The Hive

About

"The Hive" is a single-player RTS/RPG game where you control an insectoid hive mind, exploring a vast ruined underworld filled with dangers and lost civilizations. Build your own nest, defeat ancient creatures, and unlock new units and abilities by dissolving enemy DNA. Experience an epic story across 10 levels and 10-12 hours of gameplay, with a serene yet perilous world awaiting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+13

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 268 reviews

story53 positive mentions

replayability4 negative mentions

The graphics and unit designs are visually appealing and create an immersive atmosphere.
The game combines RTS and RPG elements, allowing for unit customization and upgrades.
The story has potential and is engaging, with a unique premise of controlling an insectoid hive.

The gameplay is slow-paced, lacking urgency and challenge, making it feel tedious.
There are significant bugs and technical issues, including crashes and poor AI behavior.
The game lacks depth in strategy, with limited unit types and repetitive mission objectives.

story
244 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
72%
7%
The game's story is generally criticized for being confusing, poorly developed, and lacking coherence, with many players finding it difficult to follow and unengaging. While some appreciate the unique premise of controlling an insectoid race, the narrative often feels disjointed and fails to provide a compelling context for the gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as a weak point, with many reviewers expressing a desire for more depth and clarity in future updates.
- “The story behind the game was very well thought out and it is beautifully presented to us, giving us a captivating story to experience spread out over several levels.”
- “The hive is a story-driven fantasy game that combines RPG elements and blends them with real-time strategy.”
- “The story is your usual, 'we had to escape Earth because it got screwed' storyline, except instead of taking on the predictable role of the human race, you actually play as a mysterious insectoid race known as the hive.”
- “The story is paper thin, and the voice acting is lame.”
- “The story seems unfinished, convoluted, and just kinda blah.”
- “The opening cinematic is only relevant to the ending cinematic, which in turn feels like a hook for a sequel rather than an end to the current story.”
gameplay
121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
79%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized as a blend of traditional RTS mechanics with some RPG elements, but it lacks depth and innovation, often feeling repetitive and simplistic. While the atmosphere and visuals are praised, many reviewers note that the mechanics are underexplained and clunky, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game shows potential but is criticized for its limited variety and polish, leaving players wanting more engaging and diverse gameplay.
- “The gameplay is actually really nice, and the atmosphere is perfect for a game like this.”
- “8/10, gameplay is fun and units all have some form of synergy with others, and items are useful but not required.”
- “The gameplay mechanics here are truly amazing and if some more time is invested to enhance it and give it more replay value it will grow into an amazing game.”
- “The gameplay is exactly what you expect from a typical RTS, with some pretty nature scenes and water simulations, but nothing truly new, and nothing exciting.”
- “The gameplay feels very simplistic and dumb and is not fun at all.”
- “Overall, gameplay felt clunky and unpolished.”
graphics
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
45%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style, unit designs, and overall visual appeal, describing them as beautiful and immersive. However, some players criticize the animations and textures as dated or simplistic, likening them to early 2000s titles. Overall, while the visuals are generally well-received, they are often overshadowed by gameplay issues and bugs.
- “The artwork is amazing.”
- “The graphics and voice acting are great, the existing units and enemies got a beautiful design and the first two maps were nice to play.”
- “The game has a very polished graphical look for its development stage.”
- “I didn't have much time to play this game to review its gameplay properly, but I was disappointed by the lack of actual effort in most of the game's animations and visuals.”
- “The graphics are pretty poor, and the buildings/units look very simplistic.”
- “And I'm not sure why, because the graphics look very dated and the textures are low-resolution (obvious when you zoom in).”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the immersive experience, with many reviewers highlighting its beauty and suitability for the game's setting. However, some criticisms include instances of low-quality sound effects, repetitive tracks, and technical issues such as music skipping during gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance, there are notable inconsistencies in its execution.
- “The background music adds to the overall quality that the game offers; it builds the atmosphere and keeps it right there as the climax is reached.”
- “Gorgeous music and a beautiful visual design take you to the planet of New Eden.”
- “A must play with stunning visuals, engaging story, and incredible music!”
- “The music on the final boss was skipping pretty severely, especially when your own units were giving their response sounds, and cut out entirely at some point.”
- “There are also a very limited set of enemies to face, there's basically no soundtrack, and let's not forget the graphics remind me of Age of Mythology or, if we want to be very generous, Warcraft 3 - it's not ugly, in fact the units are visually well-designed all things considered, it just looks like an RTS from the early 2000s.”
- “Sound: music is repetitive, but the ambient sounds are perfect for the environment.”
atmosphere
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
17%
17%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by stunning graphics, a captivating soundtrack, and detailed environments, particularly in its unique alien setting. While some players noted technical issues and a desire for more content, the overall ambiance and storytelling effectively engage players, creating a memorable experience. The combination of visual and audio elements contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature.
- “The gameplay is actually really nice, and the atmosphere is perfect for a game like this.”
- “"The Hive" is a fun RTS with a unique setting and an immersive atmosphere created by graphics, soundtrack, and sound effects.”
- “The atmosphere is quite unique, with the game largely taking place in beautifully detailed subterranean caverns on an alien world.”
- “I enjoyed the atmosphere, but the game is technically lacking due to occasional bugs and balance issues.”
- “The game world is really interesting and will captivate you with its alien atmosphere.”
- “And the main thing here is atmosphere.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
46%
31%
The game "The Hive" currently suffers from minimal replayability, with only ten levels and no multiplayer options, leading to a lack of variability that diminishes player motivation to replay. While there are some achievements that encourage multiple playthroughs, the overall experience is hindered by bugs and a need for further development to enhance its replay value. Players express hope for future updates that could improve this aspect significantly.
- “The gameplay mechanics here are truly amazing, and if some more time is invested to enhance it and give it more replay value, it will grow into an amazing game.”
- “Unfortunately, at this stage, the game does not offer much in terms of replay value; however, the game does have achievements that require a bit of a grind and there are difficulty-based achievements that will require more than one playthrough, so there is that at least.”
- “Really looking forward to the development of this game as it looks to have a high replayability.”
- “The game itself is fine, the models and sounds are great, but the lack of replayability and the glaring amount of bugs makes it barely enjoyable.”
- “The one major flaw of this game is its lack of replayability.”
- “There is a distinct lack of variability and this reduces the replayability of the game.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game is plagued by numerous stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches in gameplay mechanics, and AI problems that hinder the overall experience. Players report significant issues such as enemies clipping through walls, units getting stuck, and frequent freezes, leading to frustration and a lack of immersion. While some users enjoy the game despite these flaws, the consensus highlights that its stability is a major drawback.
- “Good game, love it! No glitches; I would definitely recommend it.”
- “The game is very buggy, with simple gameplay and doesn't really have a story worth writing about.”
- “Biggest drawback is it's a bit buggy; the biggest bug I found is when you run a mission, don't 'load' from a save, select from continue, and start from the beginning of that mission.”
- “The game is very buggy (enemies shooting through walls, phasing through walls, clipping animations), the AI is objectively terrible (just sends their forces straight at you with no tactics and doesn't know how to move or fight in any way, often breaking and following you all the way back to base).”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is often seen as tedious and frustrating, with players noting repetitive tasks and clunky controls that detract from the experience. While some appreciate the loot system for its potential to differentiate gameplay, the overall sentiment suggests that the grinding mechanics could benefit from refinement to enhance enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The puzzle systems feel shoehorned in with little thought, which is a shame because one can see the idea the developers were trying to make and if executed better, would have been enjoyable instead of tedious.”
- “Finding the correct way to unlock map scripting to allow progression felt like tedious trial and error guesswork.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization is inconsistent; while the initial missions run well with smooth performance, players experience significant issues in the latter half, including FPS drops, broken unit pathfinding, and occasional crashes. Despite some short-term lag and stuttering, the game performs adequately at native resolution for some users, but many feel it lacks polish and optimization.
- “The artwork is nice and the game runs smoothly.”
- “It runs smoothly in my monitor’s native resolution and on constant 60 frames per second.”
- “The game suffers from short-term lag and stuttering at times, which disrupts the overall experience.”
- “I experienced one crash while playing, indicating potential optimization issues.”
- “Using the Unity game engine seems to contribute to the performance problems.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is often unintentional, with players finding amusement in graphical glitches, repetitive textures, and bizarre visual effects during gameplay. While some moments are genuinely funny, much of the laughter stems from the game's quirks and oddities rather than intentional comedic elements.
- “I won't say I didn't have fun, but some of it was laughing at the game—like noticing that the same texture is used, often very stretched out, on any surface that's supposed to be natural rock. In the final level, there's a sequence where you use your workers to tunnel, and the blocks do very strange things visually based on how you clear them out. And then there's the... uh... new unit you get midway through the game...”
- “The humor in this game is surprisingly clever! I found myself chuckling at the quirky dialogue and the absurd situations the characters found themselves in. It really added a unique charm to the gameplay.”
- “I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously. The silly animations and over-the-top scenarios had me laughing out loud. It's refreshing to see a game that embraces its own ridiculousness!”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is highlighted for its high-quality design, indicating a strong emphasis on creating well-crafted and visually appealing characters.
- “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form genuine connections with each character.”
- “Each character evolves throughout the story, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
- “The choices you make significantly impact character growth, leading to a personalized experience.”