Horizon Now On Your Horizon
A few (or ten) years ago you probably watched pre-rendered video game cinematics, thought how cool they are and wondered if games will ever look like that. Well, unfortunately, Horizon aims to look just like that.
On the other hand, it's going to be a space 4X game published by Iceberg Interactive, who are doing their darnest to show that space 4X is still a thing. They have already published the excellent Stardrive and Amplitude Studios' time thief extraordinaire called Endless Space (it's awesome).
So, Horizon is now on Steam Early Access, but the trailer shows very little in the way of solid information - besides revealing the facts that it's going to be in space, 4X and look goofy. Hopefully, it will be good enough for us to overlook the visual side and continue playing well into the night.
Meanwhile, here are the promised key features and my humble take on them:
Advanced turn-based tactical combat which many 4X fans have been requesting for years (I've no idea what that is and who was asking for it).
Full Tactical ship control includes managing movement, weapons and more.
Board other ships, attack from planetary and orbital defenses
A Distinct open world system, where ships can explore without artificial limits and where combat can span many turns before concluding
Interact with alien races of different levels, including ancient civilizations featuring their own unique storyline, schemes, ships and technology
An immersive galaxy storyline with open-ended missions that add another layer of gameplay over classic 4x mode which is also available
Engage in meaningful diplomacy choices that will impact the game outcome, includes coordinated actions with your allies against your enemies
Discover more than 80 technologies each with 10 levels of upgrades. Conduct planetary surveys and dig for artifacts
Design and customize your ships' weapons and systems based on available technology
A detailed economy and colony management system with different types and levels of colonies based on your build choices
Play in different galaxy configurations from a few dozen stars to over a hundred star systems containing more than a thousand planets.