After being dazzled by its trailers over the last few months, the time has finally arrived for Empire of the Ants to scuttle onto Steam. It’s one of the most intriguing strategy titles I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s gone pretty viral in the build up to launch thanks to its photorealistic visuals. However, on the day of its full release, it doesn’t seem like it’s setting the world alight.
While RTS games are often all about soldiers, gods, spaceships, and the like all smiting your enemies, this time it’s woodland insects. Instead of vast kingdoms, battlefields, and galaxies, it’s a small patch of beautiful woodland. Empire of the Ants does feel like a breath of fresh air in the current strategy scene, and it puts you in the shoes of an ant that is essentially the commander of a bug army. There’s a narrative-driven single-player campaign to play through, but many RTS fans will be eager to get competitive and dive into ranked 1v1 matches and a free-for-all mode too.
You patrol the forest and command your various units – which range from ant soldiers, to healing aphids, to tanky defensive beetles – to harvest resources, conquer other ant nests to expand your influence and house your growing army, and decimate other colonies. As you are tied to just the main commanding ant in a limited third-person view you don’t really get an overall, zoomed-out view of the battlefield around you, so your awareness needs to be on point.
You also don’t actually enact any of the harvesting, attacking, or building yourself – something a few players in early Steam reviews are a little disappointed by. Commanding your units and being the strategic bug brain behind the battle is what Empire of the Ants is all about, rather than getting your own antennae dirty.
Talking of Steam reviews, the early reception has been pleasantly positive, with 77% of Steam users recommending the game, but there are of course some negative reviews too that are holding it back from being a real RTS hit. Player counts too have been fairly modest, peaking at just over 1,200 players on Steam, but as with any mid-week release, there’s always scope for things to pick up as the weekend approaches. As it’s also available on GOG and Epic, this isn’t the total picture of its PC performance either.
Empire of the Ants is out right now on PC and consoles too. If you want to learn more about it, head over to its Steam page here.
For more tactical experiences, take a look at our guide to the best strategy games. If you just need something to scratch the competitive itch, there are loads of great options on our list of the best multiplayer games too.
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