TLDR;
Age of Wonders 4 is a customizable 4X fantasy game where the achievements of past civilizations persist, with rulers ascending to a pantheon and recurring in future adventures. The game features varied tactical battles, a near-perfect pace, and account-level progression without forced monetization.
- The game encourages players to view each run as a digestible sprint, enhancing the sense of investment in their pantheon's progress.
- It offers in-depth, freeform empire creation tools, allowing players to defy stereotypes and create unique races with customized cultures and magical progressions.
- Despite some edge cases and oversights, the game's graphics, UI, and balance between realistic and stylized elements contribute to an immersive experience.
[Recurring Legacy]
Age of Wonders 4 distinguishes itself from other 4X games by allowing the achievements and rulers of past civilizations to persist and influence future campaigns. Rulers who achieve victory ascend to a pantheon and become recurring characters in subsequent adventures. This feature encourages players to view each run as a digestible sprint, typically lasting six to twelve hours, and enhances the sense of investment in their pantheon's progress. The game avoids forced or over-monetized account-level progression, offering a refreshing approach to long-term engagement.
[Themed Story Realms]
The game includes themed, story-based realms that provide a unique experience compared to standard 4X maps. These realms feature specific quests and memorable antagonists, offering a refreshing alternative to traditional conquest, development, and research-based victory conditions. The availability of numerous customization options further enhances the appeal of these story realms.
[Empire Creation Tools]
Age of Wonders 4 offers in-depth, freeform empire creation tools, allowing players to customize their races and defy stereotypes. Players can create noble orcs, bloodthirsty cannibal elves, or feline necromancers riding giant spiders. The culture pick, such as Barbarian, Feudal, or Mystic, defines the starting roster and economy of the empire. The magical progression system, with five tiers of mystical tomes, provides increasingly powerful units, spells, and campaign mechanics, creating numerous combinations for race development.
[Mystical Tomes and Alignments]
The game features a magical progression system with five tiers of mystical tomes, each divided into six alignments: Astral, Materium, Chaos, Order, Nature, and Shadow. Each alignment offers thematically different tomes, such as fire magic or aggressive infantry within Chaos. Players can focus on one affinity or mix and match, creating diverse racial transformations, such as plant hybrids or frostlings.
[Customization Hitches]
Despite the extensive customization options, Age of Wonders 4 has some edge cases and oversights. For example, the Arctic Blizzards modifier on the ice queen map is not visible on the map and blocks unit healing, even in the capital city. These issues can arise when combining various customization options, indicating that the mechanics may not be fully fine-tuned for all possible combinations.
[Tactical Battles and Graphics]
The tactical battles in Age of Wonders 4 are fast-paced and offer satisfying challenges, featuring a huge bestiary with diverse creatures. However, city assaults can feel underwhelming, lacking the epic scale of a vast metropolis. The game's graphics and UI strike a balance between realistic and stylized elements, with readable units and well-organized interface panes. Nested tooltips provide easy access to information and lore concepts.
[Verdict]
Age of Wonders 4 is a customizable fantasy 4X game made mightier by a legacy that persists across multiple campaigns. The faster pace of its campaign mechanics and tactical battles allows players to write new chapters in a reasonable amount of time. While cranking up the weirdness can lead to some edge cases, the vast map and empire customization make it a worthwhile experience.