on, it does nevertheless give the impression that the focus here was on the multiplayer, and that the campaign experience is largely there to act as a long tutorial for the various units and tactics available. Suffice it to say at the time of writing the multiplayer servers are barren and it's a little head-scratching to understand quite why the developers thought this could take off under the vast shadow of Starcraft 2. That's not to say that it isn't well made or fun, but rather that the factions and the world of Kharak doesn't possess the immediate personality needed to give it large scale appeal. The multiplayer certainly has its place and ought to be there, but I do not feel the most is made of the single player when it alone will be what survives the inevitable server shutdown.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is in the end a niche game. Those who remember and love the original Homeworld games such as myself are the focus here and with the current genre trends it always seemed unlikely that it would get a great deal of traction outside of this demographic. It's a shame given the game itself is so well made and a great deal of credit must be paid to the developers for managing to create such an impressive title as their first project. It will never be cool or particularly popular, but it's the one that gets the good grades.
