This isn't the first time that Empire of the Ants, a book written by French author Bernard Werber, was adapted into a video game. Microids published the game in 2000 in Europe and 2001 in North American, turning the game into a real-time strategy that dealt with the management of an ant colony in relation to opposing ant colonies. The critical reviews were mixed; the main complaints were the lackluster presentation and the focus on micromanagement. Over 20 years later, Microids has returned to the novel with a new version of Empire of the Ants that retains a strategy angle but goes in a non-traditional direction.

You play the role of 103,683rd, an experienced worker ant in the colony of Bel-O-Kan. You're one of the first ants to awaken when spring begins, and you immediately go to work by finding food for the slowly awakening colony, finding sisters who have been lost, and fulfilling the Queen's wishes for colony expansion. There isn't much of a story. What you're getting is a "slice of life" experience of an ant in nature rather than a grandiose, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It's engaging mostly thanks to the other ants in the colony. None of them have names — everyone relies on numbers for their designation — but you can sense some personality based on how they all speak with a sense of weariness of endless work for the good of the colony. It's endearing and almost feels essential, since the game is wildly different from the novels given the absence of humans.

The campaign can be split into three major sections. The first is the hub world, which is your home as well as the menu proxy. You can go around the colony and talk to some of our sisters to get information about the current situation. You can also uncover a few secrets, such as collectibles for your encyclopedia or memories left behind by other ants. The most important part are the quest-givers, who will send you off on different missions to progress the story.

The main turn-off for many players will be the fact that you can't explore the ant city of Bel-O-Kan too much. You can peruse the overworld all you want, but the space is rather small, and you'll mainly be watching your sisters go about their tasks. You can see some entrances to the interior, but with the exception of a few caverns and a few cut scenes, you're never really given a chance to explore the interior. This makes the hub world feel more like a space where you'll rush to the next quest-giver to return to the more interesting parts of the game.

The second major section is exploration, which forms the basis of many of your missions. There's no combat in these missions; you walk around the environments, and there are a few bouts of sneaking past more dangerous insects. You're mostly trying to find lost ants, and there may be a few side-quests, but you'll also run into memories that flesh out the world and objects that produce some interesting ant-oriented observations for your encyclopedia. For example, finding a soccer ball early on will have you note that it isn't edible and isn't made of real leather.

The majority of the exploration sections is enjoyable, especially when you start getting into setpieces that involve other insects. The only knock is that the actual navigation can feel squirrely. There are moments when you'll walk on a twig, for example, and you'll go around in circles since the game automatically latches on to the underside and has you walk all over the surface instead of simply falling off and continuing your trek on the ground. This happens often enough that you'll often feel like jumping off surfaces. Running also feels off; you'll appreciate the speed, but you'll also make a few unintended leaps. Some tweaking should be done to make movement feel less messy.

The final major section is the strategy segments, which comprise the other parts of the missions. Unlike the game from over 20 years ago, the strategy elements are simplified to the point where using a gamepad is a perfectly viable way to play the game. Think of it as something like Pikmin or Overlord, where you are essentially a commander on the field, and you can command several ant groups to attack other insects or take over bases. Groups can automatically refill their health and forces once they're out of combat, but they'll do it faster at one of your bases. Taking over a base is as easy as sending your forces to the location or walking there. From here, you can call upon a radial menu to choose things like unit upgrades or call upon extra forces to help. While you don't directly take part in the combat, you can use pheromones to act as support with things, like healing your sisters or making enemies feel disoriented.

The simplicity of the strategy mechanics will be appreciated mostly by those who aren't so adept at the genre and those who primarily play games with a gamepad. However, this approach can come with its own problems. The triangle system of unit strengths and weaknesses is fine, but the game rarely feels like it expands on it, so a number of fights feel very similar even if you have a more active role on the battlefield with pheromone buffs. Even then, you never see all of the insects mixing things up at the same time, so it can feel like you're watching the status of meters rather than the units. The inability to divide the same types of ants into different groups will be annoying for those who want to execute a more complex set of strategies. There are moments when directing your groups to certain targets can be cumbersome, since some icons can be blocked by other icons. Base upgrades can also be difficult since your fellow sisters obscure your view by walking all over the icons.

The game does feature a few multiplayer options, and, like, the main campaign, it can feel rather light overall. You can engage in 1v1 or 1v1v1 battles against real people or AI opponents, and that's really it. There are no team-based modes, which feels like a big omission since team play seems to be a recent staple of the strategy genre. For the most part, the performance is fine, but the lack of deep strategic tactics in the base mechanics will only be endearing to those looking for quick bouts of action. Most matches devolve into a race of who gets to the major resources first and who can build up the fastest. You appreciate the lack of a traditional overhead view, as it can make some matches feel tense since you'll need to venture forth to see the terrain instead of staying safely at camp and panning the camera in a direction. Again, it's fine but not too engaging for those who want to think and plan things out.

Despite the game's issues, the presentation is fantastic. The various insects look awesome and beautiful instead of fearsome, even if you aren't fans of insects. The environments look splendid thanks to the fact that everything is easily discernible with nary a muddy texture in sight. The lighting does a good job of providing translucency for the leaves and insect carapaces, and everything runs at a high and solid frame rate.

The sound is equally as good. The music fits each situation perfectly, with a more lighthearted vibe for the hub world and exploration sections. A more combat-oriented set of tracks plays whenever you're in battle. Each song also contributes to the feeling of the game's world being more grandiose, even though it feels like you can only explore bits at a time. The sound effects complement the music quite well, with the many footsteps of the various insects being clearly audible while the other sounds of nature play at all times. What may surprise people is the fact that the game lacks any voices, even though you'll get several pieces of dialogue from the various ants in the colony. It works well to keep things grounded, so the decision to go sans voices is a positive instead of a detriment.

Those looking at the game's Steam Deck compatibility status may be dismayed at seeing an Unsupported tag on the game's store page. The good news is that the game actually does work on Valve's handheld device, despite what the store tag says. The game hits the device's native 1280x800 resolution just fine, and while there is no FSR or XeSS built into the game, TSR does a good enough job of handling upscaling duties. The game defaults to a Medium graphical setting, but you can drop things to Low, and it'll be just fine as the game runs at 30fps most of the time with only a few dips that don't last very long. Battery life hits at roughly 90 minutes on a full charge, and there are a few moments where the text prompts can be too small, mainly when trying to power up units from afar.

This iteration of Empire of the Ants is certainly an improvement over the original game released over 20 years ago. It looks absolutely gorgeous and has a fitting soundscape to boot. The lack of micromanagement makes it more accessible for most but alienates those looking for the next coming of SimAnt. The strategy elements and platforming are basic, but the game remains enjoyable in short bursts. As a whole, it's a good game that you'll only jump into if you want something that feels strategic without going too deep into what the genre offers.

Score: 7.0/10