Both are great games with an amazing atmosphere and they have among the coolest looking space battles in gaming. They are hard and take some getting used to, specially the camera system and 3D movement. However, I do think Homeworld is a superior game than its sequel, mainly because its difficulty is a bit better and the story just feels more intriguing.

Homeworld 2 seems like an afterthought, with a story that is just a rehash of the original with a different baddie, and a difficulty system that is totally unfair and broken. Some of the QoL changes are appreciated (others not), but overall that's not enough to make it better than the original.