Horizon Beta Impressions
I usually restrict myself from trying out strategy games on the PC platform since I have such strong ties to Civilization and find that nothing can really compare to that legacy. Though playing Horizon I have felt a great attachment to the unique gameplay that is almost reminiscent of the olden Sid Meier’s older galaxy games. Horizon sports a sleek interface with minor adjustment into a galaxy of which you can just expand and build throughout. It has all the addictive feeling from turn based games adding further to that by the slew of customizing options from ships, to planets or even solar systems of which are touched by your exploration. The whole premise of the game is brought by aliens intercepting the good old Voyager with actually really decent graphic cinematics and draws you into this future where humanity is colonizing and other races are going about rampantly. It really becomes crazy once you are managing vast colony systems and ships. These of course are all namable and have a number of things you can customize to make personal. I personally am still rolling through with my system expanding between other empires with the colonies of Reach, Arkonos and Bif thriving with their own orbital stations. This whole voyage became possible by the sending of small scout ships and eventually I made the move to more advanced colonizing ships. At some point you even may get to have a mothership to conquer the galaxy. There are of course layers of diplomatic interaction or even war if you so choose or are forced to. Leading to the possibility of graphic combat with a miniature ship combat that is a neat system that I’m still trying to grasp properly. As far as bugs for an early access I didn’t find to many issues and as well I will note that the movable interface is absolutely helpful so that it feels like it has just that extra layer of personality. If your like me and enjoy the exploration of open space with multiple things to do in an enclosed turn based strategy game you will love it. It really is an intense game that will suck you in deviously for a couple hours at least every time you sit down to play, it’s available now for early access and you can download this awesome game here. Remember to report any issues so that the Horizon can be expertly polished for its final release! A final comment is that when you go to colonize or use other options just click the tab above said ship, took forever for me to discover...and there’s the start of my exploration playthrough below.