I waffled for quite a bit on whether to buy this or not, but I finally caved and tried it out. I have fond memories of the Wing Commander series from when I was younger, but otherwise I've never really been able to get into space sims, although I always want to like them. I recently got some decent flight joysticks from a second-hand shop, so I downloaded a few space sims to test them out, and remembered seeing early development on Enemy Starfighter (now House of the Dying Sun). I didn't really enjoy the "big" space sims like the X Rebirth demo, so I figured I'd splurge and try out HotDS.

HotDS is the first space sim since Wing Commander that I've really enjoyed, and I found myself laughing out loud with glee as I hunted down the Traitor Lords. It is short, but for me that's actually a bonus, as it's long enough to enjoy without having to dedicate my life to it to finish the game. For a bit more than the price of a 3D movie you're going to have an unforgettable experience. I can see how people that are used to the classic space sim games where you can be a trader, play for 200 hours and not reach the end, etc. would find this disappointing, but I am a fan of short, sweet experiences that are memorable. I highly recommend it, especially if you loved the vibe of Homeworld's setting.

Played in Vive
100/10 Would be Starbuck again.

Wish I could use my joystick, but also understand that it would cripple the tactical gameplay.

Would be fun if Vive users could do 2 player, one person on computer in tactical view, one in Vive in one fighter.

Person on computer should be required to wear an eye patch, drink a bunch, and complain about gaius frakkin baltar until a vein pops out of their forehead.

Gameplay is fun but short, I finished the game in two hours. There are three types of difficulty and lots of upgrades. The game needs a lot of improvement campaign wise but it was a lot of fun to play nevertheless.

Story

In House of the Dying Sun, you are the bad guys. You play as a host body that pilots the most dangerous fighter in the galaxy, your objective?

Avenge the Emporer...

Wait... Was it? We don't really know, but you get to decide at the end.

You fight your way through the galaxy with your ragtag team of what remains of the Emporers Guard killing each of the false thanes and traitorous lords along your journey. Killing and Massacaring countless civilians, soldiers and officers that step in your path. Until your final mission, your last dreadnought armed to the teeth with torpedos, you begin bombarding the surface of the Empire's homeworld until the genocide of over 14 million souls is over. It ends with a last stand until your host body.

I normally don't review games, but I had to. If you liked the original StarFox and/or Tie Fighter, imagine what would happen if those were made today by indie devs. It's an action space sim with unlocks. It's fabulous.

The only cons in my mind are some stutters and the campaign is too short. Please devs, more DLC. You'll have my money for sure.

Seriously in love with this game. It really scratches that old Space Sim itch, with a little bit of fleet management added in. Almost feels like Homeworld in a sense.

What I really hope is that this is a springboard for either an expansion or sequel that is much deeper with regards to fleet management. Something akin to a 4x + RTS + Space Sim combined. How could would it be to have your own little empire where you start out with barely anything, but you slowly capture/build new ships and take more territory from other alliances.

Either way, this game is great. The controls (I'm using a 360 controller) are seamless and easy to learn/use. The in-game physics are top notch. The graphics are very stylized...love it.

It's pretty hard to hear comm chatter, but that's about the only real complaint I have so far. That and maybe adding more options to avoid missles/torpedos.

Short and sweet. Wish there was a scenario editor or endless level but otherwise a fun trip!

Great arcade-e space sim. Controls were super easy to pick up (a lot better with a game pad!) and the visual style works really well.

Campaign is relatively short, but features bonus objectives to replay.

Online coop for this would be amazing. Hope a wave survival mode gets added!

It takes a little getting into (or did for me) and I had to do some tweaking with the Steam Controller (wish there was better support for this, especially in the map view- smooth rotation would be really nice instead of the weird snapping EDIT: Nevermind, there's an option for smooth rotation in the gameplay options) but HOLY CRAP is this good fun in VR. One of the few games to get me to sit down with a gamepad on the Vive.

Looking forward to getting more into this, I'm finally starting to build a fleet and really getting to grips with the nuance of the varying weapon types and making sure to reload before switching weapons. I'm really, really impressed. And drifting is fantastic!

Best seated VR experience yet.

TL;DR: Game features are amazing, but lacks longevity and therefore immersion. Not worth $20.00 AUD.

EDIT (14/6/16) Don't let the 'early access' tag fool you with the promise of more content. The developer has stated that the 'early access' labelling is purely for bug fixes, and he plans to add no more additional content to the game, aside from a wave gamemode: "House has had a ton of iteration put into it before even hitting Early Access, so right now I have no plans to add or change anything major to the game. The remaining work will center around bugs, weapons, upgrades, wave clear, and mission balance. " - dyingsungame.com

Similar to what other people have said, this game has amazing potential. It's atmosphere, design, gameplay, optimization - the list goes on - are top notch. It's sound design is phenominal and extremely emersive.

The issue is a severe lack of content.

The game contains a total of 14 missions, each of which can be completed 3 times and higher difficulties, some of which you will have to return to once your ship is better equiped or you have a larger fleet. However, these missions take, at a max, five minutes to do each. Crunch the numbers and you end up with around 4 hours of gameplay (and that's being generous). For a game priced at $20.00 AUD, this is a pretty big rip-off.

And maybe it's a product of the industry - other games do worse. But this game is already so good, and has the potential to be so much more, it feels like you're being treated to a proof of concept or a fancy paid tech demo.

From what I've read since following this game a few months back, there was actually an implemented feature in which you would jump between systems, earn money for upgrades by completing various missions within them, and use this as a way of boosting your overall capabilities. Why this system has been removed completely, I cannot for the life of me figure out. While it's true that the 14 current pre-defined missions need to be set (timing is extremely important), there seems to be no reason that this could not be implemented as a side feature, adding a beautiful eliment of RPG and immersion to what would be a fantastic game.

Rodina comes to mind. Rodina has all the sandbox elements that make it a wonderful game to explore and become immersed in, whilst lacking all the refined combat, sound design and graphics that are offered by House of the Dying Sun. In the perfect world there would be a single collaboration between the makers of the two games. In the mean while, we can only pray that the Marauder Interactive listens to the people who want to see a return to this form of freeplay, and takes a leaf out of Rodina's book.

The only other niggling issues I have is freelook is currently limited to people with VR headsets. This is a pretty massive oversight for a game of this nature, and hope it's resolved soon. (EDIT 10/6/16: the developer has responded to threads saying he will implement actual freelook in an update). Additionally, it'd be amazing to see an increase in 'simulation' focuses, letting you interact with your ship in greater detail.

All in all, the game is beautiful and fun to play - but the game itself prevents you from playing it for long, and does not seem to be worth the $20.00 it is priced at.