Best Games Where You Control A Hive Mind

Summary

Infectonator 3 turns a zombie outbreak into a real-time hive mind sandbox – chaos controlled by DNA.
Infested Planet asks players to out-hive the hive with biotech and strategic adaptations in a real-time strategy game.
The Swapper offers a lonely, haunting journey where players control clones and swap consciousness – a philosophical hive mind.

Games featuring hive minds don’t follow individuality rules; instead, they transform the entire gameplay experience. Controlling a collective intelligence that acts as one complex organism with multiple parts is captivating. These games let you experience the strange excitement of being in many places simultaneously, whether it’s controlling a group of biological entities, spreading like spores, or strategizing with cold precision.

Exploring a diverse range, some games delve into power-centered fantasies cloaked in a viscous substance, while others dive deep into cosmic dread or introspective queries about identity. However, what unites them all is the innovative gameplay experience derived from controlling a “mind” that defies traditional definition. Here are top games that push this concept to its limits.

Infectonator 3: Apocalypse

The End Of The World Starts With A Click

Platforms: PC, Mobile
Released: May 10, 2018
Developer: Toge Productions
Genre: Simulation, Strategy

In a fun and lively manner, Infectonator 3 presents itself, but beneath its humorous exterior lies a clever depth. It ingeniously transforms a zombie outbreak into an interactive, real-time sandbox where the city is infected, evolves, and spirals into pandemonium. However, instead of simply observing, players are orchestrating the events, releasing infections that grow, morph, and cause mayhem.

In this game, upgrading enables zombies to become more intelligent, quicker, and stronger. The infection transforms from a joke into a highly effective biological weapon. Instead of commanding each individual zombie, players manage the DNA, determining what the horde should evolve into. It’s about managing the hive mind in its most chaotic form, and watching how the infected mob adapts to resilient cities creates an enjoyable cycle of evolution and intensification.

Infested Planet

When The Enemy Is The Hive Mind, Fight Fire With Fire

As a gamer, I find myself in the thick of it, pitted against overwhelming odds in the game known as Infested Planet. I’m dropped onto hostile alien planets teeming with mindless creatures, each one faster, more relentless, and constantly mutating. But here’s the twist: eventually, I gain control over my own biotech that mirrors these enemy hordes. The challenge lies in using this double-edged weapon to turn the tide of battle and emerge victorious despite being outnumbered.

As I’ve delved deeper into this captivating world, it’s become apparent that the strategy is evolving from sheer force to mastering the art of shaping and maneuvering the battlefield using mobile turrets, dynamic enhancements, and units reminiscent of a miniature hive. This isn’t your typical real-time strategy game; it’s got a brain full of genetic code that keeps testing my adaptability as the swarm evolves in an instant. Triumphing isn’t about vanquishing a traditional adversary but rather outsmarting and out-hiving the hive itself.

Mushroom 11

If Fungal Spores Could Think, They’d Be Playing This

In an unusual yet captivating manner, Mushroom 11 deviates from typical game behavior. Instead of controlling a character, players sculpt and dissolve a mass of green fungi, influencing its movement by eliminating parts of it. The remaining matter regenerates, evolving and propagating as if it were a living, intelligent moss determined to reach a vital destination.

In simpler terms, the hive mind in this context refers less to control and more to an unyielding resilience. Instead of controlling individual creatures, players manipulate their inherent instincts. Regardless of how much damage a creature might suffer – be it burning, crumbling, or melting – as long as even a small piece remains, it will regenerate. The puzzles in the game seem like a conversation between intention and biology, and solving them requires thinking from an perspective that doesn’t think but reacts instinctively to its environment.

The Swapper

Consciousness Is Optional When You Have A Million Clones

In a solitary, eerie, and intellectually stimulating adventure, you find yourself on an abandoned spacecraft. Your task involves solving intricate puzzles by generating duplicate characters of yourself and transferring your consciousness among them. However, it’s essential to note that the sense of “self” has dissipated, leaving only bodies used as utilitarian tools. These tools can no longer engage in discussions.

In this game, every duplicate moves synchronously. If one advances, they all follow suit. The challenge lies in adjusting the surroundings and lighting to determine which duplicates are active. It’s a form of collective consciousness in its deepest meaning, a single existence spread across multiple entities. However, as the narrative unfolds, the consequences of the players’ actions become distressingly real. Suddenly, what was once clever mechanics transform into something chilling.

Stellaris

Where You Are The Mind, And The Empire Is Your Body

Initially, Stellaris could appear to be a typical space strategy game. However, selecting the Hive Mind civics transforms the experience entirely. Instead of diplomacy, factions, or internal politics, players find themselves merging into one consciousness that spans galaxies, growing and interconnecting like cosmic roots among the stars. It’s no longer about ruling an empire, but rather embodying it.

In simpler terms, in the game Stellaris, each colonist behaves like a single nerve cell, while planets function as limbs. There’s no room for debate or opposition when it comes to research, expansion, or conflict. Instead of negotiating peace treaties, players simply absorb or dominate. What makes the hive mind so intriguing is its transformation of conventional game mechanics, favoring unity over freedom. This change results in a system where there are no real choices but rather calculated responses. It’s cold, effective, and aesthetically terrifyingly beautiful.

Carrion

A Bloody Good Time For Everyone… And Everything

In the game titled “Carrion“, players don’t merely command a creature; they become the creature. This tentacled mass is like a meaty tornado with a PhD in destruction, rampaging through a research facility. What sets it apart is its unique take on the traditional monster story. It’s a Metroidvania game, indeed, but experienced from the perspective of the glass, not the other side.

Initially appearing as a modest, slimy menace, it soon escalates into a nightmarish ordeal sprawling across an intricate maze. Players navigate ducts, break open security barriers, and assimilate humans to boost their power and gain new skills. The creature’s collective consciousness is subtly introduced through its responsiveness to the environment and its ability to divide into smaller entities to solve complex problems. It’s not solely about raw power; it’s about teamwork, strategy, and a chilling blend of suspense and physical abnormality encapsulated in a single pulsating mass of red.

2025-08-16 09:38