I'm sure I wasn't the only person a little confused by the announcement, earlier in the year, heralding the June arrival of Hardspace: Shipbreaker. As a Homeworld fan the name was immediately familiar since it was Hardware: Shipbreakers that seven years ago became Homeworld: Shipbreakers, then, three years later, settling on Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. Confusingly, the developers, Blackbird Interactive, are also making Homeworld 3. Also rather baffling is that despite the similar nomenclature, Hardspace: Shipbreaker appears to be a very different title from all its previous iterations.
Rather obviously it's not a Homeworld game, but neither is it an RTS; either space or sand-based. What it does appear to be is a welcome antidote to all those Space Engineer-type build 'em ups; a game in which your job is to do irreparable damage to spaceships hulls by cutting them up and selling them for scrap.
As someone who enjoys the opportunity to climb out of the cockpit to scavenge for parts (without necessarily having to make anything from them), I'm really looking forward Shipbreaker, not just for the game, but for the possibility that other titles might incorporate the game's innovative puzzle-based elements, whether to liven up salvaging, resource gathering or boarding actions. Needless to say, I'll be keeping a close eye on this title.