Age of Wonders 4 Critic Reviews

You are not bound by fantasy stereotypes or archetypes, and can thus create often very bizarre combinations of races and their elements. It's a brilliantly done system, and one on which the authors will be able to build all their major or minor DLC for a few more years if sales are good. In an age of games as services, one couldn't ask for more from a solid strategy game.

Age of Wonders 4 is a great title that will have you wanting to play only one more turn, and only one more round, as you unlock things in Pantheon progress and decide to play one more match.

Age of Wonders 4 might be overwhelming at first, but it's brimming with potential and gives you the tools to tell unique stories with your chosen hero. The nearly decade-long gap between releases gave Triumph the chance to polish Age of Wonders 3's weak points and come up with substantial improvements to combat and presentation. The result is one of the best grand strategy games in ages.

This is undoubtedly the best 4X game I’ve played in years, delivering top-notch exploration, combat, and diplomacy alongside a rewarding and dynamic customisation system.

Age of Wonders 4 is a fantastic entry in the Age of Wonders series, giving players freedom and choice. The game is so full of customization that it gives unlimited possibilities that no two games will ever be the same, nor would anyone want them to be.

There's so much inside Age of Wonders 4 that it's hard to give a good overview in the space of this review. What's clear is that Age of Wonders 4 is a very solid 4X turn-based strategy game with so much customisation that the potential for replayability is nearly endless.

A brilliant fantasy turn-based strategy which borrows the best parts from those who came before. You’re going to manage cities in the vein of Civilization, fight battles reminiscent of Heroes of Might and Magic, but mainly you’re going to lead your people and shape them through magical evolution, resulting in a myriad combinations and playstyles. This is what a fun, addictive strategy game looks like.

While Age of Wonders 4 doesn’t shy away from depth and complexity, it rarely overwhelms the player. Starting with the faction creator, Age of Wonders 4 is dedicated to letting the player shape their experience as much as possible. No matter how you prefer to play, you’re in for hours of engaging strategy and tactics with an incredible array of mix-and-match fantasy elements.

A flavourful and inventive 4X full of incredible spells and engaging empire management.

Fans and newcomers alike will find an accessible, compelling real-time strategy experience in Age of Wonders 4.

The title has implemented the high replay value shown in various strategic games based on fantasy worldview. Numerous customizing elements are supporting the diversity in both combat and city management. Whether you are a fan of 4X games or not, you'll eventually find yourself spending quite a time on this game.

Age of Wonder 4 sets its own accents and does its job very well. Yet, the gameplay is still too one-dimensional for the genre crown.

The keyword of Age of Wonders 4 is “choice” – the game provides a lot of it, expressed in all of its mechanics. Lending itself to near unlimited replayability, especially once the ambitious plans for expansions and new content are realized, Age of Wonders 4 is a natural evolution of the series’ classic formula and will have min-maxers and role-players alike suffer from a severe bout of one-more-turn fever.

As much as I enjoy building a legacy in a 4X game before starting over to do it all again, the fact that my legacy follows me in Age of Wonders 4 feels much more rewarding. And the faster pace of its very strong campaign mechanics and pretty good tactical battles make it feel like I can write a new chapter of this saga in a reasonable amount of time and still have time to do something else on my day off – especially with the very well-done story realms. Cranking all the dials up to maximum weirdness can lead to some edge cases that ruined my fun a bit, but it's not that big of a price to pay for the vast map and empire customization we get to play with. It really is wonderful.

Age of Wonders 4 is a very strong entry in the overwhelming miasma that is the turn-based 4X market. It implements fantasy elements naturally rather than giving traditional mechanics a mystical lick of paint, and the sheer depth of customisation options, even without unlocking anything, is to be applauded. With the Pantheon system for unlocking things, it’s an ever-growing and changing experience with a heavy emphasis on player agency.

It's very much an assumed systems-first approach that won't resonate with all fans of the series. But if you count among those who fancy sinking deep into the innards of how everything works, you'll find a lot to love.

With the additional playtime, Age of Wonders IV still impressed me even though I am concerned about the AI. The other issues I have brought up are all easily fixed over time, if not on day one. Between the customization options, atmosphere, and Pantheon system, Paradox Interactive and developer Triumph Studios have a great start to the next entry in the Age of Wonders series. I can’t wait to see how they expand the spells and Pantheon systems further, for fans of fantasy 4x strategy games, Age of Wonders IV is worth checking out if you want to evoke that old feeling of needing to take just one more turn.

Although Age of Wonders 4 may seem at first overwhelming, it's actually not. Many automatisms help beginners, and gradually you'll be able to abandon them if you want to. In the end, its great flexibility offers an enormous replay value and encourages you to try out all possible combinations.

While there is a lot to keep track of in Age of Wonders 4, persistence pays off when it comes to the main gameplay experience. While it may take time to get used to the different gameplay concepts and menu screens, the level of variety when it comes to customisation, hero units, underground passages, and ancient wonders makes Age of Wonders 4 a paradise sandbox for strategy fans at all levels. No matter whether you’re a turn-based combat buff or more of a city management fan, you’ll be sure to find something to like in this whopper of a game.

Age of Wonders 4 brings the franchise back to its fantasy roots, offering a robust system that lets you go all-out with customization. Whether you’re out to role-play based on your selections or min-max to come up with game-breaking setups, you’re bound to spend numerous hours just trying out new strategies.