Dust Fleet

About

In "Dust Fleet," you are the commander of a fleet sent to investigate the dark Dust Zone where supply hauls have ceased, threatening humanity with an unprecedented crisis. Balance turn-based management and strategic combat to solve the supply chain issue and secure the vital resources of this rich but dangerous area. Fight for survival and save your civilization from destruction.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 102 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Engaging space battles reminiscent of Homeworld, with customizable ships and tactical depth.
Active developer who regularly updates the game and listens to community feedback.
Fun blend of turn-based strategy and real-time combat, providing a unique gameplay experience.

UI and control issues, including clunky ship movement and lack of formations, can hinder gameplay.
Campaign is relatively short and may feel repetitive after a few missions.
Balancing issues with AI difficulty and resource management can lead to frustrating experiences.

story
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
81%
6%
The game's story is described as decent and engaging, with a campaign that features a mix of strategic elements and fleet management reminiscent of classic titles like Homeworld. However, many players find the missions repetitive and the overall execution lacking, leading to a sense of boredom despite the potential for a captivating narrative. While the campaign is fully voiced and offers some interesting lore, its short length and gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience, making it feel more like a prologue than a complete story.
- “The campaign is fully voiced and has a decent story.”
- “The storyline expects you to plow through systems, rescue solar systems and stations, and at the same time defend from an overwhelming force while getting time-sensitive missions done.”
- “Its captivating story, tactical depth, stunning visuals, and customization options make it a must-play for fans of space strategy games.”
- “Most of the missions are very repetitive and mostly just attack and defend missions, with some that have their own special aspect to them, but besides that, it just becomes boring.”
- “The storyline expects you to plow through systems, rescue solar systems and stations, and at the same time defend against an overwhelming force that you cannot defend against while completing time-sensitive missions.”
- “I really wanted to like this game; the RTS space combat sections and ship customization have so much potential, but I can't even finish the tutorial without wanting to smash my PC. This attempt to add 4X strategic gameplay just turns what could be a really cool homage to Homeworld into a lot of scripted mini-missions.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
Gameplay in Dust Fleet is characterized by intense ship battles and enjoyable mechanics reminiscent of Homeworld, though it struggles with the integration of strategic and tactical elements, leading to some confusion. While the space combat is praised for its detail and excitement, the sector map and certain mechanics feel underdeveloped, and UI issues detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the game offers a fun and accessible entry point for players, with potential for replayability through its ship customization and combat systems.
- “Dust Fleet is a very fun game that's mechanically nearly as good (if not as good) as Homeworld and Homeworld 2.”
- “The ship battles are intense while the background campaign and ship design mechanics are fun and easy to manage.”
- “Whether you're engaged in a small-scale dogfight or commanding a massive fleet, the battles in Dust Fleet are a testament to the game's attention to detail and commitment to delivering thrilling gameplay.”
- “The game gives you the ability to enter and leave by wormhole, but if you hit a mission with very few units and want to back out to save some of your ships, it's game over. I wish the mechanic was different for a single-player game.”
- “I really wanted to like this game; the RTS space combat sections and ship customization have so much potential, but I can't even finish the tutorial without wanting to smash my PC. I generally don't care for this attempt to add 4X strategic gameplay, as it turns what could be a really cool homage to Homeworld into a lot of scripted mini-missions.”
- “The sector map gameplay is a bit of a letdown, but fleet combat can be fun.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The graphics are generally praised for their stunning visuals and dynamic camera angles, particularly during space battles, which create a cinematic experience. While some users describe the graphics as decent, others highlight the impressive 3D space environments and the overall visual appeal that aligns with expectations for a homeworld-style game.
- “The full 3D space battles are a visual treat, with stunning graphics and dynamic camera angles that make every skirmish a cinematic experience.”
- “The good are space battles, nice visuals with the usual big, medium, small, and fighter class ships fighting out; the whole 3D space thing works properly, etc. It's what you would expect from a Homeworld-style game.”
- “Its captivating story, tactical depth, stunning visuals, and customization options make it a must-play for fans of space strategy games.”
- “The graphics are decent but lack the polish expected from a modern game.”
- “Graphics, sound, music, and voice over are done superbly.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is criticized for its stability issues, including a buggy user interface and combat mechanics, which detract from the overall experience. While the gameplay has potential, it feels unfinished and suffers from various bugs that impact functionality.
- “Half-baked homeworld clone with a limited technology tree and a buggy UI, plus no confirmation before you click or buy things.”
- “This is a really good game, but it is buggy.”
- “The combat is neat, but it is very simplistic and buggy.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, user feedback on optimization is largely positive, with many players reporting smooth performance and no significant issues. Some negative reviews seem to contradict this experience, but the majority find the game's optimization satisfactory.
- “I don't know why negative reviews say otherwise, but I haven't had a single issue with it or the performance of the game.”
- “Good performance.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is praised for its quality, contributing positively to the overall experience, while the voice acting also receives commendation. However, some users feel that the sound quality of weapon effects could be improved to match the high standards set by the music and voice work.
- “Graphics, sound, music, and voiceover are done superbly.”
- “I enjoy the voice acting, and the music is surprisingly good too!”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and disorganized, particularly criticizing the ship management and movement mechanics, which feel cumbersome and limit player control over formations and behavior.
- “What takes me aback about this game is that it is exceedingly tedious and very disorganized.”
- “Tedious is what ship management is... ship movement is tedious. Also, formations and even behavior are something I have absolutely no control over.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a main campaign alongside a random campaign generator, enhancing its replayability by providing varied experiences and encouraging players to experiment with different scenarios. This combination keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- “The game comes with a main campaign and offers replayability by also providing a random campaign generator.”
- “This element keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging, encouraging experimentation and replayability.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find humor in a quirky bug that allows them to issue commands to enemy ships after capturing them, adding an unexpected and amusing twist to gameplay.
- “When you capture enemy ships, there's a hilarious bug that allows you to give orders to all enemy ship types of that class still under enemy AI control.”
- “The dialogue is filled with witty one-liners that had me laughing out loud.”
- “The absurd situations you find yourself in are both unexpected and comically entertaining.”