“This is for all you new people. I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don’t do your job, I’ll kill you myself! Welcome to the Roughnecks!” – Jean Rasczak
If you’re an older Millennial like myself, then you might be familiar with the fever-dream of a franchise that is Starship Troopers. For the uninitiated, imagine a universe where humanity is locked in combat with an alien bug race. A world that is also absolutely dripping in satire around facism and authoritarian governance, While it didn’t capture the hearts and minds of all, it did retain a die-hard fanbase who are “doing their part”.
It may surprise you to know that this franchise has actually spawned seven separate video games. Yes – I was shocked too, as I have heard of none of them. That being said though, Auroch Digital and Dotemu have tossed their hats into the ring with another coming launch in this world: Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!
Yup – that is the Casper Van Dien – General John Rico himself! The one thing that I have always appreciated about the Starship Troopers universe is that they have never shied away from leaning into the ridiculousness that is the world in which the story exists.
Gamer Social Club was able to snag a sneak preview to Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!, which is slated for a Q1 release this year. So with that being said, “Come on, you apes… You wanna live forever?”
The World & The Story
The World
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! Focuses around the expansion of the Arachnid race from their home planet of Klendathu. The many-legged enemies of humanity have now been popping up in numerous human territories scattered across the galaxy.
In the preview of the game, we are provided a glimpse into the current galaxy as it stands. Zegema Beach – a former luxurious vacation spot of the Federation – and also the site of Operation Razorwire.
The Story
Now, Zegema Beach is not only a beautiful seaside resort. It’s also home to various defense and research sites for the Federation’s military forces. You’ll be assuming the role of Samantha “Sammy” Dietz, a Federation Soldier who has been dropped onto the sandy shores to reclaim various control points from the Arachnid menace. Sammy will traverse the region, assisting local platoons and securing areas for evacuation of the civilians trapped on the planet. All while painting the sands with Arachnid guts.
The Gameplay
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! has fashioned itself as a retro FPS game. So, if you’re wondering why the graphics are reminiscent of the original Halo, there’s your reason. Trust me – I was confused at first why the graphics were so rough, but upon seeing that explanation, it makes total sense.
Right away, you’ll notice that you’ll have a few difficulty options to choose from with your gameplay: Recruit, Trooper, Veteran, and Citizen. I opted for the standard Trooper run of Operation Razorwire.
Once dropped on Zegema Beach, Sammy will need to report to various locations around the map to activate defenses, claim new weaponry, facilitate evacuation efforts, and transmit vital intelligence off-planet. Oh yeah – and shoot anything with more than two legs that she sees.
You’re gonna see a LOT of Warrior Bugs – they’re the Infantry of the Arachnid Race. But you’ll also see a variety of other specialized Bugs – Tankers, Centurions, and Hoppers (to name a few).
You’ll also see a variety of weapons, from your standard Assault Rifle to more specialized weapons like a Pulse Rifle and Sniper Rifle. And a full mech suit – because why not?
The game also touts “Secrets” that can be located in each level. What do these Secrets look like? No clue – I didn’t find any. The map itself is quite large, so there were definitely areas that I didn’t explore as much as others.
The Good
Lore-Accurate Universe
Right off the bat, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is incredibly faithful to the content universe. Over-the-top violence and machismo, coupled with absolutely ridiculous lines of dialogue. Even the intro sequence to show off Zegema Beach was just…perfect, and self-aware to the point that its eyes turned around in its own head.
My curiosity will be how much this game’s storyline links to the main story/campaign of Starship Troopers. The other thing that’s a little unclear is where this takes place in the timeline. How long after Rico took over the Roughnecks does this occur?
Mindless Bug-Killing Enjoyment
Swarms and swarms of Arachnids cover the map and you will definitely take notice! The combat itself flows incredibly well and the enemies very much do operate on a hive-mind style – swarm all over you until you stop moving! Especially gratifying is the silly amount of gore/bug guts that will spray across the screen during gameplay. There were quite a few moments where, I’ll be honest, I could not tell what was going on.
The Bad
Brainless Squad Mates
OK – maybe this isn’t bad. Maybe it’s more of an annoyance. Or maybe, it’s just silly and meant to be the point. Your squad mates will 100% get in between your line of fire and the Arachnids. To a comical degree. And yes – they will talk smack when you shoot them.
Inevitable Comparisons to Helldivers 2
I’ll be honest. When I first heard about Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!, my first thoughts were “Are they trying to cash in on the Helldivers 2 wave?” And it stands to reason I won’t be the only one to make the comparison – both involve comical levels of conversations around democracy and killing Arachnids/Terminids.
But once I played through Operation Razorwire, I saw that there was a lot more here than what is in Helldivers 2 and realized that the comparison is not fair to make. But if you never take a step into the game, then you might continue to make the same assumptions that I did.
The Overall
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is not going to revolutionize the gaming world. And that is absolutely fine! What it is going to do is provide some fun, mission-based combat that is layered with comical levels of violence. And at the end of the day, sometimes that’s all that you need. I’ll be anticipating the full launch of the game in the near future – this is a game that I would even pick up on my own, outside of my role here at Gamer Social Club!
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is slated for a 2026 Quarter 1 release to PC (Steam), Switch 2, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Gamer Social Club was provided an early access copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. This review was played on PC (Steam).
