Empire of Ants PS5 Review
Summary: Every bit as stunning as its promise, Empire of Ants is an exceptional yet simple strategy about the smallest of creatures.
4.5
A Bug's Life
You’ll likely hear the word “photorealism” bouncing around a lot when people talk about Empire of Ants. In fact, Microid and Tower Five, the main folks behind the game, have fully embraced this moniker, using the buzzword at every opportunity to promote their story of miniature warfare. It’s also a word I’m dubious of getting too excited about – after all, how often are we, as gamers, promised something that doesn’t deliver, especially when it comes to in-game footage that never quite lives up to expectations? But after twenty or so hours with Empire of Ants, I’m more than pleasantly surprised. Yes, it’s gorgeous, and yes, it’s photorealistic, but more importantly? I’m having an absolute blast.
Technically, Empire of Ants is a remake of sorts, but, apart from sharing a name, similarities between this modern outing and Microid’s first go at ant-based gaming from 20-something years are few and far between. They’re both strategy titles (and both draw inspiration from Bernard Werber’s book series) but apart from this, the modern version of Empire of Ants feels like the true vision that Microid had all along, a direct contrast to its ugly counterpart from back yonder.
Starting your journey with the campaign, you step into the six legs of an ant with a head for combat strategy, tasked by her queen to protect and strengthen the colony by completing tasks such as fighting off enemies and harvesting food sources. Missions are typically picked up from pointers spread across each colony, allowing you to stretch your legs and explore your home, which also allows you to realise how much effort has been put into Empire of Ant’s environments. Watching your fellow ants collect food, explore resources and generally live their tiny lives is a joy to witness, and doing so surrounded by other insects in a wilderness inspired by the thriving ecosystem of a French forest is an impressive achievement.
Before I even picked up a mission, I spent so much time just wandering around Empire of Ant’s opening colony, talking to my sisters, watching bees and pondskaters do their thing in one of the most incredible environments I’ve ever seen in a video game. It’s a feeling that continued the more I played, whether I was exploring a spider-filled cave or behind enemy lines on an island full of glowing fireflies, there was rarely a moment I didn’t find myself smiling at how beautiful a game Empire of Ants is.
But beauty means nothing if there isn’t any substance, and thankfully, Empire of Ants is a treat to play, and there’s even a surprising amount of mission variety along the way. Many challenges lean toward battling enemy units (typically termites) in some way or another, but occasionally, I’d do something completely different. One early mission, for example, sees you rescue a lost legion of sisters from rising waters, while another has you sneak into a termite colony and scope out the area. These moments can make for a nice palate cleanser, as Empire of Ant’s strategy-based missions can sometimes be a little overwhelming.
After my first few hours with the campaign, I started to worry that Empire of Ants may be too easy. I breezed through early combat missions, leading my warriors into battle against the enemy, destroying them with sheer numbers alone. Then I reached the third set of missions and boy, things turned up a notch. I realised then how clever Empire of Ants is at teaching you the ropes. For the first handful of combat missions, I was slowly introduced to unit typings, what best to use when, what to focus on building first, when to launch attacks and when to defend. Did I listen? Of course not, I’m a seasoned strategy gamer after all. Did I struggle when the handholding slipped away and I was left to lead the charge solo? Without a doubt.
In my defence, each part of Empire of Ants combat system is relatively simple to understand, but things can become overwhelming if you aren’t paying attention (like me). It’s a simple premise – the game works on a rock/paper-scissors format, with certain units better at fighting certain other types of units. Seizing nests allows you to build new units and upgrades, with nests also acting as defensive structures and resource-gathering points. Basically, the more nests you have, the stronger you can make yourself and the more legions of bugs you can control.
As the commanding ant, you have no physical fighting ability and rely entirely on pheromones to directly affect enemies and your troops. Luckily for you, you command your troops from ground level, leading the charge into battle alongside your soldiers. I love finding a high point, for example, where you can watch the action unfold, and the unique perspective these types of moments have allows for deeper strategies to form, allowing you to spot opportunities for things like splinter manoeuvres or flanking. I was, however, a little disappointed to realise that you can’t help your fellow ants out in battle, but utilising pheromones was the next best thing, and calling upon abilities such as terrifying enemies into running away felt satisfying to pull off, especially when you can sense battles starting to go south.
While missions tend to be nest-heavy, usually involving you taking out or defending certain nests, I was again surprised at the level of variation. Despite still focusing on combat, one mission cleverly has you fighting on two fronts, leading you to constantly traverse the map while avoiding water (a sure-fire way to death for a little ant) to ensure your battle’s success. Another sees you hunt down enemy-supporting bugs in a spooky cave with only the units you have on hand. The game makes fantastic use of its tug-of-war-esc foundations, but there are always allowances made for Empire of Ants to come up with interesting scenarios.
Taking on the role of an ant whilst leading an army of killer bugs is hard work. Luckily, the developers have given ample consideration toward console players, meaning, Empire of Ants plays well with a controller. Nest menus in particular are easy to understand and quick to manage, and although you get the full scope from being next to a nest, there’s still an option to conduct basic actions from across the map thanks to a handful of handy options easily brought on with a quick press of the trigger. Piloting your ant is equally smooth, although it can take some getting used to, especially with the jump ability occasionally sending your little friend much further (and often in the opposite direction) than you wish.
Of course, the bugs are the main attraction in Empire of Ants, and while the queen and her colony take up the lion’s share of screen time, plenty of other insects roam around throughout the game too. Some of these take the form of controllable units, like giant beetles that act as heavy hitters or snails that slowly move alongside your troops offering a protective ability, others act as map obstacles, like ladybirds and spiders that protect resources. These all look fantastic and act unique, but I was disappointed that a large portion of the game’s catalogue of critters is void of proper interaction. It still feels like the game is missing say, ten or so more unit types to feel like a complete package – while I enjoyed seeing pill bugs and slugs meander across old tree trunks, for example, it feels like a missed opportunity that these weren’t better incorporated into the game.
Although there’s a focus on bugs of the good kind, I did come across a couple of the nastier types during my playthrough. Mostly, things ran smoothly, and any issues were relatively minor and reserved for problems like audio clipping (on an otherwise charming soundtrack) and the occasional wonky bit of AI. The game would also benefit from a little more movement in its environments, as plants in particular come across as somewhat static at times as they don’t, for example, react to bugs landing on them. It’s all minor stuff, but it does take the shine off an otherwise impressive game a little at times. That said, it’s worth pointing out that the PS5 handled a screen full of tiny insects with no problems at all, and even at 30 fps it never felt sluggish to play.
Hopefully, though, this is just the start for Empire of Ants. While the campaign lasted me around 16 hours, there’s also a PVP mode allowing players to test their bug-leading skills online. While I didn’t get to test this out during the run-up to the game’s release, I’m excited to try it out, especially in 1vs1 ranked battles. I also plan on going back through the campaign and finding some of the collectables I missed, and I also skipped a couple of optional missions that I found too challenging at the time. If I had one feature I’d love to be added in the future though, it’s an option to save mid-scenario. A couple of times I found battles dragged on past the hour mark and with no save, I had to commit to seeing it through to the end rather than having the option to revisit at a later date.
Final Thoughts
If you pick up Empire of Ants for any reason, it shouldn’t be the obvious one. Of course, it’s gorgeous, and perhaps one of the most visually stunning games I’ve ever played, but there’s a simple charm to its gameplay and overall worldbuilding that deserves to be experienced by as wide an audience as possible. Whether leading a charge of warriors into battle or simply standing on an abandoned bottle and watching your colony do its thing, there’s something so special about Empire of Ants that makes it an absolute joy to experience.
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