Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War Review – Doing Its Part

It was, and still is, really common for people to think of a film and say, ‘That would make a great video game.’ It was the bedrock of the video game industry for most of its existence, for better or (mostly) worse. It became something of an assumption, maybe even a joke, that video games based on films were bad…but then something changed.

In an odd coincidence, two films have been adapted into video games after a fairly long run of mixed results… and they both happen to be films directed by the same person, with multiple sequels and TV show spin-offs.

Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War Features Massive Maps and Nonstop Bug Battles

Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War is an old-school inspired first-person shooter that attempts to do what most thought would be easy: turn the 90’s pulp cult-classic into a compelling video game. Similar to the 2005 attempt and the recent Starship Trooper: Extermination, Ultimate Bug War keeps a focus on killing bugs, so many bugs that it should come with a job application to work at CD Projekt Red.

The spine of Ultimate Bug War’s format is large, open maps with multiple objectives. The player is free to tackle objectives in whatever order they wish, at a pace they choose. It’s fairly close to how the forgotten Medal of Honour: Airborne approached its mission design, and frankly, it’s nice to see it utilized elsewhere. All of the familiar weapons from the films appear dotted around each of the levels, complete with some new tools of the trade. Before you know it, you’re standing before a horde of bugs and bringing victory to the federation.

In an interesting twist, Ultimate Bug War weaves mass murder into its gameplay loop as a resource. Each kill fills a meter that improves the quality of supply drops, which in turn are earned by killing foes. This serves as the axis for keeping the player invested in an action that maintains the pace of the overall experience, without feeling like an obnoxious gimmick. Earning bigger guns and assets, such as airstrikes, orbital lasers, and nukes, provides a sense of momentum. The only downside to the mechanic is the RNG-driven nature of asset drops, with some being fairly ineffective compared to others or even unusable in certain situations.

Staying in that gameplay loop of non-stop slaughter is helped by genuinely well-crafted gunplay. Everything has a sense of weight to it. The sound design plays a huge role in this accomplishment, with familiar sounds from the films pinging across the battlefield. There’s no real black magic at play here, but a clinical understanding of how the shooting needs to be good to support the old-school FPS experience. It’s the anchor to the Ultimate Bug War experience, allowing its strengths to flourish and hide the weaker aspects.

It’s always a bit of a tricky thing to review an ‘old school-inspired’ game under the guise of modern perspectives. The old-school visuals work well in Ultimate Bug War, giving the world, weapons, and character models a flavour. There is, however, a delicate line in wondering whether certain aspects are simply adhering to their inspirations or represent a genuine weakness. Both friendly and enemy AI tend to do odd or annoying things. Friendly units will stand in front of your line of fire. There may be no lashes for the odd team kill, but when playing on the greater difficulties, a friendly blocking your shots can lead to a cheap death. The bugs, in their hordeish nature, sometimes struggle to react and adapt to the environment. Holding at walls, being left bedazzled by a stray rock, it’s not a major issue, but when the game’s sense of scale partly depends on the visuals, it can catch you off guard.

There is an unflinching sense of confidence dripping from Ultimate Bug War. The real-life cutscenes are framed similarly to the propaganda pieces seen in the films, creating a nice chain between levels. They’re clearly indulging in the schlock of it all, which bleeds into the gameplay itself. It does provide a touch of production, but it starts to raise a question: ‘Would I still be enjoying this as much if I weren’t a Starship Troopers film fan?’

Ultimately, Ultimate Bug War is a huge, throbbing piece of fan service, but in all of the best ways. It knows what it wants to be, and does it well. While the experience never really changes its form, it never gets dull, but this may prove different for those who aren’t a fan, or even aware, of the source material. But let’s be real, they were never the target audience to begin with. There is a slight variation with the offering of bug mission, which sees you in control of an assassin bug, replaying levels from the bug’s perspective. It’s fine, but it never truly goes beyond that, feeling more like a novelty.

For those looking purely to play on the Steam Deck, Ultimate Bug War runs perfectly straight out of the box. It runs smoothly, plays well, and never feels awkward with the default control setup. Whether you fancy a long-play session or a short Starship Pooper, Ultimate Bug War feels just as at home on the Deck as it does on the desktop.

For the projected release price and quality on offer, it’s hard to really decry Ultimate Bug War. It’s probably the best game based on Starship Troopers, and a solid FPS in general. The mix of spectacle, schlock, and production makes it just as enjoyable to consume as the Paul Verhoeven film. Fans of the film will no doubt revel in the slaughter; old-school FPS fans will find enough to enjoy; and everyone else can enjoy the oddly cozy experience.