Empire of the Ants

This year has already seen the release of an ant strategy game, Empires of the Undergrowth from Slug Disco and Hooded Horse. While the RTS/base-building mix was rather pragmatic in terms of visuals, Empire of the Ants from Tower Five Studio and Microids is in a league of its own. But there's more to it than just the fancy graphics ...

With the first screenshot of Empire of the Ants, Tower Five and Microids have set an impressive benchmark: the game, based on Unreal Engine 5.4, has almost photorealistic graphics. And since there are no human figures in the game, the uncanny valley is a little further away. A typical French forest ecosystem is depicted, in which the player takes control of the 103,683rd ant. An ant determined to lead the colony through the dangers of the forest to new horizons. It is based on the original story by Bernard Werber (1991). The story follows the colony through seasonal changes, with the narration co-written by the author of the book.

The single player campaign, which the developers estimate will take over 20 hours to complete, will feature a number of mission types, each highlighting different aspects of the gameplay. There are exploration missions, where the pace is quieter and players explore the environment. In tactical missions, players will lead pre-defined legions through levels - and have to manage with the given setup. The full RTS feeling comes in the strategic missions. Here players manage their nests and resources, gather intelligence on the area, strengthen the defences, build the 'right' chambers to strategically respond to the threat, and attack the enemy to take over more nests. Typical RTS gameplay, but in a completely different microcosm. By the way: Seasons and time of day affect the abilities and behaviour of the insects.

The units include workers who gather resources, look after the larvae and can even fight. Warrior ants are strong in combat, but weak against gunners, who can also fight effectively from a distance, but are weak against workers - the typical rock-paper-scissors principle applies. There are also support units such as snails, which provide protection, and rhinoceros beetles, which act as transport units. On top of that, there are special abilities such as pheromones to scare enemies or reinforcements. Nevertheless, the strategic options remain fairly limited. And because the insect kingdom is full of many-footed surprises, there is also an Arachnophobia mode. The soundtrack was composed by Mathieu Alvado (Rayman Origins) and Mark Choi (Baldur's Gate 3 piano arrangements).

Alongside the single-player campaign, the game features a multiplayer mode, with ranked 1v1 matches and free-for-all matches for three players. Custom Private Lobby are available too, to play against an AI or a friend.

"Bernard Werber's novel has captivated millions of readers with its fascinating universe and its reflections on human nature. Microids and Tower Five are proud to offer players the opportunity to discover this universe from a new perspective through this video game adaptation." - Microids

Empire of the Ants has been in development for the past three years at Tower Five Studio, an indie video game studio based in La Rochelle, France. Between 15 and 20 people were involved in its development, including some former industry veterans from Creative Assembly, Ubisoft and Wargaming.

Microids, the publisher, is also from France and they have a strong portfolio in Q4 2024 anyway. They have already released the adventure/detective game Arsene Lupin: Once a Thief and the 3D platformer The Smurfs - Dreams in mid-October, followed by Totally Spies! - Cyber Mission. On 14 November, the action-adventure remake Little Big Adventure - Twinsen's Quest and Flint: Treasure of Oblivion, set in a pirate world with real-time exploration and turn-based tactical combat. Later, Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy, a remake of the 1999 adventure game, will be released, but no specific release date has been set.

Empire of the Ants will be released on 7 November 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Purchasers of the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive three days of Advanced Access. The boxed versions are distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by astragon Entertainment.

Conclusion

Not only the visuals are spot on. Empire of the Ants is an appealing and unusual RTS that gets a surprising amount out of the microcosm.

Features

• Almost photorealistic visuals of a microcosm
• Exceptional setting with tactical and strategic gameplay, including seasonal influences
• Based on the original story by Bernard Werber (1991)