Empires of the Undergrowth turns real-time strategy into a struggle for an ant colony’s survival. From a central chamber, workers dig a hex-based nest, organise rooms and gather supplies while the queen and growing colony face threats above and below ground. Food is more than a stockpile: ventures to the surface bring opportunities and danger, and shortages can halt new eggs while the colony still needs reinforcements. The insect perspective gives familiar strategic pressures an unusual scale, from beetles threatening foragers to rival colonies contesting territory.
Command also means shaping how different ants behave. Pheromone markers direct groups toward tasks such as collecting food or fighting, while species bring distinct strengths, weapons and evolutionary paths. The game’s description highlights choices such as using trap-jaw ants in melee or developing wood ants as formic-acid artillery. Success depends on coordinating those roles and responding to changing conditions, rather than relying on a single army composition or route to victory.
The format spans AI skirmishes, seasonal challenges and a narrative campaign that follows both a lab experiment and a documentary series about ants in natural biomes. In campaign missions, success earns resources for upgrading a persistent lab colony, connecting individual challenges to longer-term development.
