{"id":1494519,"date":"2026-02-12T05:58:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/NpYGEGyfgYVuWoEwHQCZD8"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:58:08","slug":"i-played-the-new-demo-for-the-upcoming-starship-troopers-boomer-shooter-and-accidentally-wiped-out-6-of-my-own-guys-when-i-bounced-a-grenade-off-someones-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/i-played-the-new-demo-for-the-upcoming-starship-troopers-boomer-shooter-and-accidentally-wiped-out-6-of-my-own-guys-when-i-bounced-a-grenade-off-someones-head\/","title":{"rendered":"I played the new demo for the upcoming Starship Troopers boomer shooter and accidentally wiped out 6 of my own guys when I bounced a grenade off someone’s head"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I sometimes have trouble keeping track of all the different Starship Troopers games out there, but the upcoming Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War stands out for a couple reasons. One, it’s being made by Auroch Digital, developer of the very excellent Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun<\/a>, and two, there’s now a demo on Steam<\/a> so you can get into the bug hunt action (and take your first step toward citizenship) for free, right now.<\/p>\n

In some ways, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War\u2014based on the little bit I’ve played of the demo\u2014bears some resemblance to its Boltgun cousin: It’s got that blocky boomer shooter visual style, and violence is wet and plentiful. But even with just a few minutes, some big differences immediately leap out.<\/p>\n

For one thing, you’re not a lone death machine kitted out with the best weapons and armor the Imperium’s money can buy: You are a simple trooper in the Mobile Infantry, so much more mobile (it’s right there in the name) but also soft, squishy, and very delicate. (I learned very quickly that ‘stand and throw’ is not an effective tactic here.)<\/p>\n

You are also not alone, at least not at the outset of the fight, and your fellow troopers are even more easily breakable than you are. Friendly fire complicates the situation: Yes, it’s on, and in the chaos of big bug fights it is very easy to mow down your fellow troopers.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t find a way to turn friendly fire off, but honestly I don’t think I’d want to anyway: Having to be careful around your mates (or not, depending on how you feel about these things) adds to the character of the game, and it doesn’t seem to matter anyway because even after extensive, uh, testing<\/em>, nobody yelled at me for doing it except the people I was shooting. (And they didn’t complain for very long, if you know what I mean.)<\/p>\n

The level I played also feels a lot more open than the very linear Boltgun. I was dropped into a large, open outdoors area with three objectives\u2014secure two outposts under attack, retake a resort (the level is set on one of the galaxy’s most luxurious getaway destinations, which I imagine will play into the game’s broader themes at some point), and help with the evacuation of wounded. Markers for all of the above were placed on my HUD but I was otherwise left to tackle the jobs as I pleased\u2014all while fighting off hordes of attacking bugs.<\/p>\n

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