game is good but stupidly demanding on CPU and devs refuse to adress that issue i play while monitoring my temps and this game pulls INSANE amount of power constantly hitting PL2 limit of cpu causing it to overheat and im using decent setup i7 13700k 360mm aio this is the only game that pushes my cpu to its limits constantly

Age of DLC. I really wish I could recommend this because I've enjoyed the game, but I also know it's a shadow of what it can be without DLCs (I've played them elsewhere). But getting the DLC is prohibitively expensive even when they're discounted. All the DLC in an expansion pass should've been ONE DLC, at half of the current price and it'd feel reasonable. As it is now the DLC policy feels predatory. The gameplay is good, but the cost of it all is downright awful.

I was bored of the Heroes series being extremely stale. The Heroes community is hyper conservative not allowing any mechanics to be introduced. HoMaM 3 is bible to these people. And here comes Age of Wonders with its refreshing take on the genre. The Civilization style elements are not prominent in the game. And I am glad because I am not a fan of 4X. The battles are great fun! The Age of Wonders style of battles is also much deeper and more logical compared to HoMaM. So many units with so many varied abilities. I like the artstyle and overall atmospehere which is very chill and pleasant. The option this game introduces into the genre are so refreshing. Found a good spot for a city? You can found a new one! Or just a small base to regenerate HP, also available. Independent citites you can influence in a simple way! So great! You have the strategic choice of leaving an independent city as a vassal creating a barrier on the map and not increasing the city cap. Or incorporating the vass...

What is the magic of fantasy and worldbuilding? To discover and uncover a story of a world much like our own, in fact, derived from our own on another imaginative plane. In the Age of Wonders franchise, the objective is to both craft and delve into the crafted, to immerse oneself in a fantasy world in a grand strategy perspective. In Age of Wonders 4, though the most ambitious and customisable of all the franchise's iterations, this goal notably fails and the game is fundamentally dull, empty, and uninspired compared to previous titles. Ironically, it is precisely its advertised replayability and unmatched customisation who is the culprit. In Age of Wonders 4, one can create factions from scratch and select cosmetic and cultural presets from a plethora of options. Much of this was present in previous titles and is very well executed and expanded upon in AoW4. Its real issue is the tome system. The gameplay after having created factions is railroaded, pre-defined, and forced into a t...

TL:DR - Only buy if you're playing solo and on sale. Not worth the asking price and multiplayer is too big a mess to bother with. I love this game...I really do. I have played TBS games for decades and the original Age of Wonders was right at the top of the list of games that led me into the genre in the first place. The changes we see in the evolution of the game here are lovely and I adore how your race and even the world changes based on how you play the game. As someone who has purchased several DLC packs, I can even say that the DLC (though a bit pricey for what is offered) does add a number of strategic options and layers to the game that are both interesting to play, and fun to explore the fantasy of. So...with all of these glowing positive elements, why the negative review? Simply put, the game is a buggy disaster, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the multiplayer component (which is an immediate deal breaker for me and my gaming group.) One of our group even had an issue...

I bought this game a while ago, and when I first played it, I found it a bit underwhelming. It was like a fantasy Civ game, but pretty thin in a lot of aspects. With the new patches and additions to the game since then, I now find it to be quite a bit more enjoyable, with a fair amount of depth and customization available to play your fantasy empire any way you want to. That said, the depth is largely in customization and high-level development choices, rather than intensive micromanagement of your cities and people, which for many would likely be a plus. If you want a swords and sorcery 4X game with RPG elements that has depth without tremendous complexity, I do recommend this game.

I just hate paradox's Business model, I just want to be able to buy a game and that be it but paradox have to gut it on release and the drip feed you content at a premium for the next couple of years

One of the best fantasy 4x games available. The level of customization is amazing. You can create any fantasy theme that you can think of! Battles are enjoyable and there are a ton of combat abilities and spells. The worlds are highly customizable so you can change how the game plays each time if you'd like. Definitely recommend.

Its a Paradox game. More so then any other company Paradox nickle-and-dimes its players in a way that I just outright despise. The fanboys claim that they make great complex games, and they don't. They make complex games, that you could make great if you spend upwards of $100 on DLC. They're only complex because complex games have more areas they can expand on with DLC. I have all the DLC for this. Hell I even think the game play is fun. But on no plane do I recommend anyone else drop $140 on the game. I spent that money because Age of Wonders 1 and 2 were childhood favorite games of mine and I love this franchise. I've been playing it since I was literally a child, I kinda owe them the money for the years of fun I've had. But I hate Paradox. Screw that greedy cesspit of a company.

Played Planetfall before, which introduced me to that game. Now bought this on sale with all the (currently aviable) DLCs. I don‘t regret it a bit. This game might be a bit more combat oriented that your usual 4X (combat having it‘s own map interface (see pictures) + you upgrade your heroes with special weapons you found or craft etc.), and it‘s an importang part of the game. Many missions and places you find (that give you big buffs or are even part of the victory) HAVE to be conquered. So if you want a economy-peacefully focused game, this won‘t satisfy you, but if you love fantasy setting, exploring (the artwork really makes exploring fun, every place you find has like a little scroll with some background information) and like combat with somewhat micromanage-focus (items, magic, attack types, terrain buffs or nerfs, etc) you‘ll like this alot.