Age of Wonders 4
Rule a fantasy realm of your own design in Age of Wonders 4! Explore new magical realms in Age of Wonders’ signature blend of 4X strategy and turn-based tactical combat. Control a faction that grows and changes as you expand your empire with each turn.Triumph Studios’ award-winning strategy series has emerged into a new age, evolving the game’s iconic empire building, role-playing, and warfare to the next level. A new storytelling event system and hugely customizable empires provide an endlessly replayable experience, where each game adds a new chapter to your ever-growing saga.Powerful Wizard Kings have returned to the realms to reign as gods among mortals. Claim and master the Tomes of Magic to evolve your people, and prepare for an epic battle that will determine the ages to come.
- Craft your followers by combining bodily forms, societal traits and arcane powers. Build anything from a clan of cannibal halflings to mystic moon elves, or recreate your favorite fantasy tropes
- Seek powerful tomes of magic to enchant your armies and evolve your people! See your people physically change as they morph into angelic beings or scions of chaos to face their enemies.
- Seek glory through brutal domination, cunning alliances, or ultimate arcane knowledge, and write your legacy into the very fabric of the realm itself!
- Every choice opens up new possibilities and tactical advantages; deep, multilayered strategy allows you to try new tactics or explore new powers at every turn
- Tactical turn-based battles bring your armies to life, showcasing their power in an environment shaped by your decisions. From skirmishes with roaming monsters to vast sieges with dozens of units on each side, with the addition of a morale system and more features, every battle brings a fresh challenge
- Tremendous variety in empires, units, and environments keep the game endlessly replayable. Age of Wonders is more moddable and open-ended than ever in the series’ history
- Explore a new realm with each game – or create your own! Challenge new variations and combinations of locations and features, from frozen wastelands ruled by ice queens to desolated ruins where dragons roam
- A new event system provides unexpected levels of storytelling for 4X games. See your decisions shape the world around you, from growing cities and roaming armies to world-warping magic effects
- Guide your empire to greatness – but the story doesn’t end with your victory or defeat! Ascend your rulers to an in-game pantheon and unlock ways to further customize your experience. Encounter your own creations as potential rivals or allies in subsequent games, and experience the next chapter in your own story!
Steam User 418
Legitimately one of the best 4X games, period.
I don't really have any complaints or things to pick apart here, the game just works, is well polished, and well designed.
Base "race" appearance has been made a cosmetic choice, allowing you to play who you want when you want and how you want. A series of trait options, culture options (sort of like class), in game events, and the tomes you research and spells you cast, all fine-tune your "race" into basically exactly what you want. If you like Elves you can play demon elves, angel elves, plant elves, underground elves, metal elves, undead elves, sneaky elves, armored elves, etc. etc. The combinations are basically endless.
The tome system serves as a tech tree in addition to a means to customize your faction's playstyle and appearance. Dozens of tomes each offer a handful of "techs" to research, many of them include unit and city upgrade options in addition to the various types of spells. You are limited in how often you can choose a new tome to unlock, which means the tomes you pick early-mid game very much define how you play that run. If you play long enough, like hundreds of turns, you can eventually unlock almost everything though and make your race into functional gods. You can only pick one tome from the highest tier though, so you can't "master" everything in one run. It's just implemented really well and is a lot of fun.
City management is amazing. Every time a pop grows you city claims a new tile and can pick from like 1-5 base improvements depending on what exists on that tile. At this point it feels a bit like Civ or similar games, each improvement increases specific yields and works more or less how you would expect. However, many core city buildings require a specific number of a certain improvement to be built, many buildings get construction discounts if a specific number of different improvements are present, some buildings boost the yields of certain improvements, this all creates a bit of a balance game to get the yields you want from a city. It gets better though, many tomes unlock a special stronger tile improvement, many of them get bonuses for nearby improvements or terrain, so suddenly a cluster of quarries/farms/whatever all in one area can super charge one of these special improvements, and this creates a lot of questions and planning about where you are going to build things to get the best yields. It's very engaging, it's not something you feel like just turning on auto and ignoring, every time a city grows it's exciting.
Combat is fine, I usually auto battle so I don't really have a judgement here. I have done a few manual combats, it seems to work as well as previous AoW games. Loading into the combat map and then back to the world map is lightning fast at least.
Performance is fine, my PC is somewhere between minimum and recommend (Ryzen 7 1700, GTX 1060 3GB, 16GB RAM), I can't max out the settings without getting some performance issues as expected for a system not meeting recommended specs. However I have most settings on high, with just things like MSAA and SSOA turned off and I don't have any issues, 99% of the time. There's one screen when upgrading units, or customizing them before starting a game, where the units are standing on like this dark platform with a lot of fog, occasionally my FPS dips quite a bit there, not sure why. Never happens during actual gameplay. I had one crash on day one, been fine since.
The campaign, I don't usually play campaigns in these games, but I figured I would give it a try this time as I learned the game. It's not a blockbuster AAA campaign with FMV scenes or anything like that, but it's functional, has a story, lots of dialog, a narrator voices a number of scenes. The important thing is the gameplay is very relevant to actual gameplay, it's not like a serious of pointless mini-games. You start a campaign map and just play normally, with the objective to win. The campaign will give you quests which will generally help you win faster, providing you with various special rewards, and often giving you options on how to do things. The quests all have dialog and explain what's going on and why you are there etc. I'm mostly going over this part because a number of people are complaining there is no campaign, which is false.
Lastly I'll cover the meta progression. Every time you finish a run, whether through winning or losing, you gain "pantheon" exp, and every time that levels up you get a point to spend on like a meta-progression skill tree type thing. This tree unlocks all sorts of things, cosmetics, new map modifiers, new side-story maps, new racial traits, and new starting gear for your leader. If there's one thing you really want on the pantheon tree, you can probably unlock it within a couple decent length games. Unlocking everything, I don't have any real idea how long that will take at this point, possibly 100 hours assuming levels don't get slower later. It looks like you can respec the tree though, so it's not something you "need" to grind through to do things, it just gives you a reason to keep winning instead of walking away from games half way through, and eventually you can fill that whole tree in. I would say, for my taste, there's a few too many cosmetics on there compared to actual gameplay unlocks, but I think some people would prefer no gameplay unlocks at all, so I guess they found a middle ground.
So ya, just an all around amazing game. Highly recommend it to fans of 4X games.
Steam User 243
If you enjoy 4X games and/or tactical battles, get this game.
I put in 12 hours in on day one, and the only thing keeping me from playing more, is the weakness of my own flesh.
Steam User 186
I judge these games based on how long I unintentionally stay up at night stuck in that "One more Turn" rut.
I was up till 5am the day I got it.
I get some visual issues, and I crash every so often, but hey gaem gud.
Steam User 520
I created a race of dwarves that live underground and fight rats.
For Rock and Stone!
Steam User 190
Age of Wonders 4 Review
Don't feel like reading the whole thing?
Down at the bottom is the conclusion and score given to the game! :)
Introduction
Age of Wonders 4 is the ultimate fantasy creator; it allows you to design and develop your creations and see them evolve into new beings! From barbaric moles to engineer elves and toad lords, the freedom to create races and imbue them with traits is incredibly rich in this 4X strategy game! It traps you in a world of magic and, well, wonder!
The characters you play reinforce the game's roleplaying, thanks to the cultures one can pick. Playing as the good guys is not an aesthetic but a conscious choice to help neutral parties and keep your citizens happy. It changes the approach to each match and how you play the diverse rulers, whether premade or original ones you made.
Control and Map Design
The affinities and tomes are the blood that keeps the game fresh, for there are multiples of them, each offering significant bonuses. Chaos benefits from fighting all the time and razing cities, while Materium is about expanding your economy and filling your vaults with gold. The tomes include many spells that serve unique purposes and become extremely powerful as they develop into further tiers.
The affinities and races try to communicate that Age of Wonder 4 is a game about choices and adaptability: To start new worlds and see what is abundant, what is lacking, and which are the correct decisions. Rulers have their personalities bundled with strategies to defeat their enemies and control their vassals: The world is full of dungeons, provinces, and resources that can make all the difference between joining the pantheon of Gods or being another forgotten mage in the annals of history.
Strong Points
The game's strong point is that it is one of those titles you grab and cannot stop playing; it doesn't become boring or lose its appeal, managing to stay as fresh thirty hours in as it was during the initial three. The secret sauce? It's a colossal library of options when making characters and gameplay styles. The limit is your imagination, for chances are that if you can think of it, you will find a way to make it a reality in the game.
The story worlds are challenging and rich in the tale they communicate to the player, featuring some twists. While some players might dislike how unfair some of the story realms can be, others will enjoy the added challenge and some lore to enjoy with the visited worlds. Pulling out strategies is satisfactory, as you can, for example, make a mainland full of ice and undead to keep your foes at bay.
Art Design and Visuals
Visually the game is impressive, especially regarding the monster's designs. From giant demons made of black fog to trees the size of a building or gremlins with demonic pitchforks, there is a variety of untold amounts with great personalities that make them come alive on the screen. You can even get bone dragons, archdemons, or golems if that fancies you too.
The beautiful game maps feature rich diversity, from cold deserts to islands in the void or lands overrun with lava. There is a lot to admire and glance upon as you play the title, and characters' transformations reinforce that even more as their skin becomes steel or they get Gaia's favor and become one with nature. Animations can be lacking in combat, but with so much variety in troops and content, it can be forgiven more easily.
Sound, Replayability and Performance
Regarding the sound, Age of Wonders 4 provides some high notes, but others are lacking. Effects in battle are lackluster, as attacks can sound generic between units. Voice acting in the narrator is a treat, particularly when unlocking new tomes as she speaks about their origins, purposes, and authors. The music is phenomenal, which makes me puzzle about why the developers made it an occasional thing rather than a constant one over the world map.
Regarding replayability, the game has enough content to keep you hooked for 30-60 hours for the average player. Those that dig deep will find themselves with a title that can easily net them 100-300 hours as they explore every layer the game offers. The DLC roadmap also adds exciting content, such as new units and dragon rulers, which is something to look forward to!
Performances-wise, I could run the game only at 40-48 ish framerate on High settings. Like most strategy games, Age of Wonder 4 suffers from the issue of not running as smoothly as it could, but by now, that is a trend of the genre and not something new as we have observed in titles such as the Total War series and the such. Some crashes also placate the game, but for now, they are user-generated, meaning you get lucky like me and barely suffer or constantly get them. The developers are working hard on them and have released multiple hot fixes.
Pros
Cons
Incredible amount of freedom in the approach to rulers and mechanics!
Monster designs are striking, making you want to acquire and use them!
Multiplayer servers where everyone can take simultaneous turns, eliminating the annoyance of strategy games online aspects.
Addicting gameplay that keeps you invested in the game trying out every strategy and concept for races you can think of.
Story realms start easy but quickly develop into unfair fights that can become aggravating for new players.
Crashes are luck dependent; you barely suffer or constantly get them.
The amount of content it gets sacrifices the depth of gameplay that the previous game had, which is more simplistic than its predecessors.
Conclusion
Age of Wonder 4 is a fantastic strategy game full of wonder that can provide you with hours of fun, challenge, and surprises that don't get old as you spin your narrative with it. The prospect of creating so much and then taking it to the battlefield and experimenting with it is rich and full of innovation! It is a beautiful game to explore. While it offers less profundity than its predecessor and suffers from issues, it is a breathtaking game for those who enjoy fantasy and strategy.
9/10 AMAZING
If you enjoy and find the review helpful, please follow my curator StarsDeck!
Steam User 147
> Make a race of evil barbarian kitties
> Accidentally discover a super broken interaction with some items you randomly got
> Breeze through every other civ, only one remaining.
> Lose everything to a race of Archmage Toad zombies riding ponies that you created for the previous game.
> Shed a happy tear.
Steam User 137
Honestly? One of the best strategy games I've ever played.
In short: if Civilization games partnered with Heroes of Might and Magic (rest in peace), this would be their child. And, oh god, isn't it such a beatiful thing?
I've always had a soft spot for strategy games. I grew up with RTS mostly, but I'm no stranger to Turn-Based 4X or Tactics (my favorite genre). It all started with HoMM3 and onward with Civilization 3 and many others from then on...
To be frank, I didn't really know much about this franchise... I've owned AoW3 and didn't play it much, as I thought it was an ugly game for its generation. Moreover, 4X games tend to be somewhat exhausting as matches can last for days and some have annoying little micromanagement quirks. This is not the case in Age of Wonders 4.
To elaborate, this is a game that rewards your creativity and doesn't require much knowledge or the previously mentioned genres. It is a very solid entry into 4X and turn based strategy. A lot of it's inner workings are rather simple: you have a throne city, which you must expand by capturing provinces (in game tiles) and a ruler, who acts like a hero/general unit that you can level up through combat agaisnt other factions or neutral armies. On top of that, as your turns pass by, you research magic by choosing tomes, each containing a few reseach projects that last a few turns each to complete. Here is where the beauty of this game shines through.
As stated before, this is a game that rewards your creativity a lot:
You may play with any of the default rulers and their races or create your own.
In the tomes system, you can make an absurd number of combinations: Want some evil elf barbarians? Game got you. Ruled by a dragon overlord? Got'cha. Eventually transform your people into draconic hybrids? Hell yeah, brutha :v
As you progress through the story or random matches, be them online or single player, you unlock cosmetics and traits to further increase your options when creating races and rulers.
Several events in the game in which you are presented choices which will impact the way your game develops, or even the race you created, by obtaining permanent traits through the outcomes of such events.
Lords you have won games with in realms can be ascended, which allows you to have them in your games as recruitable heroes or even allies rulers, maybe you'll see some of your creations as oponents or free cities you can annex or vassalize.
Every race is different from one another: different units, aesthetic and the way they usually play, their advantages and disadvantages. Some rewarding an evil playthrough or good one. Because, yes, there is an alignment meter which will come into play for your available decisions in random events.
Every tome you choose will have an assortment of enchantments to augment your racial units (poison arrows, frost weapons, anyone?), spells to use either in combat or the world map or even more units (!!) which can determine your strategies not only in battle, but as you reach out for victory.
The list would go on and this would turn into a major wall of text. Do yourself favor and play this game when you are able.
It is simple to learn but by no means less fun because of that, plus an active modding community adding even more options? Yes, please.