A strategy action game in which you control an ant? Count us in!
Empire of the Ants is a very interesting title. Might be one of my most aniticipated games of this year. And that’s because of its uniqueness. It’s certainly not the first game ever to put you in the shoes of an insect or allow you to see the world around from a micro prespective. Yet, it is definetly different than what most of the competition offers these days, which I find quite brave.
The game puts you in the world of an ant colony. You control a single ant from a third “person” perspective. That ant has a mission of getting up in the ranks of the colony and command ant troops in defending the colony from many different invadors. The ants you will command will also gather resources, food and attack any living thing which might disrupt the life of this insect empire.
You will control the troops in a similar way to a real time strategy game, but not from the bird’s eye perspective. In Empire of the Ants your eyes stay on the ground with that one tiny ant you are in control of. This gives the game a great look into how a swarm of ants attacking each other would look like from their point of view.
Between fighting for survival and ranking up in your colony, you will be able to traverse the world around you. This is what I’m most excited about. It’s basically a nature documentary, but you are in control and can see a life of an ant in the very front seat. Keep in mind, it won’t be a simulator, more of a loose, arcady way of showing how an insect lives its life.
Empire of the Ants is based on a series of novels of Bernard Werber, who covers the lives of humans and ants blending with eachother in his books. Fun fact, it’s already a second game based on these books. The first one, also titled Empire of the Ants, is an RTS game from 2000, developed by Microids Studio. Another fun fact, that same studio is working on this game, along side with the developer Tower Five.
The developers are bringing the woods and the ant colony to life with the help of the Unreal Engine 5. And let me tell you, this game looks absolutely breathtaking. This is what bought me when I first saw a trailer for this game. Traversing the woods will be an unforgettable experience. Plus, the perspective of the ant makes the regular looking forest, at least from our point of view, look like a different world. I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this game.
Empire of the Ants is set to release November 7th, 2024 on all platforms.
