Empires of the Undergrowth

Empires of the Undergrowth
DeveloperSlug Disco Studios
PublisherHooded Horse
EngineUnreal Engine 4[1]
PlatformsWindows, MacOS
Release
  • June 7, 2024
GenreReal-time strategy
ModeSingle-player

Empires of the Undergrowth is a real-time strategy game developed by Slug Disco Studios and published by Hooded Horse. Players control a colony of Ants or Termites by expanding the colony, gathering resources, and fighting enemies in standard RTS fashion.

Gameplay

In the main campaign, Players assume the responsibility of the ant colony that they are assigned to. Tasked with overseeing side missions that place them in challenging scenarios and dealing with their main colony of "Gene thief" ants, a fictional species of ant that steals genetic data from other species & adopting foreign ant larvae to grow them on their side. On side missions they must lead struggling or threatened ant or termite colonies to success. Each side mission is narrated in a documentary style, with an in-game narrator providing both context and key information. The narrator offers insights into the situation of the ants or termites and helps the player by alerting them to critical information, much like a nature documentary, creating an immersive and educational experience. Alongside other optional missions and gameplay included with the game.

Along with the story mode, there is also a Sandbox mode, extra levels and, Demos for incoming levels, and a DLC.

Gameplay Loop

The core gameplay loop involves completing these side missions, where players will experience different Ant and Termite species and their unique abilities. Once the mission is complete, the player returns to the main colony—the Gene Thieves—where they are rewarded with resources from the laboratory scientists. These resources help to develop and strengthen the colony.

As the game progresses, the player unlocks the species they led in the side missions, integrating them into the Gene Thieves colony. Once a specific stage is complete, the laboratory staff will conduct an "experiment", sending in enemy forces such as rival colonies or other dangerous insects, small animals to challenge the player’s colony. The player must defend against these threats to prove the strength of their colony, progressing back to their main colony until deciding to head to the side missions once more. Experiments are only accessible after completing one sublevel.

Levels

It is important to note that levels do not follow a set storyline, as each level is almost unrelated. Levels normally have two or three sublevels, which generally each have their sole relation being the ant or termite species. Sublevels generally provide rewards which scale the harder the level in question is.

List of factions

Factions playable in story mode

factions not playable in the story mode

factions that can be unlocked via DLC

Development

Developer Slug Disco Studios is based in the United Kingdom.[2] Empires of the Undergrowth entered early access in December 2017. Hooded Horse released it for Windows on June 7, 2024.[3]

Reception

PC Gamer called it "an absolutely excellent RTS".[4] GamesRadar said it is a very satisfying SimAnt-style game.[5] The Games Machine said it did nothing new and was missing several features common to real-time strategy games, such as multiplayer, but they enjoyed the variety of enemies and the boss battles.[6]

Cancelled features

There were originally meant to be honeypot ants, bull ants, Saharan silver ants, and Rasberry crazy ants, although they were never added. The game was also meant to be a mobile game with tug-of-war like features above ground and a dungeon-keeper like underground game play.

notes

  1. ^ upon completing story mode Bullet ants can be added to the player's Gene-thief colony but are not playable by themselves
  2. ^ a b playable in sandbox mode
  3. ^ scientific name never revealed

References

  1. ^ Hider, Jess (2017-03-23). "UE4 Devs Take Center Stage in the Powered by Unreal Engine Zone at EGX Rezzed". Unreal Engine. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  2. ^ "About". Slug Disco Studios. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  3. ^ "Empires of the Undergrowth PC". Gamepressure. 2024-07-14. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  4. ^ Bolding, Jonathan (2024-06-09). "I'm not watching trailers this weekend, I'm playing this ridiculously good RTS about ants". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  5. ^ Hurley, Leon (2018-01-15). "8 games to scratch that lost classic itch - relive old gaming memories with new things to play". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  6. ^ Paschetto, Nicolò (2024-06-18). "Empires of the Undergrowth - Recensione". The Games Machine (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-09-13.
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