Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

After downloading and installing the game, be prepared to wait another 20 minutes while it downloads and installs tons of "Epic Store" crap that wasn't mentioned anywhere. Then, Steam can't launch the game; it actually launches an Epic Games launcher which in turn tries to launch the game... and often crashes. Once it has crashed (which it also does after you've "successfully" closed the game, BTW), Steam insists the game is still running and can't be launched again (because it's looking for the Epic launcher - which is now frozen - instead of the game itself). Trying to kill the ironically named "Epic Helper" process fails even as administrator. Once you finally manage to get into the game, you find [b]it uses keybinds selected by a sadist,[/b] spread across the four corners of the keyboard (ex., camera motion expects you to use the cursor keys on the right side of the keyboard, not WASD - which are bound to completely different things). And when you go to the "controls" menu, you find out that's simply a static LIST of the insane default keybinds, [b]it doesn't allow you to [i]change[/i] any of them![/b] So, you go online and you find that you have to dig into the game's files and edit a (huge) file manually to change the keybinds (though in game you'll still see everything tagged with the old keys, so you have to memorise all the new binds). But because that wasn't horrible enough, the game deletes all your changes and restores its own "backups" whenever there's an update or file integrity check. This kind of crap installer and horrible UI would have been unacceptable even in 1999, when the original Homeworld was released. In 2026 it's not just bad, [b]it's an insult.[/b] There [i]does[/i] seem to be an ok-ish RTS game underneath all this crap, but frankly I can't be bothered to jump through more hoops. Unfortunately I didn't install it straight away and now Steam refuses to give me a refund, even though I played less than 40 minutes (and about 20 of those was the game installing Epic Game store crap which will probably take me weeks to clean from my system). I guess it's Steam's new "trick" - sell multiple games at the same time during their "fests", knowing people won't install and try [i]all[/i] of them straight away, and later claim the game "was sold too long ago to ask for a refund", even though they didn't deliver it (just took my money). I'd argue that the sale (and associated trial period) is only active once the customer actually downloads, installs and runs the software (and I think any competent judge would agree with that), but Valve know a lawyer would cost me more than the game. But hey, if anyone is looking to start a class action lawsuit, count me in. Until then, I'll be sticking with GOG.