Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

A ground-based RTS prequel to the classic Homeworld games. Assemble your fleet and lead them to victory on the shifting sands of Kharak in this compelling strategy game for PC from Blackbird Interactive.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a strategy, rts and sci-fi game developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Publishing.
Released on January 20th 2016 is available on Windows and MacOS in 7 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian and Polish.

It has received 8,356 reviews of which 6,664 were positive and 1,692 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. 😊

The game is currently priced at 4.59€ on Steam and has a 90% discount.

The Steam community has classified Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak into these genres:

Strategy RTS Sci-fi Multiplayer Story Rich Great Soundtrack Space Female Protagonist Atmospheric Singleplayer Action Futuristic Real-Time Tactical Adventure Co-op First-Person Epic

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak through various videos and screenshots.

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Requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

OS *: Windows 7/8/10
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1 GHz) / AMD A10 5800k (3.8 GHz)
Memory: 3 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GT 440 (1024 MB) / Radeon HD 4890 (1024 MB)
Storage: 8 GB available space

MacOS

OS: OSX 10.10.5 (Yosemite)
Processor: Intel Core i5-3470S
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GT 640M
Storage: 8 GB available space

Reviews

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Dec. 2024

It's fun, very reminiscent of the good ol' Command & Conquer series or any other title in the RTS genre. The negatives: - Short campaign and it was hard to get emotionally invested in the thin plot and then it's suddenly over. It's ok, It's like playing a campaign in FPS games, it's there but not the reason you bought the game. - Unfortunately, the Skirmish mode is weak, very few maps to pick from and if you're a fan of the genre then you know how important this part is - There's just one (1) 6 player map, for example. - As you improve you'd like to go 1 vs 2, 1 vs 3, 1 vs 4 and so on but it's not possible here as you'll get a "team unbalanced" message stopping you from going further. Great. - You can't change shortcut keys (!) so if you're on a 60% keyboard you might miss out on important functions. - The game will launch offline but you can't play offline, not even skirmish mode because everything is cloud-based. Had I known beforehand I probably wouldn't have bought it. - Insane amount of bugs. Matches will crash 20 minutes in, enemies will freeze mid-air and just stay there. Most annoying of all is the resources bug, salvagers refusing to collect resources because it says it's already 2/2 salvagers there but in reality it's not so you have to wait until the bug clears itself and try again - hopefully you will not die whilst trying to get this sorted. Not worth the full price since it's abandonware and will not see any updates or bugfixes (most likely) but at €5 I really can't complain, the price of a Happy Meal.

Oct. 2024

Similar to Ground Control. The music, art style and physics are quite immersive, but the scenario is lacking, can't empathize with the characters. Would have been a good purchase for 15€, got it on humble bundle.

Oct. 2024

other than being unable to change keyboard shortcuts in a easy manner (have to use the config file in the \Deserts of Kharak\out\cloud) the story and game on harder levels is quite enjoyable.

Sept. 2024

An enjoyable, if fairly mediocre RTS. The theming, soundtrack, and art design do most of then heavy lifting, whilst the important parts of the technology, mission design, and story aspects of the game were apparently left on the cutting room floor. This product clearly had a lot cut out of it in order to get it to ship on time. The game starts quite strong and presents some novel ideas (Homeworld, but in the desert!), but quickly descends into fighting identical missions in identical terrain using identical units. The most fun to be had is in using the carrier as an actual carrier, and launching wave after wave of jets against your enemy, with your ground fleet being the support that grabs the all important objectives. I love the vehicle design, and I really like the cinematic style and VOX. But the actual story presented to us via these animations and cinematics is a garbled mess that 2/3rd of the way through jackknives itself. Everyone involved in the story and mission design just seems to give up, presenting us with some absurd plotting, and just dumping every technology upgrade in the game on you that they couldn't find a way to give you elsewhere. The final mission is completely anti-climatic, especially compared the previous few. The combat is ok. The unit AI could be smarter, as units seem to shoot at the closest thing, rather than the thing they counter, and microing everything is tedious because all the enemies unit look like floating tanks, and if you zoom out far enough to see the NATOesque unit icons then they all blur into one, meaning you can't select the damn things. Thankfully the game features tactical pause (order whilst paused) meaning you can actually target that mission ship in the middle of the medium tanks. The combat mechanics are meant to take advantage of heights, but you can only really figure out the height of various dunes by using 3d mode and zooming right in, as it's completely absent from the tactical view. Another crucial feature also mission from tactical view: range. How am I meant to make informed decisions about the Carrier's range power settings, or where to station the artillery, if I don't even know how far 1300m actually is? Even homeworld 1 showed the range! The mission design is fairly samey, uninspired, and predictable: baddies arrive in waves, shoot them! And then 2/3rd of the way through the mission, "surprising" enemy reinforcements appear in a cutscene. Oh no, it's another mixed group of units with two support cruisers, or perhaps even a carrier depending on how far along the game you are! Medium difficulty is ok, nothing too rushed, perhaps a bit on the easy side. "Classic" difficult is _very_ difficult, even the first few missions are hard in this mode! Tech wise: You can't even change your hot keys, which is annoying. I also had consistent problems with sound stuttering and skipping if I played for a long time, required me to restart the game. Over all, it's another RTS game that looks and sounds cool, gets old quite quickly, and is perhaps only worth it on 25% off.

Dec. 2023

As a tech-savvy gamer delving into Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, I found myself immersed in a richly detailed strategy game set in a vast and challenging desert terrain. This game offers a unique blend of engaging gameplay and strategic depth that feels like a sandstorm of excitement with every move. Pros: Compelling Storyline: The game presents a captivating narrative, immersing players into an intriguing storyline that unfolds amidst the unforgiving desert landscapes, creating an immersive gaming experience. Strategic Depth: Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak excels in offering strategic depth, demanding thoughtful planning and tactical decision-making, which caters well to both hardcore strategy enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Stunning Visuals: The game boasts stunning visuals that bring the desolate beauty of the desert to life, with detailed environments and impressive graphical fidelity that enhance the overall gaming experience. Intuitive Controls: The user-friendly interface and intuitive controls make navigating units and managing resources relatively straightforward, ensuring a smoother gameplay experience. Cons: Limited Multiplayer: Some players might find the multiplayer options limited, potentially impacting the long-term replayability for those who primarily seek multiplayer engagements. Learning Curve: The learning curve can be steep for newcomers to real-time strategy (RTS) games, requiring patience and practice to master the game mechanics. In conclusion, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak delivers an engaging and visually stunning RTS experience set in a captivating desert world. Despite a few limitations in multiplayer and a learning curve, the game stands tall as a commendable addition to the genre, offering hours of strategic fun. My Rating: ★★★★☆

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