The enduring popularity of the Starship Troopers franchise, initially a book series which then became a misunderstood movie released in 1997, is fascinating to me. The movie (as well as its cheap sequels) was wrongfully considered to be fascist propaganda back in the day, even though it was as obvious of a satire as your average Family Guy episode. It spawned a pretty sizeable multimedia universe, considering its flopped box office earnings, including a game I reviewed last year, a decent but unremarkable extraction shooter like many others in the market.

But this time around, I’m reviewing a totally different Starship Troopers game. Ultimate Bug War isn’t just much better than its predecessors from the gaming sphere, I’d go as far as to say that it is the best Starship Troopers product ever released since the 1997 movie. And I’d go as far as to say that it is as good as it, if not better.

Eat lead, bug.

I fell in love with Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War almost immediately, as soon as I found out the game is, according to the franchise’s lore, an actual video game developed in order to convince children to enlist in the Federation army in the first place. Yes, we’re playing a self-aware propaganda tool telling the “real story” of Private Dietz, your typical rookie soldier who starts off her career in the military incredibly motivated, hopeful, naive, just wanting to kill a bagillion bugs, only for her to quickly learn more about the horrors of war. But just like in the movie itself, she doesn’t revolt against the system, she just embraces it and becomes a veteran whose sole purpose is to convince more people to join the army. Just like the movie’s protagonist, Johnny Rico. Speaking of…

There isn’t a lot of finesse in this combat system, but who needs subtlety when you’re here to kill as many Bugs as you can?

If you are a fan of the movie, you’ll be delighted to learn that Casper Van Diem, the man who portrayed Johnny Rico in the Starship Troopers movie, portrays his character once again in the game, but not just as a voice or a cameo. Nope, Mr. Van Diem himself shows up in live action cutscenes in between missions, as an older Johnny Rico, yet another veteran hired to shove more hilarious propaganda down your throat. More actors show up during these small cutscenes, and man, I loved each and every scene the game threw at me. It was just downright hilarious. From ads directly targeted at children, to even a man wearing a suit telling families that they get extra life insurance money in case their children dies fighting against the bugs, these clips felt like the ultimate reward for completing the game’s main missions.

Casper Van Diem returns, in the flesh, as a hilarious veteran version of Johnny Rico.

And that wouldn’t have been as rewarding if the game itself wasn’t good. Thankfully, it is. Very good. Dare I say, excellent. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War was developed by the same studio behind the incredible Boltgun, so you know what to expect from it: a loud, dumb, bombastic shooter with retro-styled graphics, fast-paced movement, and a ton of blood and gore. That being said, the gameplay loop isn’t based on your typical “go from point A to point B, kill everyone in sight” schtick. It goes for a slightly more open, objective-based approach. Let me explain.

As odd as it might sound, think of each level as a big Battlefield map. You spawn at a specific spot, and you’re free to tackle each objective in any order you want. You gotta complete all of them in order to unlock the final objective that triggers the appearance of the dropship that’ll take you to the next mission, so this doesn’t feel like a cheap usage of what could have just been a multiplayer map (well, there’s also the fact there ISN’T multiplayer in Ultimate Bug War, but that is beyond the point). There are additional side objectives, such as destroying Arachnid nests or saving soldiers from an ambush, but the core gameplay loop revolves around these main goals.

Flamethrowers: the ultimate bug repellant.

Blasting foes is as easy as it gets. There is optional manual aiming, and there is reloading, but for the most part, the combat feels as fluid as any other retro-styled first-person shooter. Pick a gun, shoot bugs, earn points. Look for health and ammo pickups located in specific sections of the map, or just ask for a ship to immediately drop a care package at your location, containing healthpacks and different weapons for you to experiment with. There is a finite amount of drop calls you can perform, but you can restore your “call meter” by, well, shooting down a lot of bugs your way. In essence, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War wants you to go ballistic against your foes, as you know the Federation’s got you covered in case you’re in a pinch.

The amount of levels at your disposal isn’t exactly immense, but each mission takes nearly 45 minutes to complete, or even more if you decide to look for secrets or additional objectives. Furthermore, given the sheer amount of weapons you can use, as well as the freedom to tackle objectives in any way you want, the game is surprisingly replayable. In no moment did I miss the fact there is no co-op or deathmatch capabilities; Ultimate Bug War works wonderfully as a single-player experience.

You can always play as an Arachnid if you’re fed up with the Federation’s rhetoric.

But wait, there’s more! Playing as the titular troopers is fun and all, but Ultimate Bug War also lets you play as an actual Arachnid in some so-called “simulation levels”. As the in-game scientist tells you before you tackle your first mission as an Arachnid, “you need to know the Bug if you want to kill the Bug”. In essence, you can play as a more evolved strain of the Arachnid race, in missions that are a bit less complicated in terms of objective complexity, but no less fun. You are given a huge map, full of Federation outposts. Your objective is simple: destroy everything in sight. Use whichever mutations you have access to in order to do so, from momentarily growing wings, to using a flamethrower. Watch the soldiers scream in agony while they’re burning to a crisp.

I honestly don’t have many qualms with the game as a whole, but the closest I had to calling something in it an “issue” was its art style. At first, I wasn’t a big fan of the Half-Life-esque graphics, but after seeing the size of each map, and the sheer amount of enemies moving around it at any given point, I understood the decision. There is also the fact that the visuals look just like the game was developed at around 1997, and I don’t know if this was a reference to the year the Starship Troopers movie was released or not. If that was the intention, then I salute the developers for the reference.

Yay! Where do I sign up?

I loved my time with Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War. In fact, this is one of the most commendable licensed games I’ve played in a long time, using videogames as a way to expand the franchise’s lore in a way only this medium is able to. Furthermore, this is an amazing, ultraviolent shooter that won me over with its fast-paced gameplay, extraordinary level design, and its hilarious live action propaganda cutscenes. It made me want to revisit the 1997 movie, and learn more about its universe. It did its job in a commendable manner. Just make sure to do your part: pick the game up, and start squashing a literal ton of bugs in the name of the Federation.

Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! was provided by the publisher.