The Hive

The Hive is an amateurish attempt at both worldbuilding & RTS genre, and honestly but sadly not worth our time. Made by Finnish indie developers, I am all for giving them plenty of leeway, but this project is just way too shallow! While the premise of the game may sound promising on paper, it fails to translate it both into gameplay and story.. The Hive feels like an inept custom mod made in Warcraft 3 Battlenet, but even those had a competent skeleton to build upon. The RTS genre has been flourishing since the 90s, you got "Starcraft 1" and "Warcraft 3" to learn from, you got "SC2: Wings of Liberty" back in 2010, "SC2: Heart of the Swarm" in 2013! That is 3 years before the release of this game. If the devs are such avid "fans" of the genre, it is impossible they have missed those, because it feels like they never played or truly understood both the RTS genre and hive factions like the Zerg. This faction feels like a coat of paint on very basic RTS units, not much unique about them. The worldbuilding is all over the place as well! It was supposed to be a Sci-Fi or Lovecraftian underground insectoid civilization, yet we have lizards and ghosts!? Make up your mind, is this fantasy or Sci-Fi?? There is no sense in the hive biology, ecology, adaptation and literally every other aspect! I get it, we can't expect them to make Zerg or Tyranids, but even then, a little bit more effort would have gone a mile! This game is called a "passion work" but where is the passion and effort? Because I don't see them. Unit controls feel sluggish and unresponsive, pathfinding is just as bad. Pacing drags and animations are not that nice. Even ignoring the kings of RTS "Starcraft" and "Warcraft 3", it still does not hold up to "AoE", "AoM" or even the broken "Empire Earth". If this was some "experimental" attempt at RTS, it utterly failed. No wonder this game is forgotten and buried. If it was a $5 game, I'd be more understanding, but they actually upped the price to $20 for this garbage? Nah, I will shoot straight facts at it: Hollow, shallow, boring, repetitive, amateurish and just straight up bad.

Got this game from a mystery bundle from Fanatical, it looked cool so I said let's give it a try Game is pretty nice, reminds me a lot of warcraft 3 and Anub arak, however, this game came out in 2016 and it's still full of bugs even after so many updates It took me several retries just to finish the first mission because it would glitch out at the end after defeating the giant bug thing; bugs stuck in walls and in grates etc.. It is inexcusable Also, when I do a manual save on my quick save, it deletes my normal save to create a quick save on top of it, never seen such a thing in a video game Please fix your game, sadly I cannot recommend this game in this state It has potential tho

I love RTS so I can play with a variety of factions, lab in Skirmish, and play against my friends. This is a linear campaign with no other modes, and difficulties are locked behind beating the game. :/

I played through the game on GoG, and simply saw they decided on putting it on sale AND to update it recently, so I had to check it out. So far the game it is more polished and the new quality of life improvements felt good enough to recommend alone. As for the TLDR: -Game is good if you played Warcraft 3 or WC3-likes that focus more on Campaign. -Is a single player game so expect unique enemies to fight through each mission. -Decent story to follow through. -Good enough for a sequel. Recommend it on itcho.io or GoG platforms as DRM free alternatives to Steam, but will suggest to stick to Steam if you care about achievements and maximizing your time out of this game. Price-wise it is always good to get it on sale but it is a decent game to get it at its fuller price of $20.

Needs UI scaling options, pretty annoying on ultrawide

Some annoying bugs, sometimes game deletes all your items, population doesn't decrease even when your units die and you cant get more because of it, so some levels are unfinishable because of it.

Looks like a custom wc3 campaign, plays like a custom campaign. A little jank, a lot of charm.

Not a long game but fun. some light puzzle work and cool story and atmosphere. I got it as a gift and figured I would give it a try. I'm glad I did. good work to the studio.

this game is an decent game, the dev actually cares about all the issues with the game an did an huge revamp of the game. so despite it being out for such an long time it plays almost like an newly made game. its an RTS gem of an game that people overlooked for an long time. so it does not even have 300 reviews yet.

The Hive is an atmospheric real-time strategy and colony-management hybrid that invites players into a dark, subterranean world where an insectoid civilization struggles to grow, survive, and reclaim ancient knowledge. Developed and published by Skydome Entertainment, the game blends classic RTS mechanics with light RPG progression, all wrapped in a brooding fantasy setting that emphasizes mystery and discovery. From the opening moments, it is clear that The Hive is less about fast-paced competitive tactics and more about immersion, world-building, and slow-burn expansion. You guide a hive of alien creatures through winding caverns, derelict ruins, and long-forgotten underground kingdoms, gradually uncovering fragments of lore left behind by civilizations lost to time, while simultaneously building your own swarm from virtually nothing. The core gameplay revolves around gathering resources, constructing hive structures, hatching new units, and pushing deeper into the underground. You often begin a mission with only a small worker or a handful of basic insects, forcing you to quickly establish a foothold in hostile territory. Resource management has a central role: food, materials, DNA fragments, and arcane components all feed into your hive’s growth, determining whether your insects can evolve into stronger forms or whether your forces stagnate. The RPG layer ties into this well—defeating enemies, discovering ruins, and exploring the caverns allow you to collect DNA and artifacts that enhance your troops or unlock new types of units. This sense of gradual biological evolution sets the tone for the entire experience: the hive grows not through technological research, but through absorbing knowledge and traits from its environment and prey. Visually, The Hive’s greatest strength is its atmosphere. The game presents the underworld as a beautiful but foreboding place filled with luminescent fungi, ancient temples carved into stone, abandoned machinery, and monstrous subterranean fauna. The environments feel alive with mystery, and Skydome Entertainment’s art direction leans heavily toward dark fantasy, creating a sense of mythic alien history beneath the earth. Each level feels handcrafted, with striking vistas that stand out even when the gameplay becomes repetitive. Creature designs further reinforce the world’s tone: your insectoid units are grotesque yet majestic, with armored shells, glowing eyes, and a distinct visual language that sets them apart from more typical RTS factions. Whether you’re commanding small scouts or massive hive guardians, the units feel cohesive, organic, and thematically grounded within the world. However, beneath its strong aesthetic foundation, The Hive’s mechanics often reveal limitations. While the gameplay loop of expanding, harvesting, and conquering is functional, it lacks strategic depth compared to more complex RTS titles. Many missions follow a similar rhythm: build a minimal base, amass a large swarm, and push forward until all opposition is destroyed. Because the game offers only a modest number of structures and unit types, the variety of viable strategies is limited. This results in a sense of repetition across the campaign, particularly for players who prefer nuanced mechanics or diverse tactical options. The absence of skirmish modes or multiplayer further narrows replay value; once you complete the campaign, there is little to return for unless you simply wish to experience the world again. Pacing and balance also contribute to mixed impressions. The early game often feels slow, requiring careful gathering before any serious expansion. Later missions, however, can escalate quickly, overwhelming players with enemy waves or resource constraints that feel abrupt rather than challenging. A single misstep—such as a poorly timed push or inefficient building order—can lead to a collapse that requires starting a mission over. Unit AI and command responsiveness, while serviceable, occasionally feel imprecise, especially during larger battles where insects crowd tightly around enemies or obstacles. Camera controls and interface clarity can also feel rough in places, making unit management more difficult than intended. These small but noticeable technical issues detract from what is otherwise a deeply atmospheric experience. Storytelling in The Hive is subtle but intriguing. Rather than delivering a linear narrative through cutscenes, the game invites players to uncover lore through exploration and discovery. Ancient writings, ruined altars, and hidden structures hint at a great catastrophe that reshaped the underworld long before your hive’s rise. The narrative tone feels mythic and somber, emphasizing the cyclical nature of civilizations and the strange, almost sacred role your insectoid race plays in the ruins of the past. This approach to storytelling rewards slow-paced, investigative play, though players seeking strong character-driven narratives may find it sparse. Ultimately, The Hive is a game defined by its atmosphere and ambition rather than mechanical complexity. It offers a memorable setting, evocative art direction, and an unusual perspective for an RTS—commanding swarms of alien insects rather than conventional armies. Players who value world-building, thematic cohesion, and the pleasure of guiding a growing hive through a haunting underground realm will find much to enjoy. Those who prefer competitive RTS gameplay, deep strategic systems, or high replayability may instead feel constrained by the game’s limited unit variety, repetitive mission structure, and modest difficulty balance. In the end, The Hive stands as a distinctive if imperfect strategy title—one that prioritizes mood, aesthetics, and environmental storytelling over tactical sophistication. Its flaws in pacing, variety, and interface polish are real, yet its dark charm, evolutionary mechanics, and atmospheric world make it a compelling experience for players willing to embrace its slower, more meditative approach to RTS design. Rating: 6/10