Enemy Starfighter Conjures First-Person Homeworld Vibe

Enemy Starfighter looks and sounds like a from-the-cockpit take on the great battles of Homeworld.

Two points to make clear right from the start: First, Enemy Starfighter has no connection to Homeworld, despite what I think is a very obvious stylistic similarity; and second, this gameplay trailer is almost a full month old, having been unleashed on YouTube in mid-August for the benefit of PAX Prime.

But you know what? I don’t care. Late to the game though I may be, this trailer is too spectacular to ignore, even if it’s less than a minute in length. It looks like Homeworld, it sounds like Homeworld, but it seems to play more like Freespace, putting you in the seat of a nimble starfighter while at the same time giving you command of an elite fleet of Imperial warships.

The game itself sounds awfully groovy too. From the Enemy Starfighter website: “You are the Harbinger Fleet, waging a guerrilla war against the enemies of the Empire. Your mission is always simple: Jump ahead into a system where you will most certainly be outnumbered, cripple it, and pave the way for the Armada to hang in the skies above the enemy home world like storm clouds and offer terms: submit or be purified.”

Submit or be purified in the name of the Empire! That’s glorious stuff and, assuming there’s not the usual mid-game attack of conscience, a pleasant change from the standard “fight the power” narrative that drives most videogames. Bend to my will or I will scour your world! Yeah, that’s the kind of action I can get behind. Assuming you’re no more up to speed on this thing than I am, you can find out more about Enemy Starfighter at enemystarfighter.com.