Empires of the Undergrowth is a simulation strategy game available on Windows Mac OS X 106 and on Linux. Sadly, there is no PS4, Switch or Xbox One version. The game costs $19.99 on Steam. The task of the game is to build a colony of ants by expanding your territory and fighting off other ant colonies and threats like spiders. The game was developed by Slug Disco Studios and it was released in December 2017.
How to Download Empires of the Undergrowth
You can download the game by clicking the Download button at the end of the review. You can download the game or a free demo.
The Game Review
The game starts with a set of a laboratory where there is a formicarium on display. Once the game starts, we can overhear two scientists talking about ants. On our screens, we see the ant queen giving birth to other ants. We have to assemble worker ants to gather up larva to eat from neighboring areas. Later on, we also have the option to assemble black ants (warrior ants). There are also options to increase food stores for the ants to store food. Inside the formicarium we can expand the area by making the ants dig through uncharted territory, however, there is the risk of encountering possible threats.
The first threat we encounter in the game are the spiders. The spiders are hidden in the areas that haven’t been explored yet. Once encountered, the spiders can take the larva and kill the ants. T Empires of the Undergrowth This isn’t too difficult as the spider dies after taking a few blows. The spider can, however, take a number of the ants in your army as it goes.
After the constant expansion of food stores and ants, ants from other colonies arrive and try to take over. As the game progresses, you can upgrade your ants to make them stronger and faster. The enemy ants keep on coming after a few moments and they increase in number after each attack. As your ant colony grows in size, you can split them into five separate groups. These groups can be scattered around the formicarium. After the first challenge is completed, rewards are given and they are placed on top of the formicarium. Other challenges come with different limitations.
The rewards that are given for completing a challenge can be used to upgrade the level of your formicarium. There are different upgrades available for the ants as well. You can upgrade your worker ants to be more efficient, more aggressive or more evasive. Different upgrades are available for the other kinds of ants as well.
As the game progresses, threats like beetles, wolf spiders, and giant spiders appear as ‘boss battles’ and it becomes a test of your army’s stability and the players’ technical prowess.
The basic premise of this game is that two scientists are subjecting a colony of ants to harsh conditions to see how long they can survive. It is our job as the player to manage the colony of ants and make sure they are safe and expanding.
