Empire of the Ants invites players into a beautifully crafted microcosm, drawing inspiration from Bernard Werber’s acclaimed novel of the same name. Developed by Tower Five Studios, this real-time strategy game showcases stunning visuals that immersed me in one of the most impressive worlds I’ve seen. However, while the graphics transport you to another world, the gameplay falls disappointingly short — leaving a taste in my mouth, I imagine, similar to how Ant-rid tastes to ants.
Miniscule Details
The standout feature of Empire of the Ants is its breathtaking graphics and world design. The environments are lush and teeming with detail, from the realistic textures of leaves to the intricate designs of the ant colonies. Each frame is a visual delight, immersing you in a captivating world that feels alive.
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The attention to detail is remarkable—every stick and speck of soil appears meticulously crafted, making you feel as if you’ve been transported into Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! — only now you’re the ant. Every nook and cranny buzzes with life and potential danger.
The spiders, in particular, look terrifyingly realistic — the hairs on my body stood to attention in fear! However, I soon realised that getting attacked by these beasts is difficult; they serve more as a deterrent at the map’s edge. Which is likely why there is a trophy for being eaten by one.
If knowing they won’t attack unless severely provoked isn’t enough, the game also offers an arachnophobia mode that removes them entirely.
103,683rd’s Story
Despite the impressive visuals, Empire of the Ants leaves much to be desired. The 20ish hour campaign, while stunning to look at, was unengaging and repetitive. You step into the six legs of the 103,683rd ant, awakening from winter hibernation. (All the ants are named sequentially by birthing number.)
The Termites are active early and strange happenings are going on across the colony. To deal with these issues, your queen sends you out to fight the Termites and assist your fellow colonies.
At each colony, 103,683rd can ‘talk’ with fellow ants offering further insight into the workings behind the nest. These conversations are all one and done, however, with no changes in dialogue after missions. You can essentially just engage with the four or five ants when you first arrive, then ignore them for the rest of your time at that colony.
A flood struck the first colony 103,683rd visits, causing widespread devastation. I wish Empire of the Ants utilised the flood mechanic more effectively; as it stands, players experience only one level where the water slowly rises. Scouting more routes through flood stricken terrain and rescuing stranded ants would have made for a more engaging mechanic.
The remainder of the game felt very similar, introducing scenarios with potential but not using them to any great effect mechanically.
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Leading the Colony
Carrying a leaf five times the size of an ant can feel clunky, often leading to frustration. To manage each nest you have to scurry over to it and select the various options by crawling around the nest. Your body is the cursor.
It’s stylistic and at first, I loved it. However, after some time, having to run around to each nest to action different upgrades or build new additions became a chore. I longed to be able to do more from a distance or for a more tactical view I could utilise. All you can do away from your nest is upgrade units.
With only three different mission types, boredom quickly set in.
Exploration is the first and by far my favourite mission type. Hunting fireflies in dark, damp caves was a technical marvel to behold. It filled me with a childlike wonder, seeing the world from an ant’s perspective. That said, these missions were few and far between.
The other two, where you spend the majority of your time, are tactical and strategic missions. These essentially serve the same purpose, but in tactical missions, you don’t need to worry about capturing nests and collecting resources for upgrades.
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The resource management system, while initially intriguing, quickly becomes tedious. Instead of feeling like a strategic mastermind, I found myself stuck in a cycle of repetitive tasks, with little reward for my time. I often found myself just sitting around waiting for progress bars to slowly fill.
Resource generation is also painfully slow and your options to generate it are far too limited. Certain maps have resource nodes, however, gathering is slow and there is often only one node.
For the Federation!
Empire of the Ants’ main segments of gameplay are combat based. As the 103,683rd ant, you command legions of ants and allied “lesser” insects to fight off and invade other colonies. Enemy colonies consist of termites and other ant species. It’s your job at the queens to command to keep the federation safe and secure.
Combat mechanics though feel underdeveloped, leaving me yearning for more depth and variety. The game employs a rock-paper-scissors system among three main ant legions: Gunners, Workers, and Warriors. You can also opt to build support legions, such as aphids, which are weak but offer healing. Lastly, there are the super predator legions, which are effective against all three but have a weakness. Super predator legions include hornets for example. which are immune to melee damage but gunners are super effective against them.
The available legions don’t change much, as only a couple of extra super predators and support get unlocked across the main game. Yet during missions, you can only select one of each type to bring into battle. Each nest supports only one legion, and your legion limit maxes out at seven, which makes your options limited.
Your role in battle is issuing commands to legions and releasing pheromones, the game’s version of spells. These powerful pheromones can increase damage, speed, or health recovery, and often swing battles in your favour. Again, the same issue arose — I was often left just waiting for power to recharge so I could end a prolonged battle and move on.
The influences from the Total War series are apparent, but without the scale and the depth of units from those games, it doesn’t work on this smaller ant-sized scale.
It’s as if the developers spent all their time creating this amazing world and forgot they needed solid, varied gameplay to complement it.
Sounds of the Forest
Accompanying the stunning visuals is a well-crafted soundscape. The ambient sounds of the forest, combined with the subtle noises of the colony at work, create an immersive atmosphere that feels true to life. The chittering of ants and the rustling of leaves add to the sense of being part of a bustling Empire. The deep bass of bees flying overhead was always a sensory delight too.
However, even the excellent sound design can’t make up for the shortcomings in gameplay.
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Amass Your Legions
Empire of the Ants offers multiplayer, though I didn’t get a chance to test it. There are three modes: 1v1, three-player free-for-all, and custom matches. Custom lobbies allow for battles against the AI, and you can select the map and modifiers, which are based on the weather. The gameplay on offer here is exactly what is provided in the story modes Strategic Missions.
A Colony Without Its Queen
Empire of the Ants is a visual masterpiece that excels in creating a detailed and immersive world. However, its gameplay mechanics are a significant letdown, ultimately preventing it from realising its full potential. This game may appeal to those who prioritise stunning graphics over engaging gameplay, but strategy enthusiasts might feel as though they’re trapped in a maze of leaf litter.
The game retails for roughly $70 AUD for the physical copy and $50-60 AUD for the digital,
If you’re a myrmecologist or simply want to explore a gorgeous world and can overlook the lack of engaging mechanics, give it a try—but don’t be surprised if you end up wishing for more substance beneath the surface.
Quest Daily Score Empire of the Ant:
6/10
Empire of the Ants is available on November 7th, 2024 on PC via Steam and the Epic Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
A review copy of Empire of the Ant was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
