Homeworld: Emergence

Space horror is probably not what you'd expect from a homeworld story, but its done amazingly.

What an absolute classic. Survival Horror 3D RTS. They didnt make many of these.

The title says it all. Of the entire franchise, HW: Emergence (originally Cataclysm) is still the best follow up to the original strategy classic. The plot doesn't feel stupidly contrived, your units feel like an actual upgrade from the original ships, and the main antagonist is actually threatening (as opposed to stupid). The Beast infection organism feels like a civilization-ending threat instead of a deluded megalomaniac with a god complex. You genuinely feel that, if you don't stop it, then the galaxy is doomed. It also uses clever ploys in the plot, sending trojan horses your way and showing off how dangerous it can be. It doesn't get talked into taking stupid risks, it simply destroys obstacles and scares even the Bentusi in a way that feels like a particular nightmare to them. I highly recommend this strategy classic.

I briefly played Cataclysm at a friend's house when I was in high school just after it came out--and then returned to finish the game nearly 25 years later. Totally worth it! An epic sci-fi horror narrative with voice acting that's the good kind of horrifying, and basically no vanilla missions--each advances the plot and introduces a unique tactical challenge or two complete. The Beast is a terrifying foe, especially early in game, and the sense of journey from being a lowly merchant ships confronted with an impossible catastrophe and the rise of power from there is just incredible. Now admittedly, the lack of vanilla missions can also be frustrating, as each scenario involves figuring out a gimmick or two specific that game often doesn't hand-hold to explain. Have to either try and fail a few times to figure out yourself--or look up the gimmick online if you're more keen to advance story. It's a genuine tragedy that the original game files were lost making this impossible to remaster directly--though I hope the developers try too anyway. It's quite in experience full of visual spectacle despite the *very* dated graphics.

I always considered this the real sequel to Homeworld. 2 was fun but the story was pretty uninteresting. It's such a shame this wasn't included in the remaster but if you can get past the outdated graphics it's still worth your time.