Age of Wonders 4

Well, here we are. I have played over 1000 hours of age of Wonders 4. I still fell like a beginner and I still enjoy every minute of it.
I would like to share my experience with other potential players.
This game is unique and simply amazing. The graphics, map, music, gameplay are probably the best in the gaming industry of our time.
You start out with 5 introductory story missions that immerse you in the lore of the Age of Wonders series. (The game lets you play regular maps and factions if you choose not to start the story missions). After that, you move on to your own adventures with pre-made characters and maps or create your own factions and map parameters. I haven't yet purchased a single one of the many DLC and I am still learning new things from each game played.
When you start a new realm, ( RANDOMIZED MAPS ! ) you are the ruler of a single small town in a beautiful but very hostile world. You must research, develop your cities, explore, expand, exploit and exterminate. (4X) The game is a wargame at its core.
There is a subterranean level to explore exploit and conquer. And ancient Wonders to explore and annex. And multiple resource nodes guarded by enemies to clear with your forces.
Create your own leader, species and traits or use one of the game pre-made faction.
Diplomacy is one of the best in all of the 4X games I have ever played. It finally makes sense, and once you get a good alliance going, you can even share a victory with a faction stronger than yours if you survive and help your ally. The grievance system is a mini game of it's own. ( I don't miss the psychotic leaders in the Civilization games, that change their minds every couple of turns ) Once you have an enemy, they fight to the bitter end or sometimes offer you their vassalage if you hurt them enough, and when you have an ally, they remain reliable unless you stab them in the back. Whispering stones are used to improve diplomacy with free cities. ( Pure genius)
There is so much to learn such as: city sieges, magic tomes, magic affinities, use of imperium, magic materials, weapon and item crafting, the skill paths of every different heroes you can recruit, special city constructions such as dungeons to imprison live enemy heroes and extract mana, gold and research from them or crypts where you can resurrect heroes who died in battle but your army was victorious.
In my opinion, the heart of the game is the turn based tactical combat. I know some players who are lazy or much more experienced than myself use auto-combat. I have fought every single battle manually since I purchased the game, (which accounts for the insane number of hours of gaming I have accumulated so far). But you learn so much from the manual control of all your troops and tactical strategy and proper use of combat spells. The game is very forgiving with combat: If you lose auto-combat or manual, you can retry as many times as you want until you get it right or you realize you were just not strong enough for that battle. I have no plan to switch to auto-combat any time soon because I really enjoy the beauty of the combat and the triumph of using a winning strategy to defeat an enemy army of superior power. It's addictive !!!!!!!!!
Some players have left negative comments about the number or cost of DLC. In my opinion, that's unfair. I have not purchased any DLC yet. I will, eventually, but only when I feel I have attained a certain mastery of the base game. I think if a new player buys all the DLC, they will be overwhelmed by all the possibilities and the new game mechanics introduced. The player base seems very enthusiastic about the DLC, based on their online comments. DLC support the developers who work hard to bring us quality entertainment.
The DLC package costs about $100 + Compare that to one restaurant meal or one month of cell phone billing or one crappy airline trip. The developers of AoW4 deserve your respect and deserve to earn a decent living.
Now I need to give you a few statistics because the game is probably more difficult than you think and some players simply don't have what it takes to understand the game mechanics, do some research and experiment with different strategies.
Found your first city 69%
Breach a city's wall 65%
Reach a military victory 44%
Complete the first story mission ''Rise if the godir Valley of Wonders" 38%
Complete story mission 4 ''The eternal court'' 13%
(percentage of players who got these achievements)
Most YouTube videos on AoW4 are awful or out of date. Anything before the Griffon update is useless.
If you like strategy games such as previous AoW titles, Warlock master of the Arcane, Endless Legend, Heroes 3 complete, the odds of enjoying this game are excellent. Just know there is a learning curve. All good things in life require some skill and effort and luck and AoW4 is one of those good things.
Technical: no problem to report, no in-game crashes, a few post game pop-up crash reports after game exit to Steam with no data loss and a box to write comments about the possible cause and circumstance of the crash.
Have fun!
Addendum: works in Linux, Rated Gold on Proton DB . Also runs on Steam deck according to Reddit.

This is my most played single-player game on Steam, so this is a strong recommendation on its own. However, if you're looking for a proper review:
WHAT'S AOW4?
Age of Wonders 4 is a turn-based strategy game in a fastasy setting. The goal of the player is to lead a player-selected faction and its leader to victory, defeating other factions. The use of force is mandatory, there is no "cultural victory." Turn-based combat between armies is a major focus of the game and of the AoW series overall. You do not need to play the previous installments to enjoy this one.
REASONS TO GET THE GAME
While there are other turn-based fantasy strategy games, the Age of Wonders series has managed to establish a great setting and a deep and rewarding turn-based combat system. But what AoW4 does better than its predecessors is the degree of customizability of the playable factions. The player is, in fact, incentivized to create his own factions, each with their own characteristics and lore background. My personal favorite creations are the industrious earth-aligned sculptor elves, the spider-worshipping goblins, or the umbral homunculi created by the eldritch monstrosity Zon'Gynoth.
REASONS TO SKIP THE GAME
While AoW4 is great, it may not be for everyone. First, and most obviously, everything is turn based, so if you don't like that, you may skip this. Additionally, AoW4 is combat focused, so if you are looking for a complex empire building game, there are other games for that (such as the great Endless Legend!). Lastly, as in many strategy games, the AI cheats depending on the difficulty. Human players need to win by outwitting the AI. Yet, despite this, I found the "easy" and "normal" difficulties very approachable.
CONCLUSION
The game is in its best shape ever at the time of writing (end of season 2, Archon Prohecy DLC). While already great at launch, the exceptional post launch support has perfected AoW4's formula with a greater number of customization options, additional story content, additional ruler types, and more. If it sounds that it could be your cup of tea, try it!

Aaaaah, Paradox. This company really tries to be both the angel and the devil on my shoulder. Bet lots of other people feel the same way. Anyways.
Yes, yes, I will address the ever-present Parad-elephant in the room - their DLC policy. You see it in Stellaris too. They release a solid base game and, if it sells well, they start to release DLC that either add new races in the game or new mechanics - sort of like mini expansions. In AoW4's case, that is new civilizations, new species-bases, new types of heroes and new map modifiers. Were these things to come free of charge or only at a minor cost, AoW4 would skyrocket to legendary status - but who am I to judge? I don't know the nature of the business, or how sustainable that would be.
In the end, I am going to focus on one thing; the game mechanics, not their business practice. The DLC are 'optional' and frequently go on discount, so make of that what you will. So allow me to finally get to the point; do I recommend Age of Wonders 4 to people who like 4X games?
The short answer is yes. The long answer....
The customization is very enjoyable. I understand that is a common feature in many 4X games, particularly Civilization. I unfortunately cannot make comparisons, because I have tried to get into Civ many times in the past, and I have not liked it. Most of the changes were represented purely in numbers. There was little variation in between units. The combat mechanics were just 'mash unit A into unit B, bigger numbers/first strike wins'. No heroes or units with unique, activatable abilities. Construction was slow, UI was difficult to get a grasp on, I could not make units AND construct buildings and so on.
If you have played 4X games who were like that, know this; AoW4 is NOT like that at all. Does it have some math? Sure. It is the nature of the beast. But it also has significant VISUAL representation and VARIETY. Units WILL look different. Units have different classes that interact off of each other in more than just a 'Type X hurts Type Y more, Type Y hurts Type Z more, Type Z hurts Type X more'. You have Shock troops - they are fast, do one big hit that does more damage the more you have moved, they smash through defense and prevent retaliation attacks. They are countered by Polearms because those always retaliate first, meaning Shock troops cannot just smash through their wall of spears. Polearms are slow though and Archers can easily pick them off while staying at a distance. Archers can barely scratch Bulwarks though, who can weather the barrage with their powerful defense until they are close enough to crush the Archers. And to close the loop, Bulwarks will be swept over by Shock troops which can easily shatter their shields.
Then you have Mages, which are ranged units that do magic damage and tend to have special abilities. You have Healers. You have Support units that focus on buffing. You have Fighters who are all-around combatants that do best when they can get in the fray and stay there, as they do multiple attacks if they have not moved previously. Then you have Skirmishers, who are fast, fragile and hit hard, with tons of bonus damage for flanking, and often with a secondary ranged attack to soften targets before the backstab.
And all of this is through the immense diversity that a fantasy game allows. Mole-people? Sure. Lizard-people? Yes. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings and so on. Monster units like golems, elementals, salamanders, wyverns, sea-monsters, dragons, giants, undead and more! Some are slow. Some are fast. Some are on cavalry. Some can fly. They do not just function differently, they LOOK different.
And speaking of the above unit interactivity; the battle maps (yes, combat has maps, it does not happen on the overworld) are so much fun. Up to 3 armies on each side get to duke it out. You have obstacles on the map. You have changes in elevation. You have cover. You have tiles they give you defenses or leave you vulnerable and more. You have to measure distance. You have to take passive and active special abilities into account. Units level up, gaining stats and new abilities - some can even evolve into more powerful units!
You do, of course, also have your heroes. You can level them, you can equip them. They have unique abilities, active and passive. Your ruler is an active force, not a face on the diplomacy screen and some stat bonuses. Base game has 2 archetypes; the Champion, who combines big passive bonuses with simple, but effective solutions to combat (extreme violence). Then you have the Wizard King, who tend to favor honing their magical might over learning things like 'proper governance' or 'actually understanding how taxes work'.
Oh yes, there is magic, because of course there is! Magic in this game is basically 'Science'. Only instead of learning how to make nukes (eventually...), you learn how to cast spells in the overworld and on the field of battle. Some blow stuff up. Others terraform the world. You have permanent summons on the overworld and temporary summons in battle. Some builds and civilization types, in fact, can focus on using summoned units EXCLUSIVELY. You can enchant your cities. You can enchant your people. ALL changes will SHOW too. You just gave your people wings? Their units WILL get wings. You made them edgy half-demons? They get glowing red eyes, horns, wings and snort flames!
Will you focus on passive buffs? Will you focus on scorching your enemies on the field of battle? You only have so many magical gems, after all!
For resources, you typically have the following; Food (city-locked, creates new pops), Industry (city-locked, creates new buildings, gets partially converted into gold if you're building nothing), Draft (city-locked, creates new units, gets partially converted into food if you're not recruiting anything), Gold (empire wide, 'nuff said), Research (empire wide, get that magic yo), Magic Crystals (empire wide, use them for magic) and Imperium (empire wide, you use it to get new civics, found new cities, recruit heroes, so on).
You also have special resources with unique effects, crafting materials for equipment, Neutral City-States to vassalize (violently or diplomatically) or pillage and POIs to delve into for loot and unique city buffs (so long as they have been absorbed into a city, of course).
In any case, I feel I have made my point - the variety is great. The review is bloated enough as is. Diplomacy is fun. Spying is fun. Combat is fun. The DLC add a ton of new stuff. You got your challenge maps. The game is just fun. If 4X games are your cup of tea, try this one out! Or watch some Lets Plays, THEN try it out.

You can play as unicorn riding humans. ‘Nough said.
AoW4 is one of the best customizable turn based 4X games with tactical combat. This is one of those very rare examples where the sequel not only has feature parity with its predecessors, it also substantially expands on them. Imagine a fantasy version of XCOM baked into a larger empire simulation game. Both elements aren't as in-depth as more specialized games in the genre, but they blend together in a fantastic way.
What really blew me away about this game is just how customizable everything is. Not only your map/realm creation (all kinds of settings and features to tweak, story scenarios you can set up, etc.), but also you can create your own race every game, which is super fun when you get into it. It’s such a fantastic title, genuinely so good for folks who just want to make their own game/styles and create their own scenarios. If you're a creative type, it's almost godd**ned endless if you have the DLC’s.
The amount of care and detail that they put into this game is amazing to see. I haven't played a game that engaged my pursuit of mysticism and wonder for a long time now; and this just fit the bill. Even just looking at the amount of detail and customization that you can put into your army before the game even starts speaks volumes as to how intricate and fun this game can be. They clearly poured their heart and soul into the amount of imagination that they put into this, and I really appreciated the hell out of that.
Want to be an ice fanatic that wants to see the world covered in ice? Done. Want to be a eldritch lord that controls humans and wants to destroy everything? Ok. Prefer a dragon that’s mad because nature is being destroyed so you want to restore it? It can be done. A necromancer that will cover the world with undead minions? Sure. You can be a feudal group of spider riding frogs, mainly using poison magic to fight too. While you can also be decent unicorn riding humans, mainly using healing magic - but also feudal. What else do you need?! The customization is extremely deep, with lots of potential for role-play and decision making.
I have played many games and every playthrough I play has some weird different concept that I come up with on the spot because of the many options available. For example, I made a race of simian/monkey-folk who prioritize Nature, and lean on their relationship with animals. I’ve been able to cultivate an army of different animals who are running around the map supporting wherever needed. Meanwhile, I’m converting tons of tiles into Forests, making it harder for my enemies to move, and buffing my monkeys. I was invited to a Hunt, and told the free city that engaging in communion with nature is better, resulting in them changing their ways. Top notch fantasy stuff. Are they the strongest? No. Are they viable and will you be able to win? Yes. I love creating my own stories in games and AoW4 allows a plethora of different RP playthroughs. I already got 2-3 other playthroughs in mind once l'm done with my feline fanatics!
I also really appreciate how “approachable” it is for the genre. The game makes it very clear what resources are needed for which thing, and how to go about getting them. The UI is crazy readable, which helped me learn it and stay focused on what I was doing. Add onto that massive fantasy battles akin to Warhammer - but turn based - and I just can’t put it down. I’ve tussled with industrious steam punk frog people, brutal Edlritch gods focused on assimilating for the greater good, and armies of undead orcs led by a necromancer dragon. I’m just absolutely hooked.
Yeah, I came to AoW4 for its brand new shiny mechanics and good art direction, but I stay for all the various builds, theory-crafting, occasional roleplay and dragons - is there any other strategy fame, where you get to play as dragon ruler?! With the latest DLC, the game is now a "must buy" for 4X and HOMM fans in my opinion. The extra content gives more build possibilities and the free updates have addressed several deficiencies in the base game at launch (water economy, the underground). So now is a great time to buy. If you enjoy turn based combat and strategy games in a fantasy setting, it’s a no brainer.
10/10

Played 120 hours trying to build a peaceful utopia. Accidentally declared war on a squirrel god. Lost half my population to a diplomatic insult involving cheese.
Now I rule as a mushroom necromancer with a dragon wife and a vendetta against every race that didn’t vote for my wizard union tax bill. 10/10, democracy was a mistake.

I feel like this installment of Age of Wonders is redeeming itself for cuts from previous games in the series, though I still miss the race system from Age of Wonders 1, feels like it has never been quite the same since then. Still, this is a worthy game. A lot of game systems have changed and it doesn't feel as charming as it once did long ago, but they have expanded the game in other ways.

Things I miss:
Migration not being an evil act.
The single unit enchantment spells.
Different sized cities.
Dispelling world/unit enchantments.
Flooding the world. (pretty sure was an AoW 2 world spell)
Race specific units.

If you've never played AoW 1 then you probably wouldn't know about these. To me they made more sense, there was a lot more towns and villages of varying size in AoW 1 and they provided a variety...and a deeper in-game immersion if you were to ask me. A lot of strategy games use the formula nowadays of grabbing land nearby your cities/having a 'domain' area you can built improvements on...and that's all well and good and it sort of makes sense...but it's a bit tired of a mechanic if you were to ask me, I've seen it many times now. In AoW 1, you had 4 different sized city cells, from little 1 hex villages to 4 hex cities, and that provided a sense of greater 'weight' in importance. As well as the single-unit enchantment spells, where you had to spend mana to maintain it for each unit it was cast upon. You needed to be more thoughtful with where you spent it. The new system makes units much more disposable, and I don't particularly like that part.

Things I think are an improvement/welcome change:
Class system
A reason to not hero stack(though i still do with Elitist heroes most of the time, heh. thanks for that)
More variety in races
Leader/army customization
Mod support
Pantheon system
Siege system

A lot of this was done really well, and certainly do appreciate having more options to pick from. I guess the nostalgia in me misses the older systems while appreciating many of the new, I've played every AoW to date, and the series has changed over the years...I haven't liked every change and having certain things removed in later versions made sense for lore reasons...but as a player it was upsetting. AoW 4 seems like it's trying to bring back some of the older things in newer form, though I feel in my memory there are places where the new game simply won't reach to compare with feelings and experiences I had during the first game.
That being said I'm not entirely bitter about it. There's a lot in AoW 4 to enjoy and thus why I recommend it. It may not be the AoW in my fond memories but it's a more modern AoW that likely a wider audience will enjoy/feel accessible.

This game is mega fun and cool...in singleplayer.
Multiplayer is a buggy mess.
I just did my first mp game with a friend. It de-syncs almost everytime another player finishes a manual battle. A manual battle against another player is just straight-up not happening. It de-syncs after every 2 unit moves. Apparently this has been an issue for years too so i dont understand why its not fixed yet?
I love this game but please fix multiplayer thanks <3