Kickstarter for SimAnt Inspired Empires of the Undergrowth is Nearly Perfect

Slug Disco Studios has been anything but antsy in their wait to bring Empires of the Undergrowth back to Kickstarter. Their first campaign launched in November 2015, but failed to meet its £15,000 goal by nearly half. Now Slug Disco is back on Kickstarter with a few changes, like a lower £10,000 goal.

Actually that’s just about the only change. The layout is a bit different and the page spends less time on stretch goals, but it’s mostly the same. Not that that’s a bad thing in this case. There’s plenty on offer in terms of gameplay, from a  30 minute let’s play and developer updates, to screenshots and gifs. There’s even a demo and the all-important financial breakdown chart, detailing what the funding will be used for.

The game itself looks to be a cross between Worms and Pikmin right down to playing microscopic bug like creatures. Ants in this case, which is what made the opening line of this article so hilarious. It’s an RTS strategy that’ll have you building tunnels, fighting cockroaches and other ant colonies in a battle for supremacy and survival. You’re going to have to control massive swarms of ants, make sure they’re all fed, and their underground home is up to snuff.

This might be one of the most comprehensive crowdfunding campaigns I’ve ever seen. So much of the game is shown off, and not just concept art and a brief gameplay segment. There’s got to be close to 45 minutes of gameplay and behind the scenes updates throughout all the videos and gifs. If that weren’t enough, there’s even a demo provided to any backer. It’s a shame it’s not freely available, but you can always back out of your pledge if you don’t like it. (ETA: The demo is available to everyone with no strings attached.  Apologies for the confusion, Josh has had his head shaved as punishment. -Editor)

It’ll be interesting to see if they keep the pace up through the updates, but if the previous campaign is any indication, there’s no need to worry about that. People seem to be enjoying this new iteration of the campaign, as it’s already climbed to $4,000 in the first day. Even if Empires of the Undergrowth isn’t the type of game for you, you can at least admire how open and honest Slug Disco is with their game.

Track the progress of the Empires of the Undergrowth Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W355uiCjfuA