What Formicide is
Formicide is a fast-paced 2D online platformer where you play as an ant and fight other ants. The comparison the developers give is Worms meets Team Fortress 2: side-scrolling movement and destructible ground, but with class-based shooting and team play. There are 8 playable classes, including a tough soldier, a cloaking hunter, and a turret-building engineer, each with its own weapons and abilities. On top of that you pick an ultimate ability for your class, so the same class can be built in different ways. Matches are short, running 5 to 10 minutes.
How your group plays together
You team up with friends against other players in online matches, with both online co-op and online PvP available. The goal is team based: hold control point beacons with your team until you win the match. Servers are drop-in, drop-out, so anyone in your group can join a game already in progress whenever it suits them. If you want your own space, you can host a Formicide dedicated server, either public or private, and play there as a group.
Destructible maps and random events
The terrain is destructible, which changes how a match plays moment to moment. You can dig a path through the ground toward the enemy or pile up dirt into barricades for cover. There are 7 maps with very different settings: a desert in the sun, snowy mountains, and a coral reef you dive into. Random events shake up the flow too — you can collect powerups that give your team an edge, call bombs down from the sky, or send a swarm of enemy-seeking hunter worms after them.
Before you start
Expect a game that is easy to learn but hard to master, with a high skill ceiling once you get comfortable with movement, class roles, and terrain destruction. Since matches are short, it works well for a session where people drop in, play a few rounds, and swap around. Pick a class that fits how you like to play, choose an ultimate that matches it, and coordinate on which beacons your team is holding.