Test - Empire of the Ants: Test: Fantastic game world meets awkward gameplay

Real-time tactics between leaves, puddles and anthills – the change of perspective could bring very special challenges. Hordes of various ant troops, supported by aphids, take on the fight against fire bugs & Co., supported at the crucial moment by boosters for attack power and speed. What was supposed to be a dramatic Krabell C&C unfortunately turns out to be a less than viable construct on the PC.

It could have been so beautiful. There was a jaw-dropping moment relatively early in my experience with Empire of the Ants. I maneuvered my character over foliage, then a pond landscape rose up in the background and it just looked fantastic, memories of the wow moments of the Crysis forest hikes a decade and a half ago came to mind. And the crawling of our ant - No. 103683, there are no names in the colonies - is also cute on the screen. Orchestral music swelled in the background and it actually felt as if documentary master narrator David Attenborough was about to comment on my adventures.

However, as truly impressive and meditative as the ant empire appears, as much as one notices in the game that the world of the little creepy crawlies should really be brought closer to home in terms of aesthetics and history, the resulting game is not very convincing. The awkward mix of genres may be off-putting, especially for anyone who has experienced any real-time strategy or tactics game from the last two decades on the PC in a relatively sober manner.

The big crawl

Roughly speaking, Empire of the Ants is divided into two games: a more action-adventure-like part with skill elements and something that would formally be classified as a real-time strategy. Problematically, the operation in both cases is a typical 3rd person perspective of the protagonist ant. This makes perfect sense for running along waterways, exploring landscapes with human remains and even jumping passages. In some places, the presentation of car tires or coins is reminiscent of the touching change of perspective of a Micro Machine.

The skill passages, in which we have to find a way across a flooded area, mostly work. Sometimes searching through dark sections can be a bit annoying, but essentially the overview is maintained and the frustration factor can be controlled even in jumping passages.

But things get more annoying in the strategy part. A quick thought experiment: we all know the solo so-so missions from Command & Conquer or StarCraft when we are only traveling with a commando unit like Tanya or Kerrigan. So far, so hopefully over soon. Now imagine if a game required Tanya to physically visit the base to order unit production facilities, sizzling Tesla coils, and puff-puff-puff turrets.

Doesn't sound so clever? Right, it isn't either. In fairness: the movement of our ant happens quite quickly, the minimap helps with orientation. Nevertheless, the operation of the whole thing simply feels absurd. 103683 runs to a nest, key press, a radial menu with our options (units, economy, research, defense...) is projected over the nest, we run to the corresponding sector, key press, new radial menu for the actual options, key press, there you go. Oh, would now be a good time to upgrade the defenses in the nest next door? Then just go there, press a button, run the radial menu...

After all: What you experience in terms of inconvenience in operation is reduced in complexity in the actual battle. We can give our maximum of six legions attack and movement orders, of course there is a rock-paper-scissors principle of the various insect troops and a few researchable superpowers for temporary bonuses and weather influences. Overall, Empire of the Ants remains far away from the possibilities that have long been common in the genre. There is no real micromanagement and tactical finesse.

Entomology field trip

This is all the more tragic because Empire of the Ants shows the passion for the subject. The story, based on a novel by Bernard Werber, introduces us well to the animals' lives. The underlying vastness and variety of ant colonies becomes clear, as does the drama of the daily struggle for survival or the perspectives on other species.

Alone, none of this can really alleviate the simultaneously cumbersome and superficial gaming experience. Empire of the Ants may be a brave experiment - but they can also fail. And the fact that a multiplayer mode is possible, but not a simple battle against the computer beyond the story, can only be surprising.