Service Guarantees Citizenship: Starship Troopers Ultimate Bug War Review
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is a retro-inspired first-person shooter that drops players directly into the iconic conflict between the United Citizen Federation and the Arachnid threat. Featuring a striking pixel art aesthetic, the game offers a dual-perspective campaign where you can fight as the Mobile Infantry or take control of the bugs themselves. Developed by Auroch Digital, it blends high-octane action with an authentic atmosphere derived from the classic sci-fi universe.
Developer: Auroch Digital
Publisher: Dotemu / Game Source Entertainment
Genre: Retro First-Person Shooter
Release Date: March 16, 2026
Official Website: Dotemu Official
UK Store Link: PlayStation Store
Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance | Settings & Controls
Starship Troopers Ultimate Bug War PlayStation 5 Review: Specs & HUD
- Download Size: 6.63GB.
- Platinum trophy.
- HUD Gameplay Settings: Features health bars, auto switch weapons, pick up log, and hit indicators.
- Visual Indicators: Crosshair opacity and scale are fully adjustable.
- In-Game UI: Includes a mini map, mission markers that show on screen as you get near them, and a running score scroll in the corner showing what you killed and how.
- Objectives: An objective list can be shown on the HUD or set to fade.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
Fast-paced first-person shooter gameplay here, and it starts with an opening tutorial section where you do capture the flag, shooting, and the assault course. Playing the game is fun. Seeing the battles play out in real time and jumping in always feels cool, and accidentally taking out your own squad just keeps it true to the films! You have a taunt button where you crack your knuckles, and you can walk up to anyone on your team and do the knuckle crack to have them follow and fight alongside you.
There are two sets of campaign missions, Human and Bugs, with both showing as separate entities. As a Human, you can run, slide, jump, and grab ledges. Weapons allow you to zoom in, and some will give you a scope, but generally, it’s just a close-up view. You can call in bombing runs and ammo drops, and reloading lets you time your reload for an instant reload called active reload. You even get to deploy and pilot big ass Mechs!
Playing as a bug is so cool! You are an assassin bug that can morph into different bugs, like a flying one and one that spits fire for a limited time. You can spawn warrior bugs to help by visiting the bug nests, which also heal you. Bugs is played in third person, which is a total godsend as first person could be a vomit comet. When entering a base as a bug, a bar will show your progress until you destroy it completely. You have to take out turrets, pylons, and tents to stop humans from spawning. Destroying bases is Rampage levels of carnage, but you do sometimes have to plan it, like taking out turrets to allow in flying bugs, breaking down doors, and even taking out power to electric fences.
Starship Troopers Ultimate Bug War PlayStation 5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Visual Style: Awesome pixel art graphics that nail the atmosphere of the films.
- Cutscenes: Brilliant cheese, real video cutscenes, and an intro film worthy of an Oscar.
- Loading: The loading times are nigh on instant.
- Audio: The voice work is excellent, from the cutscenes to the random shout-outs from the team in the heat of battle.
- Gore: Bug juice can and will spray onto you and get your weapon dirty.
- Reliability: I had a few times where the pickups would bug out, or the completion of levels didn’t register the correct difficulty.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Video Settings: Motion blur, horizontal field of view slider, and brightness.
- Audio Customisation: Sliders for cinematic, battle chatter, voice overs, UI volume, ambience, and a master volume slider. Subtitles are also found here.
- Controller Options: Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, remap the controls, Deadzone and acceleration zones, and toggles for running and aim down sights. Includes an aim assist strength slider.
- Accessibility: Language options, weapon and camera inertia sliders, camera lag, damage screen flash, screen shake effects, and gore pool size.
- Cheats/Toggles: HUD scaling, disable HUD, checkpoints, infinite ammo, God mode, and unlock all levels. In Starship Troopers Ultimate Bug War! God mode and invincibility, and infinite ammo DO NOT DISABLE trophies.
Related Reviews
- Starship Troopers Extermination Review
- Haunted Lands Review: Hardcore Retro Side-Scrolling Shooter
- Look Mum No Computer Review
Starship Troopers Ultimate Bug War
Summary
THRILLS & HIGHLIGHTS
The production value is high, they nail the atmosphere of the films and keep the cheese just right. Shooting pixel art bugs never looked and felt so good! The power-ups you get, which you throw them to activate, are a lot of fun, from straight-up bomb runs to phosphorus drops to flying in a ship and shooting down. They all add a lot to the game and are a ton of fun. When playing a flying bug, you see any destructible items as red and can be seen through walls, and the fact that you can save and load from the pause menu is a proper bonus. It’s a fantastic game and shows the advancements of the genre that the devs almost created with the Boltgun game.
KEY NEGATIVES
The reduced camera sway and weapon bob are not clear, and whilst you can tweak it, those hyper sensitive like me will still feel it in first person. It sucks that you have to play each level as humans first to unlock the bug version of each level. In between battles, when running or flying around the battlefield, it can feel quiet and kind of desolate, and it drags you out of the chaotic energy the game produces. There are way more humans than bug missions, and that sucks, as the bug missions are a ton of fun. This being single-player only almost feels criminal, and stamina seems pointless and is there to just annoy you when it’s depleted. It’s annoying, but you cannot go and view all the cutscenes and can only watch them as they appear in-game.
OVERALL VERDICT
It’s been a long time since I finished a game and then immediately went back to play it again. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is totally sorted and a massive win for fans of the flick. The pixel art is proper boss, and even though the lack of multiplayer is a bit rubbish, the carnage on offer is top-tier. Playing as a bug is a godsend for the motion sickness, and the whole thing is just brilliant fun. You’d be a total melon to miss this one. Get it bought!
