Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn

Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn is a freeware Windows game, released on 22 March 2012, made by fans of the Wing Commander series.^[4]

Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn
Series	Wing Commander
Engine	FS2 Open
Platform	Windows[1]
Release	22 March 2012[2][3]
Genre	Space combat simulation
Mode	Single-player

Plot

The game depicts a war between Terran Confederation and the Kilrathi Empire. The story runs parallel to the events of Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger.^[5] The player is a rookie pilot with a call sign "The Sandman", currently serving on TCS Hermes.^[6] The game features a 55-mission campaign.^[5]

Development and release

In the early 2000s, Wing Commander Saga was proposed as a mod for Conquest: Frontier Wars, Homeworld, and Starshatter until it was decided to be made with the FreeSpace 2 engine.^[7] The game's prologue was released separately on 31 December 2006.^[8][9] The full game was released 22 March 2012.^[2] A mission editor was released on 11 April 2012.^[10]

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
4Players	Good[11]
Eurogamer.it	8/10[12]
PC Action [de]	Very good[13]

Rock Paper Shotgun wrote: "It's a terrific fan-game, and a much needed return to a genre that's been sitting with adventure games in the commercial sin-bin for far, far too long."^[6] PC Games Hardware [de] called it a worthy remake with a gripping story.^[14] Eurogamer.de called the game a small masterpiece.^[15] HotHardware wrote: "[...] it pays homage to its source material while improving on Wing Commander's classic gameplay and graphics."^[16] Atomic said: "If you remember or are a fan of the classic series this is a must-have to download and play. If you’re not familiar with the series but love Battlestar Galactica, this is also a must-have to download and play."^[17] PC Games said The Darkest Dawn comes close to the quality of FreeSpace 2 and is simply impressive for a fan project.^[18] Joker said the game has an authentic atmosphere and excellent missions.^[19] Joystick described it as one of the most ambitious amateur projects ever completed.^[20] GameStar said the game is tactical-oriented, like Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994) rather than the more action-packed Wing Commander III.^[21]