House of the Dying Sun - An Extremely Deep Game - Best Space Game EVER?

House of the Dying Sun has been around for a long while now, yet it remains a very high quality space shooter. Is it a contender though for one of the best space games ever?
House of the Dying Sun: store.steampowered.com/app/28...
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Music by Epidemic Sound

[@OlivierMaXZUCCARO]

Following you since a long time now, it warms my heart to hear all these kind words coming from you on a project I've worked on and poured my heart and soul into the score. House of the Dying Sun was an incredible experience, creating it or playing it, or even seeing you all space sim fans appreciating it. Thank you Obsidian, thank you all

[@JonathanFitt]

Oh cool! HotDS has a banging score! Thanks for your work. It really works with the minimal yet evocative story to world-build without actually laboriously spelling things out. It showed me that what I really need to support an action game is to be put into a headspace.

[@Tobascodagama]

Thank you so much for making such a brilliant score! It spent a good couple of years in rotation whenever I needed to get pumped for something. :)

[@backstaiaki]

Your score was such an incredible feat in the game and simply dont understand why he would not play it in the video :)

[@ObsidianAnt]

The soundtrack for House of the Dying Sun was amazing! Great game and great music!

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

Well you made a blindingly good game. You are almost scary.

[@slaphead90]

In 2016 this game made me so excited for the future of space combat games. In 2024 I realise that I shouldn't have got excited.

[@Patrickf5087]

Freespace 2

[@teemum.9023]

@@Patrickf5087Yeah, Freespace 2 is the best

[@hephaestion12]

Star citizen answer the call 😂😂😂😂

[@netshaman9918]

@@teemum.9023 I have it in my old CD's ! ^^

[@youtubevanced4900]

@@hephaestion12Sqn42 might scratch that itch if it ever releases. That’s why I backed with the cheapest ship to get SQN42.

[@OptimumSlinky]

I'm not sure why this game is suddenly getting a bunch of attention on KZbin, but I am here for it! House of the Dying Sun is fantastic for such a small team (basically a single dev and the composer for music), and it needs more love from everyone.

[@MrArchaell]

Independence war 2: Edge of Chaos a genera defining game that hardly anyone talks about (Independence war 1 was also pretty good)

[@Groaznic]

Those were incredible milestone space sims.

[@jeppgogi3170]

picked it up on GOG a bit ago, really looking forward to it.

[@Sourcecode01]

loved that game!

[@Jollanza]

Both I-War are awesome! Still hoping for a remake...

[@netshaman9918]

This one is a PERL ! And you know there is a mod for it that overhauls the entire game .

[@garyweston3269]

Independence War 2 was an old space game that had awesome space travel and newtonian ship motion....Id love to see a rehash of that game with a modernization of the mechanics from that game...

[@kendoyle]

I war and I war 2 were great. I have no idea how they managed to get the first one looking so good.

[@jodonnell64]

@@kendoyle I still have the discs for both games. I can't install/run I-War anymore since Voodoo cards went extinct, and every so often, I reinstall I-War 2:EoC and play until the game-ending bug appears. I've never been able to get the workaround to actually work for me, but since the bug happens pretty far along in the game, I still have fun up to that point. I HAVE managed to finish the game once, on my first playthrough when it was released, but since then, nope.

[@TheCriticom]

For me it would have to be Freespace 1 and 2 best cinematic space games ever for me

[@kendoyle]

@@TheCriticom they were truly fantastic

[@-CrimsoN-]

I love the artstyle of this game. The minimalist yet functional style. Reminds me of Homeworld.

[@danboy8953]

Does anyone remember Tachyon: The Fringe? I used to play that constantly when I was young. Absolutely loved that game!

[@sinner76028]

Bruce Campbell doing voice work on that one as I recall. Too bad it came out the same year as free space 2

[@emgee44]

Yes I still have that game, along with I-War and its sequel, all three were great games. Also another one in case you missed it was Archimedean Dynasty, an under water shoot-em up.

[@weldonwin]

I remember, loved that game

[@OrilliousTyr]

I've loved this game for a long while. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a hotas+headtracking/VR setup.

[@andrewt3768]

I was about to ask about this. I'm always looking to scratch that VR space itch lol

[@Niodium]

Sounds good. It completely passed me by, but I’m definitely going to have to check it out. Thanks ObsidianAnt for highlighting it.

[@legendmir1]

thank you so much for informing me about this game, it is awesome!

[@chrishexx3360]

I bought this after your video on it years ago Ant. It's a cracking game. Very atmospheric, playable and is excellent in VR too.

[@Alexandragon1]

Thx for the video!

[@shmayazuggot8558]

Thanks for the video, I never heard of this game until now. Looks interesting.

[@Timmy51m]

Freelancer is the best space game ever, and I say that because of the effort that went into the narrative side of the game. Most space games have the same loop, which makes them hard to separate, fly here kill that, trade, mine, explore, upgrade your ship etc, and like many of us I've played so many of them it's nuts, but only Freelancer and Homeworld 1 & 2 have I played multiple times. There haven't been many years where I haven't revisited Freelancer since its release.

[@DancesRainyStreets]

It's prequel Starlancer was also very good. Played it even more than Freelancer. Another one from that time is Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos.

[@karstux]

While not a space game, a title that evoked much of the same feeling as Freelancer was Frontier Pilot Simulator. Unfortunately it's a bit rough around the edges, but well worth checking out.

[@aaronsinspirationdaily4896]

I preferred Freespace 2 myself for the combat.

[@funkyschnitzel]

​@@karstux are you thinking of the same freelancer as us? Freelancer was a space trading/fighting/exploring game with a deep story, dozens of star systems, and arcade style space combat. Frontier pilot simulator is a vtol truck simulator on a fairly small map of one planet and no real story to speak of.

[@karstux]

@@funkyschnitzel Yeah, same Freelancer. It's similar insofar as while the story is indeed a bit barebones, in Frontier Pilot Simulator you do get to choose your own path through story missions - either on the side of the law, or doing shady business. There's a solid ship upgrade progression, and lots of discovery and sense of wonder when you look for it. Definitively leaning harder towards the trucking side of things, that's true. And unfortunately somewhat unfinished, in part due to the Ukraine war.

[@TheTwerp]

One of my favourite space games! Short but so very sweet.

[@JonathanFitt]

I actually really liked its short but sweet format. I don’t need another space game to eat 100s of hours of my time! I really appreciated the way it got down to it, showed you what was great about the game, then didn’t outstay its welcome. Wham, bam, thank you Commander. During the campaign I found myself replaying earlier missions on harder difficulty to get more equipment for later missions, and if I really wanted more I could try and complete them all on hard or play the endless mode.

[@isturma]

OA, I'm glad you revisited this game. I ended up buying it after your first video about it, and am absolutely richer for the experience. Please everyone, pick it up and give it a spin.

[@kerbalairforce8802]

I keep seeing videos on it, and it looks like it would scratch that broken E:D hole in my heart

[@zxbc1]

It most definitely would not. I bought it a few years back and refunded it right away. It is nowhere close to the depth of ED in terms of combat nuances. There's little in the way of piloting beyond simple point and accelerate, and maybe drift a little. No engine/shield/weapon power management or strafing or anything like that. No simulated atmospheric flight behavior either. In terms of actual ship management this game is simpler than even Freespace2 from decades ago. Also the graphics are extremely barebone, you can even see the low poly models of ships in this video. It's a very small and niche indie game that offers about 4-5 hours of very casual entertainment and charges way too much. It should be priced at maybe $5 or even free, because even Freespace2 modded feels way better.

[@AuntJemimaGames]

This is one of my absolute favorites! I seriously wish they'd made a sequel, or at least fleshed it out more to make it more replayable.

[@nzavon]

Looks great Ant, liking that it has VR support & apparently HOTAS 😀

[@observingfrank8435]

Thanks I missed it but I'll check it out asap, it looks interesting.

[@billyheaning]

Been playing this gem of a game of YEARS. Back then it was the nBSG sound effects that sold me.

[@faust291]

HotDS is such a fantastic game, I love that I've seen multiple videos by different channels covering it recently!

[@Deliverygirl]

I remember this game came out yesterday. What the hell do you mean 2016? Stop the clock, I'm getting off 😭😭

[@Dasistrite]

I love the setting and themes of this game! Controls are tight with lots of freedom. Soundtrack is unbelievably good! Wish the dev would expand on the game with same mentality he made the original!

[@Roughpaws_Studio]

I bought this game pretty soon after it came out, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I think I'll be playing it this weekend 😎😁😎

[@Kyokushin4]

Try it in VR!

[@aceofmaine]

This was such a fun game

[@alexandervogel4892]

Finally, one of the best space games ever on your channel.

[@weldonwin]

I have this game, in fact I remember when it was called Enemy Starfighter

[@irish7460]

Payed this in VR. It was insane.

[@yoremythsandmonsters1021]

This is amazing in VR

[@LouseGrouse]

I fell in love with this game when I played it. haha w h o o f…it really has been a bit of a while, huh?

[@dsagent]

I played this years ago. The sound design is excellent. Unfortunately it went unknown for a long time.

[@Sylani]

Love your VOICE... Still not sure about the content though :p I'll check-in regularly to collect more Data! :D

[@LaDeCR]

Hang about, hang about, hang about - this reminds me of the Playstation 1 space combat sim game , "Colony Wars: Vengeance"

[@rolanddutton]

Such an awesome game, with an amazing end to the story. Also, the sound design is jaw-dropping. It's the only space game with sound design close to Elite.

[@esoel]

I LOVED this game. It's really good, very enjoyable in VR. The worst thing about it is how short it is...

[@teemum.9023]

Never sacrifice quality even if it means small content

[@KitHavok]

@@teemum.9023 I feel an innuendo coming on......

[@esoel]

@@teemum.9023absolutely! I prefer to have a lot of fun for 7 hours than get bored for 500. Which is why I love and recommend this game more than elite dangerous...

[@esoel]

Although I have to say, I would lose it if they added a multiplayer mode, either vs or coop ...

[@EvisceradorSC2]

Playing this on VR is one of the best experiences you can have in a space game.

[@CMDROldDuck]

I had no idea this game supported VR. I'll have to give it a look. I've found games to scratch all my Elite itches, except when it comes to VR (though I've not yet tried X-Rebirth yet).

[@hotfightinghistory9224]

That this game was made by a single person absolutely blows my mind....

[@aurenian8247]

Short is fine as long as it's good. Journey is only 2 hours and I still return to it

[@darston7979]

Such a good game! I played the hell out of it!

[@Cellinsky-2302]

Cant start this game in VR-Mode. I use a Pimax 8KX with steamvr. Is this Meta or vive only since its developement is some years back? Nice game though, nice vid too. Thank you.

[@rogerchevez1827]

I got it after Odyssey dropped it's fun but more on the arcade side. I think it's fun although each sector is short etc

[@phrinlas]

Do Starflight from 1986. My first and still all-time favorite!

[@antjones2281]

This game is so underrated. Next video do FreeLancer

[@DataC0rruption]

This game was fun in VR

[@CasepbX]

Been hoping this game would get a sequel.

[@Rebar77_real]

It has VR too!

[@nebohtes]

Can anybody comment on peripheral support? Pretty excited for VR support, But can I dual stick and pedal? I'll look into, too, but am really behind the 8-ball this week, and it's possible I forget about this before encountering my PC again.

[@MultiShaun1989]

We need more games like this on console

[@willemdodgerford5782]

Would be nice if someone would mod an open world exploration mode in there

[@weston596]

The only other games to use a realtime tactical view like HotDS is Microsoft Allegiance (2000!), Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, and Nebulous: Fleet Command. Allegiance is the only one of these where you can play as strikecraft (you can also fly bombers and capships, too, but you are dependent on human played gunners).

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

It certainly flew under my radar....didn't even feature on my sonar!!! Yes, it could very well be one of the top five - there's been a few pew-oriented intense games, and they tend to be all a bit same-y. This one has such clean graphics, though, and that alone is something. Variations in missions, and so on, is relatively simple to do, and this does it all really well. Frankly, in my view it's a top three, no question.

[@minortoterona2947]

Tarr chronicles, Homeplanet similar vibes

[@tramapolean]

You mentioned it can fly using Newtonian physics, which I find interesting. There seems to be no space games doing that, or is it like this and a setting lurking in some that I have missed?

[@Elwaves2925]

Best space game ever IMO is the original Elite and Frontier: Elite II. Everything else is second or beyond but Freespace 2 gets really close. Think I'll take a good look at this one as it interests me but I'm not sure yet.

[@emgee44]

I just want to list four games which I think deserve OA’s attention and I know three of them have been mentioned on here already: I-War I-War 2 Tachyon The Fringe Archimedean Dynasty Thank you.

[@artificialgravitas8954]

It's great to see this game still getting coverage, but it is also sad that there is still no successor or followup, I mean I would pay and I know I am far from alone

[@CaptainC6969]

Best of all there is VR support!!!!!

[@xplight]

Looks like good old Descent FreeSpace

[@weldonwin]

Decent Freespace, meets Warhammer 40K and a bit of Foundation

[@Napoleonic_S]

I tried this with my new HOTAS a week ago, somehow it was a mess to control, have ip after 10 minutes... I also didnt play it more than a few hours years ago...

[@Daniel-Strain]

Given how far voice recognition has come, I don't understand why there aren't more games where you can just speak orders to NPC pilots in your wing.

[@fedord01]

Still waiting for Freelancer to come to GOG. One can dream.

[@toiletpapermerchant9310]

its upto Microsoft. They wont give permission.

[@chrisstokoe3169]

The developer should build on this game

[@cmdrredfour2954]

o7 cmdr sorry I didn't see that part.

[@Storm_.]

I wonder if the title is inspired by the SF novel 'House of Suns' by Alastair Reynolds

[@BlackWipeout]

I'm waiting for Infinity: Battlescape, any news ?

[@peterbernhard6087]

Played it in VR years ago. Was like 3h long as far as i remember. It was okayish.

[@Kris.G]

Looks okayish to me too.

[@Dasistrite]

Imho the dark aesthetics, setting and soundtrack makes the game! Very immersive game.

[@Tobascodagama]

Still one of the best space action games ever made.

[@oomwat6101]

Have you noticed that it's now £15 ... Ant has spoken ... make it so! :D

[@kayobee604]

I tried Everspace 2 and I didn't like it at all, the constant instance hopping, inventory management and grind killed it for me.

[@aramyl1836]

It’s -70% on steam until 21 mars. I got it for 7,58$ CAN :)

[@MrMatklug]

ever played infinity battlescape?, the game is flying low on radar until 1.0, its a good game but with a dead MP

[@Titere05]

Totally irrelevant comment, but the volumetric clouds are awesome!

[@acidtwin]

It's a wonderful game but short and lacking coop. For me personally Freespace 2 with mods (including VR mod) would take some beating. Coop and multiplayer plus tons of content, such as the blue planet series, put it light years ahead of the rest.

[@aaronsinspirationdaily4896]

Agreed!

[@snarkywombat155]

Freespace 2 and Tie Fighter, by a mile.

[@aaronsinspirationdaily4896]

Agreed. You and I had a similar experience. Space combat in these games has never been exceeded for me.

[@marisgertans2438]

Not for a second there is a realistic black sky...

[@LifeDrinker0]

The emperor can't die he's a perpetual 😊 and the primarchs are returning in Vulkans name 😊👍 Warhammer

[@nexe7271]

Sorry guys, won't play unles it's VR.

[@Lucpol1986]

Long live the emperor!

[@sirhoschi]

played it in 2016, it was ok, I still prefer freespace 2.

[@TheKianykin]

Freespace 2 was really good

[@zxbc1]

I agree. Freespace2 is actually miles better than this and you can mod it to be much much better.

[@soleenzo893]

why is everyone revisiting this game again ahah? its amazing so i ciuldn't be happier

[@lperry31010]

Conflict freespace & freelance 😊

[@GuTTs1975]

I see that you are playing with mouse and keyboard, its more immersive and better control with a HOTAS.

[@hobsonster]

I loved it, but its always, always going to be Freespace 2. Formidable.

[@danieldorn9989]

It cant be the best space game if its too short

[@paulcotton1992]

good game even better is VR.

[@eobet]

The anticipation for this was so high! A vast galaxy with a massive campaign… and then all we got was a few canned missions and something which felt very off in VR. Such a sad disappointment for me. 😢

[@reneluchinger1210]

First = )

[@gmlviper]

really scrapping the barrel huh? :)

[@quantum5661]

if this game is what the bottom of the barrel looks like than i want more

[@gmlviper]

@@quantum5661 Give it some time, you will eventually understand what I was trying to say.

[@Daimo83]

I was a goon following this game before it released. It was supposed to have a campaign before the dev chucked it out and called it a day. Most disappointing space game ever perhaps.

[@Daimo83]

"A remarkable achievement in the genre" 😂

[@cmdrredfour2954]

why do you say it is the best space game ever you always say that.

[@ObsidianAnt]

I explained that at 22 seconds into the video! :D kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIS1kJ1-d52EaNksi=iecCVXnE3YHjXtBd&t=22

[@whammo11224]

14 missions is not a lot! That's why you don't hear about this game anymore!

[@elguitarTom]

Those transitions are really painful for the eyes :/

[@SagittarA]

yet another "best space game EVER" title... look obsidian, i love you man, but this has to stop. Clearly this game is FAR from the best. only 14 missions, cell shaded graphics, and 20 pounds? Overpriced. It has nothing going for it. This just looks like a mediocre space game. And since i refuse to support you from those clickbaity titles anymore, im just not gonna watch those space game reviews of yours at all. Still gonna watch your other vids tho since its just this series that feels like milking a dead cow.

[@pmcollectorboy2929]

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. This game is the purest distillation of the space dogfight ever. Combat is all it does and does it well.

[@SagittarA]

so it does only 1 thing and only "well"... thats my point tho... i could literally fire up elite dangerous that costs 20euros and still have better dogfight experience + a LOT MORE. If you wanna do pureply dogfighting game then you better make it the best dogfighting game possible because thats a niche within a niche and setting price higher then your competition will not help if your game cant even surpass those. @@pmcollectorboy2929

[@samarkand1585]

Here you go with the over the top titles again. You were cooler when you weren't hype-chasing like that. I already unsubbed, time get you out of my recommendations I guess

[@TheCriticom]

Seems very outdated, from the graphics to what just looks like one ship all the time I have most definitely seen and played better.

[@tweaked74]

Nope. Give me Elite and or Star Citizen.

[@kearseymorton2078]

meh, it is only a shooter