It's promising and the game is fun. In the beginning, it was quite buggy but right now it is back!

No politics, woke themes, or 87 genders. See bug, shoot bug. Build base. The game ton of fun. GOTY contender? No. Better than 95% of the garbage out there now? Yes. Play the game, you will have fun

This is another case of me feeling compelled to write a review based on the negative reaction I've seen this game getting in some parts of the mainstream. I'm not someone that usually writes reviews but after seeing excellent games like Return to Moria get lambasted by "professional" reviewers, I felt that I should balance that out with my positive experience with it. ST:E is the successful answer to the question: "what if we took Starship Troopers and made it a large-scale online co-operative experience?" It's exactly what it sounds like. It's almost like being a grunt or foot-soldier in a RTS game. So first, let's get this out of the way: the game nails the Starship Troopers vibe. From the sounds to the player callouts during combat actions, it's got the atmosphere that you'd want and expect. As of writing, there are four or five different game modes, ranging from smaller-scale four-player nest hunting and nuking, all the way up to 16-player scenarios in which you either move from objective to objective or are charged with securing and building up defenses on a designated site. The game features a building mechanic using refined ore as a resource, with structures like gates, walls, mounted turrets (automated or not), bunkers, etc. and it gives the team some choices in terms of defensive positioning and base layouts. There's also a nice class system that complements the absolute chaos that can happen during a match. Guardians are your heavy infantry, who sport heavier armor than others and can take more hits. These are also the ones who get access to the ST equivalent of SAWs or LMGs. Demolition units get grenade launchers and can also carry a variety of tools/equipment such as specialized grenades and satchel charges (which are useful for clearing the dead bodies of bugs, which will stay around and allow the surviving ones to climb them to get to you). Rangers have standard assault rifle type weapons but they can activate scans to highlight enemies for the team. Snipers are specialized marksmen that have high-powered scopes. Engineers are critical, as they can carry the all-important flamethrower, and can also carry extra supplies to build defensive or utility structures in-between waves or while out advancing on an objective. And finally, medics get access to potent tools to keep everyone alive and healthy. As I mentioned before, this game definitely captures the atmosphere of Starship Troopers, and the immersion, at least for me, is through the roof with this one. From the persistent corpses that don't despawn (unless you blow them up in a disgusting miasma of red and green goop), to the insane number of enemies that will be hellbent on overrunning your squad, this game is action-packed and fun as hell. However, the game is HARD. Even on normal difficulty, you might think that SIXTEEN players could handle hordes of bugs, but more often than not, IF your team wins, it's a very narrow thing. The team has limited respawns based on number of players and the current mission, and once they run out, the mission is aborted and players must extract to waiting shuttles. When I had heard that there was a Starship Troopers online co-op game, I imagined it would be just like what the game is, and I'm very glad it turned out this way, because franchise games based on existing IPs can be very hit or miss. But SS:E is exactly what it sounds like and it's an absolute blast, especially with friends. We have had a few connections problems while trying to play as a group but overall it's been relatively smooth for being a day or two after launch. If the idea of a large-scale co-op Starship Troopers game sounds intriguing to you, I'd suggest checking out some gameplay vids and going from there. I personally think it's one of the most fun co-op games I've ever played and I really hope the devs keep adding content because it's an absolute blast.