The 3D action formula can be made to accommodate many different genres of game with many different themes. While there is usually a clear line between more serious or mature titles and games featuring non-human protagonists, other developers meld the concepts to develop worlds with uncommon heroes and foes in the style of a darker story. This is the case with the recently revealed Project Ants by developer Ant Team. The 3D metroidvania featuring an ant protagonist recently received a trailer, introducing players to the setting and the main character’s quest.
The trailer begins with ominous narration as the camera explores various locations in ruins. It focuses on blazing towns and abandoned fortresses. The main character is introduced slowly, ant warrior with a realistic art style and samurai aesthetic. The game’s Steam page reveals that main character is part of the fallen insect kingdom and is on a quest to save the lost ant queen. The importance of environmental storytelling is also referenced on the page, claiming that players will have the chance to piece together the story of the kingdom’s fall for themselves as they progress.
The gameplay is a mixture of pattern-recognition based combat and tight platforming. In standard metroidvania fashion, the player will earn new movement abilities as the game progresses which will unlock access to new areas and harder challenges. Project Ants also emphasizes the difficulty of standard combat, with each enemy coming with a series of moves that players will need to learn to counter in order to survive encounters. The trailer ends with a teaser of a shadowy figure resembling an ant eater, a fitting opponent given the protagonist.
One way that indie titles can stand out is through the use of unique theming in their games, which Project Ants seems to have fully embraced. The game will release on PC, though the release date has not yet been announced.