To say that Age of Empires IV is “already among us” is an understatement. This is not just another strategy game, regardless of how good it may be: it is the return of one of the most popular franchises. iconic and legendary of the industry, 15 years after its last delivery. It is very likely that AOE2 was the game that made you suspend your tongue in school and get an A in history; the one that made you laugh with such a stupid word as “wololo” and ultimately, the one that got you into RTS. With a legacy like that, it was hard not to worry: does the new installment live up to the hype?
In my opinion, yes. Relic Entertainment —Authors of Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and more — has opted for a direction very similar to that of a reboot, refining the traditional formula making sure it works well in modern times, rather than experimenting with new ideas. We return to the Middle Ages, a movement that will be (reasonably) boring for some, and with graphics clearly behind what we can see in the genre today. But I don’t think those things are as bad as they seem.
Rather, those responsible are concerned that the user experience be good. They want to feel comfortable in the menus, to find the most readable game that can be found, to embrace newcomers and veterans alike; but above all, raising the bar for the Age of Empires saga. In that sense, not only have they achieved their goal, but I think they have laid the foundations suitable for expanding with more content and games. AOE4 is artistically solid, the gameplay feels familiar but fresh, there are plenty of options to get involved in its world in online games or forums. All that weighs a lot.
Modernizing a classic of real-time strategy
Taking into account the precedents of the saga, Age of Empires IV has taken many precautions when it comes to nailing the feelings that we all have embedded in our memories. We are familiar with animations of citizens as they move, pick berries from bushes or hunt; the effects when exploring darkened terrain, and considering the system requirements you can probably play even on a surprisingly old PC or laptop with integrated graphics.
I think the players more veteran or nostalgic They will feel like a fish in water with this delivery, which is no small feat. Getting that kind of effect is absolutely great, but what about the novelties? Well, on the internet you could feel a certain degree of worry that one could fully understand. For example, we have that theme of factions: eight civilizations it sounds like little, knowing that AOE2 was close to two score. But I think that’s not a problem at all because all the factions present are very well defined.
In the main menu there is (among other things) a “learning” tab where you find all kinds of linked tutorials, including a drop-down menu with the peculiarities of each faction. And there you have plenty of reading material: the Mongols, for example, were nomads; and for that reason you can transport structures with you when playing with that faction. On the other hand, Muslims and Jews cannot eat pork for religious reasons, so playing with the Delhi Sultanate you cannot hunt wild boar. But in return, you can start using scholars from age I.
As you can see, each faction has very well defined features through mechanics that are curious, but also have enormous playable value. And that for now we have only illustrated some passive skills: naturally, there are also key differences between the buildings and the troops at our disposal. You don’t need so many features with this semi-asymmetrical model where a few differences mark countless techniques to master, if you’re good enough for that. From Relic Entertainment they reported that we will have more characters as part of the post launch support, so there is nothing to fear.
The graphics They have also given a lot to talk about, because truly the game does not impose as much as that spectacular first trailer. That is undeniable, I understand why there is some discomfort and in part, I second it. But I think it is important to qualify a couple of things within that truth: the first is that saturating the screen with elements, interactive or not, is a bad idea from a design perspective because the cognitive load of the player is limited. In other words, you can get distracted or lose control of what is happening if the color palette takes the center off the troops. The other is that the game It does not look bad.
Yes it’s true; there are parts that are openly insufficient. Other RTSs like Starcraft II (in a rather stale comparison, I admit) have shown more Level of detail on stage, depending on how you look. But when two armies clash, you can be sure that one has more than enough with the coming and going of arrows, the ranks breaking and the funnels where the action is concentrated. We will return to that in a moment, but I think it is worth praising how well the game works at the artistic. I think that no matter how good their predecessors were, to this day they were very weak at that level: they made me boring to watch.
But AOE4 achieves a very interesting artistic identity by mixing the sound of its most powerful units with animations, as well as a very clean interface, as readable as it is comfortable to navigate – which is one of the best features of the game, in fact – and also the cinematics designed as a documentary film that are distributed throughout the campaign. They are full of curiosities for the most enthusiastic, but on a personal level I really appreciate the art and immersion factor that they bring: one thing is to play Age of Empires, and another is to get emotionally involved with the real cultures that one comes to handle during the game. .
The sieges, true protagonists of the campaign
If you like The Lord of the rings, you may agree with me that the great battles and sieges to fortresses huge are the most exciting parts. Naturally, the Age of Empires franchise benefits a lot from this kind of contest, too: One’s heart races trying to gain control of the army as units, buildings, and entire empires fall. A key component was missing there, which are the war machines. That is the great addition of this installment, the reason why the return to this time remains fresh and spectacular.
Forget about knocking down huge masses of stone with spears, torches and swords; here you need catapults or siege engines to penetrate enemy defenses. For the purposes of the game, all of that works really well: it is a logical, natural novelty, smoothly implemented. You’re used to an archer performing better from a high point, so deploy them on the walls of your opponents to shoot from there is just an extension of what you could already do with a hill. Only of course, here we are talking about a combative maneuver that does not leave the heart of the battle.
Make no mistake about it, Age of Empires IV can turn out to be a very hectic make your palms sweat as you try to take control of multiple fronts where your troops are dying every few seconds. Those parts of tension, where you have your eyes and thoughts fixed on one thing, become addictive. I guess at the end of the day, that’s the secret ingredient that carries the saga with it. It makes me a bit sad to realize that learning all the keys to combat and the meta takes a long time because we are talking about long games, so you can finish something burned by when the best part of the game opens up before you.
In the absence of understanding how such a close relationship is between all the factions, realize if some are very unbalanced or less fun to play — sorry, the nature of the job of copywriting does not always allow you to go so deep before writing. For now I’ll just say that at the design level, the game is so well thought out that to overlook it would be nothing short of a crime for a fan of the genre. The Bell It is partly to blame, too, because it has achieved unusual situational variety. Each of its four parts presents a commendable collection of puzzles.
I have not yet been able to finish them all, because that process takes about 40 hours According to my partner, but at least I have been able to see first hand that here is everything you can ask for in a single player mode. Beyond that, we have multiplayer options for a maximum of eight people who can enter quick or competitive games, as well as custom, from day one. We are offered the possibility of entering other games as a spectator, something that I value very positively because looking at other players can serve as a lesson. Even more than when you’re the one playing the game, because sometimes you don’t see your own mistakes.
The other great triumph of AOE4, in my opinion, is that of the accessibility. Microsoft has long spearheaded industry efforts in this field, in part thanks to its great adaptive control, but I think that when it comes to software, this is a great example of presenting the gamer with issues that he himself is not aware of. what’s wrong with it. The tutorials They help a lot in this sense because they don’t just tell you what to do, but why you have to do it. There is even challenges simple and advanced where all kinds of players can learn and put themselves to the test: a recording describes at all times what is happening, what the challenge consists of and what are the keys to overcome it.
Possibly the best comeback imaginable
Age of Empires IV isn’t perfect, and we certainly could have asked a bit more of it in terms of ambition. But it is a tremendous game solid From day one, it exudes care, respect and polish. It is a Solomonic solution to the problem of nostalgia, which takes all the things previously established as a basis for charting its own path, with its own contributions. He is not shy about correcting what was wrong. But more importantly, what was already good is now better.
Relic Entertainment has taken a logical address, a reasonable balance between novelties and respect for the original material. Anyone who commits himself enough to enjoy the spectacularity and tactical possibilities of the sieges (with the specialties of each faction, in addition) has many hours of perfection ahead of him, of passion, of pure vice without colorings or preservatives. The question here is not whether it is worth playing or not: it is crystal clear that the game is fine, it only remains to see if you connect with what it proposes.