Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Ignore the negative reviews, some turkroach got banned off the Hearts of Iron IV Discord for using some sus Politian as his pfp, so they're bot raiding all Discord servers for Paradox games and review-bombing them.

The game works well and is very tight in controls, it is a 4X game that used to have a very competitive MP scene since the balance was mostly solid. With Sci-Fi 4X games being as rare as they are, give this a try if you find this interesting.

I came into “Age of Wonders: Planetfall” after playing Age of Wonders 4 for well over a thousand hours. For me, the systems were similar enough to make it a breeze to get into, but the tutorial does a good job on its own to ensure that’s not a requirement. Even so, the highlight of the game must be the empire mode. (7/10)

The empire mode allows you to create a new empire that encompasses each of the custom characters you make and facilitates progression between games, ensuring each victory builds on the last. It’s easily the best part of the experience as the campaign missions vary greatly in quality. Some are great and allow you to dive into the various factions and learn more about their lore and background. Others are timed and are ruined by the proverbial clock ticking in the background. I play turn-based games so I can take my time and enjoy each map. If I wanted to feel the pressure of an RTS, I’d play an RTS.

The campaigns are pretty short, too. Each DLC encompasses only two maps, or planets. You get some choices about how to deal with the quests, but many of them result in a violent free-for-all anyway, regardless of whether that makes sense for the faction you’re playing or not.

The customization is also far less elaborate in this game compared to Age of Wonders 4. Specific traits and buildings are linked to specific races with their own aesthetics, preventing you from easily creating the empire of your dreams. Some of it can be circumvented by unlocking more through your empire, like the ability to plant forests the same way the Amazons can. Unfortunately, the commanders you make lack a lore window where you can give them backstories, though they can mix secret techs and factions freely.

In short, if you’re looking for something to play and have already done everything Age of Wonders 4 has to offer, this game might tide you over to the next big thing. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done well enough. It also seems to work pretty well online if you’ve got a friend or two to play with, though the empire mode is unfortunately excluded from it. I’d have loved to have my empire clash with a friend’s, but alas. (7/10)

The campaign gamemode isn't that great, but the galactic empire mode is amazing. The fact that you can build an empire over time unlocking additional powers and abilities really adds to the replayability.

I bought this game not long after it was released, but didn't play it until three to four years later. For whatever reason like many people I just couldn't get into it, however I did manage eventually, and let me tell you this, this is the best 4X game I've ever played!
As far as I know this is the only 4X game with X-COM like combat, though not exactly like X-COM, it's very fun regardless.
This game has everything, great visuals, art, sound, voice acting and writing. You will not be disappointed on any one of those points.
There are some bugs but it was never a deal breaker for me, it didn't delete my save or corrupt my games, just some minor bugs.
Game wise, the one shortcoming is diplomacy, it's very basic. Other then that I don't have any other gripes.
The factions in this game are all very unique, it's very well done! A faction is not just composed of a race but also a secret tech, so you can have many combination to play with. Some races does have slightly difference with their secret tech.
Units and technologies are also very unique to the faction or secret tech, non playable units are also very cool, and you can get those units in many ways.
198 hours in and I am still not very good at it yet, so I don't know what it's like to play it on very high level, currently I am enjoying hard difficulty AI and normal over all difficulty.
The in game encyclopedia is very thorough, maybe missing one or two concepts or I just couldn't find them. But it's nothing major, I can learn them just through game play alone, so don't worry about the game keeping secrets from you.

Play This instead of Age Of Wonders 4 - Why? Welll....
1. It's complete
2. No more DLC
???? oh did you need more?
It's everything Age Of Wonders 4 COULD be ironically.
Less customization OBVIOUSLY - But the game is refined and COMPLETE.

I hardly ever review a game but I had to for AoW4 and Planetfall. I am stunned that this game has mixed reviews. Are you people out of your minds? I've had a blast playing this game both solo and with friends. Bought it on sale a few weeks ago almost have 50 hours played 0 bugs or crashes great game 9/10 would buy again don't listen to the haters.

A more enjoyable game than Civ: Beyond Earth, although not as refined in its aesthetics, which it makes up for in sheer variety of factions. There's an abundance of rock-paper-scissors gameplay that keeps you on your toes throughout what can at times feel like a chore of a progression system.
Music is serviceable with a few great tracks, graphics are splendid on the map but lackluster in combat. XCOM-style combat is barebones regarding movement but refreshing enough to keep you going.

All in all a good time can be had, however, it's certainly not for everyone.