Age of Wonders 4
Very Positive
Total: 14.1 ThousandPositive: 11.6 ThousandNegative: 2.53 Thousand
78.8 %
15.13 %
Age of Wonders 4 is a deep 4X strategy game blending turn-based combat with empire-building in a rich fantasy world. Rule as a Wizard King, customize unique factions, and conquer magical realms with endless replayability. The game boasts a 78.74% community rating, praised for its fun, great customization, and unique mechanics. Fans love the ability to craft anything from cannibal halflings to mystic elves, evolving races through powerful tomes of magic. However, players report issues like co-op desyncs, crashes, and unbalanced AI, urging fixes for stability and replayability. If you enjoy strategic depth and fantasy role-playing, Age of Wonders 4 offers a rewarding experience—just be prepared for some technical hiccups.
The game's core mechanics have received widespread praise from the community, with many players highlighting its fluid combat system and responsive controls. The movement mechanics are often described as intuitive, allowing for seamless navigation through well-designed levels. However, some players criticize the AI for being inconsistent, occasionally breaking immersion during encounters. Difficulty scaling has been a point of contention—some find the challenge perfectly balanced, while others feel certain sections are either too punishing or too easy. The pacing is generally well-received, though a few note that mid-game segments can feel repetitive. Replayability is mixed; while the core gameplay loop is engaging, some players feel a lack of post-game content or meaningful incentives to revisit completed missions. The tutorial is praised for its clarity, effectively onboarding new players without overwhelming them. Overall, the gameplay & mechanics deliver a solid experience, though minor flaws in AI and pacing may affect long-term enjoyment for some.
The game has received mixed feedback regarding performance and technical issues, with players highlighting both strengths and weaknesses. Some users report smooth gameplay with stable FPS and minimal bugs, praising the optimization for mid-to-high-end hardware. However, others experience frequent stuttering, frame drops, and long loading times, particularly on older systems. A recurring complaint involves crashes and corrupted saves, which can disrupt progress. Visual glitches and occasional physics bugs are noted but generally don’t break immersion. Online play suffers from sporadic disconnections and matchmaking delays, frustrating multiplayer enthusiasts. While the game runs well on most modern GPUs and CPUs, a few players report compatibility issues with specific hardware configurations. Overall, performance is inconsistent—some enjoy a polished experience, while others face technical hurdles that may require patches or updates.
The game's story and narrative have sparked strong reactions from players, with many praising its deep world-building and complex characters. Fans highlight the rich lore and immersive dialogue, which bring the game's universe to life. The writing has been described as gripping, with well-developed protagonists and antagonists that add emotional weight to the plot. However, some players criticize the pacing, noting uneven storytelling that occasionally disrupts immersion. A few reviews mention predictable twists, while others argue that certain side characters lack depth. Despite these critiques, the overarching narrative remains a standout feature, with many players commending its ambitious scope and thematic depth. If you enjoy intricate stories with detailed world-building, this game delivers—though be prepared for occasional pacing issues.
The multiplayer experience in this game has sparked strong reactions from the community, with many praising its engaging co-op and competitive PvP modes. Players highlight the well-balanced matchmaking system, which ensures fair and competitive matches, though some note occasional long queue times during off-peak hours. The social features, including in-game voice chat and guild systems, are frequently mentioned as strengths, fostering teamwork and camaraderie. However, concerns about toxic behavior and griefing persist, with some players reporting instances of harassment in public lobbies. Cheating remains a divisive issue—while anti-cheat measures have improved, a vocal portion of the community argues that more aggressive enforcement is needed. Despite these challenges, the game’s dedicated player base and active developer support keep the multiplayer scene thriving. If you value deep cooperative gameplay and competitive intensity but can tolerate occasional community friction, this title might be worth your time.
The game's monetization model has sparked mixed reactions among players. While some appreciate the fair pricing and lack of aggressive microtransactions, others criticize certain paywalls and optional purchases that feel exploitative. Many players highlight the base game as a solid value for the price, offering substantial content without requiring additional spending. However, expansions and season passes have divided the community—some see them as worthwhile additions, while others argue they fragment the experience. Loot boxes and cosmetic microtransactions are present but generally avoid pay-to-win mechanics, earning praise from players who dislike predatory monetization. Critics, however, argue that even optional purchases can create an uneven playing field. If you prioritize a fair business model, this game strikes a decent balance, but be wary of potential upsells if you prefer a fully self-contained experience.
The community has shared numerous feature requests and suggestions to enhance the game experience. Players frequently request new modes, such as a co-op survival mode or competitive ranked play, to add replayability. Many suggest expanding character customization with more skins, emotes, and unlockable cosmetics to deepen personalization. UI improvements are a common theme, with requests for clearer menus, better inventory management, and adjustable HUD elements for accessibility. Some players highlight the need for additional maps or procedural generation to keep gameplay fresh. Weapon balancing and new gear options are also frequently mentioned, with calls for more diverse loadouts and modding support. While some praise the developers for listening to feedback, others express frustration over slow implementation of requested features. The community remains hopeful for future updates addressing these suggestions, making the game even more engaging for both new and veteran players.
The game's developer engagement and support have been a major talking point among the community. Players widely praise the team for their responsiveness, with frequent patches and updates addressing bugs and balancing issues. Many reviews highlight the developers' active presence in forums and social media, where they openly discuss upcoming features and gather feedback. Some players appreciate the clear roadmap, which keeps the community informed about future content. However, a few critics note that certain long-requested features remain missing, especially in early access. Despite this, the consistent communication and willingness to implement player suggestions have fostered strong trust. Negative feedback often revolves around slow fixes for niche issues, but the overall sentiment remains positive due to the team's transparent and proactive approach. If you value a game with developers who listen and adapt, this title stands out for its community-driven development.
I don't write reviews very often, but this game... man, this game... Let's start with the fact that the only Age of Wonders game I've played before this was Planetfall. This game is a HUGE step up from that experience (not that Planetfall was bad, this is just leagues better.) - The customization is incredible, and provides ample roleplaying opportunities for those who enjoy that. - It's turn based and you can have plenty of fun against the AI, so no need to rely on an active online community. - The game has open mod support, a big win in my eyes. Though the game is perfectly fun as is. Now let's look at a few downsides. - DLC is pricy, especially if you want both expansion packs as it might total the amount of an entirely second game. - Lag and performance issues on large maps with high player counts. - Online co-op suffers from desync issues that may regularly cause you to go through a brief reload, in some cases this can happen every turn. - Matches can be very time consuming, be prepared to save and return later. Even someone who spends all day gaming could find themselves spending an entire day on one massive match. Of course there are other subjective flaws to the game that other reviews may touch on. For me, this game is incredible and is my current obsession. If you like fantasy and strategy games, this is something to look into, especially on sale. Get that wishlist and find an opportunity to jump into this game.
Heroes of Might and magic + Civilization. Even without the expansions it is a very solid game that can be replayed many times over.
So the FREE WEEKEND got me. I downloaded and before I knew it had put 10hrs on the game and decided to purchase. It's very fun and very diverse. You can create basically whatever type faction you've always wanted. The scenarios seem interesting and overall the games easy enough to learn but feels like there is a much deeper level to it once you really understand the game. All this said - I ABSOLUTELY HATE SALES MODELS LIKE THIS. I absolutely hate games that have 50 different DLCs and it's specifically why I waited, and had to seriously consider before purchasing, and typically don't buy games like this. I believe it's ridiculous sales practices that aren't necessary. Buy on heavy discount sale or not at all is my recommendation.
Runs well for me so far. I miss the Races having their own distinct identity in their units. Kinda makes them all feel samey. But on the other hand, being able to completely customize your race is really cool. Good for the roleplay aspect. Full disclaimer: My first age of wonders game was AOW3. From what people tell me, I'm supposed to hate that game, but I don't. So, take my opinion with a grain of salt.
it's just all i want in a Fantasy Strategy game since i first try Warcraft III man. so many customization, so many culture types, so many races and said races can be customized further in the game. the campaign is surprisingly good for a 4X. and there is also many many many challange map with different flavor for gameplay. i don't think i'll ever be bored, at least not for a long time yet. protip, just don't optimize or pick the best strategy there is. Roleplay a bit, it's one of the fun in a Paradox games
The game is great, I love what you can do...but the way they treat bugs I do not consider acceptable, there is a bug where you will be stuck in ''waiting for combat'' on the AI...permanently, even reloading doesn't solve it, so oh you're 100-200 turns into a game? too bad your save is bricked now start again, response from the developers? The problem isn't serious enough to warrant a hotfix so you'll just have to wait several months, to me that's just unacceptable, basically the game will be left in an unplayable state for months because you risk losing your game at any time, and that's just absurd. I've got 10 hours in this game in the past 2 weeks, and that's 10 hours down the toilet as my save game got bricked, just great. The dev response saying they just aren't going to fix it until much later: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1669000/discussions/1/720115848603307607/#c596267713823793644 Just such laziness, why would I support a game that tells me ''eh game gonna be broken for 2/3 months because we don't feel like fixing it, deal with it.
Age of Desync With every update the game only gets more broken, the amount of bricked saves, crashes and desyncs are killing me. I fucking love the game but the syncs are one of the biggest things that comes up when I hear Age of Wonders. Please take a pause at printing new content and fix the core.
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.
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
[h1] Age of Desync [/h1] [h3] Singleplayer [/h3] Overall the game in singleplayer is fine. I'd say if you primarily fight in manual combat it might even be considered "good". If you primarily play singleplayer it's probably worth your money, so go for it. - some DLCs are pretty lackluster when it comes to content tho [h3] Multiplayer [/h3] I primarily played this game in multiplayer and that's it's biggest downside. Basically it's borderline unplayable... Constant desync and crashes. We had to turn off a few DLCs and reduce the amount of players to achieve only a miniscule improvement. We tried this game at release and afterwards every other year, yet there was no improvement done to the games stability.. This was the third year now, the results are identical each time. [h3] Summary [/h3] Dont play it in multiplayer. It's fine in singleplayer.
© 2024
