Info about Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Victors and Vanquished:

Official game description:
Please note: This pack is comprised of single player scenarios. Each one is unique and can take unexpected turns and twists.
Embark on a thrilling journey with "Victors and Vanquished"! In nineteen epic scenarios, play as Ragnar Lothbrok, Oda Nobunaga, Charlemagne, and more. Your strategy and choices decide your fate: will you emerge as the ultimate victor, or fall as the vanquished?
Victors and Vanquished features nineteen scenarios including:
Ragnar Lothbrok
Unleash your inner Viking! Send your warbands across the sea on a massive map of Northern Europe. All big empires start from humble origins, and yours will be no different. Begin with raids to pay and recruit warriors. Then capture jarldoms in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to grow your power. As you become king, more possibilities are at your fingertips: use your achievements to unlock technologies, find powerful heroes, raid wherever you want to, and even worship the gods for bonuses.
Otto the Great
You are surrounded by enemies: fearsome Vikings, horse-riding Magyars, and stalwart Franks. But, though you are king, your power is not absolute. You have three vassals. These can be your very best friends, helping you achieve your ambition to become Holy Roman Emperor… or, they will be a rebellious thorn in your side. Balance your power against theirs and use well-timed gifts to keep them in line.
Oda Nobunaga
Choose to play as one of six different unique factions. Will you lead the Takeda and crush your enemies with the best cavalry in Japan? Or, will you command the Otomo and find your advantage in the arrival of strange people with new weapons? Or, if subterfuge and assassination is more your style, try the Mori clan and leverage your criminal network to recruit unsavory characters.
And much more!
Community-generated inspiration
Victors and Vanquished features 14 scenarios inspired by the most popular community-generated content and 5 exclusive new scenarios. Each scenario has been updated and polished with full, professional voice acting, music, rebalancing, bugfixes, achievements, and quality of life improvements. From migration mechanics to choosing your own faction, each scenario provides a new way to play Age of Empires. Victors and Vanquished lets you tell your own story like never before!

Release date: Mar 14, 2024

Categories: Real-Time Strategy, Historical Strategy, Scenario Planner, Campaign, Single-player, Story-driven Gameplay, Historical Simulation

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 20; verdict: Mixed Reception; summary: The Victors & Vanquished DLC for Age of Empires II received mixed reviews. While some users appreciated the diverse and historically significant scenarios, many were disappointed by the lack of new civilizations and the recycling of free mod content. The difficulty and length of the scenarios were also points of frustration, and many users felt that the DLC was overpriced. Overall, the DLC seems to cater to a niche audience of single-player enthusiasts and history buffs.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $6.00 - $14.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence shows that users frequently mention the game is worth buying when it is on sale, often suggesting a discount of 50% or more. Many users indicate that the base price should be lower, around $6-7, which aligns with a 50% discount from a typical base price of around $12-14. The repeated mentions of waiting for sales and specific discount percentages help to establish a fair price range.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 12.0h
  - Story completion: 6.0h
  - Session length: 4.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct mentions of playtime for specific scenarios, particularly the Ragnar scenario, which is noted to take over 6 hours. Additionally, there are mentions of the DLC being aimed at single-player experiences and recommendations based on the quality of the campaigns.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game is generally perceived as tedious and repetitive, with fun potentially unlocking after significant time investment and under specific conditions like co-op play.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Co-op campaigns
  - Time to anchor: 3h 0m
  - Friction: Poorly designed missions; Bugs and technical issues; Overly long and repetitive scenarios; Unbalanced difficulty; Lack of voice acting and storytelling
  - Unlock drivers: Co-op campaigns; Playing with friends
  - Conditions: Co-op play; Patience to overcome initial frustrations; Interest in historical scenarios
- Player Archetypes:
  - Single-Player Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of diverse and challenging single-player scenarios.
    - Playstyle: Prefers single-player campaigns and scenarios, enjoys a variety of challenges and is willing to invest time in completing them.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Single-player person; Casual gamer
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II
  - Campaign Connoisseur (buy)
    - Motivation: Engagement with rich and challenging campaign content.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on completing campaigns and scenarios, enjoys historical narratives and challenging gameplay.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Single-player person; Campaign lover
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II; Age of Empires I
  - Challenge Seeker (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Overcoming difficult and complex challenges.
    - Playstyle: Prefers hard and very hard difficulty settings, enjoys speedrunning and achieving high scores.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Achievement hunter; Speedrunner
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Diverse and challenging scenarios (weight 0.55): The scenarios are frequently praised for their depth, uniqueness, and complexity. Players appreciate the strategic thinking required and the variety offered, which keeps the gameplay engaging and fresh.
- High-quality and interesting content (weight 0.27): The content is noted for its high quality and interesting elements, including unique gimmicks and detailed design. This makes the gameplay experience more enjoyable and memorable.
- Enjoyable and fun gameplay (weight 0.26): Many players find the gameplay to be fun and entertaining. The challenges are satisfying, and the overall campaign is enjoyable, contributing to a positive player experience.
- Value for content (weight 0.23): The DLC offers a substantial amount of content, including many campaign missions and hours of gameplay, making it worth the purchase, especially during sales.
- Innovative mechanics (weight 0.2): The scenarios introduce new win conditions and mechanics, adding a refreshing dimension to the gameplay. Players appreciate the innovation and the different style of scenarios.
- Unique and different campaigns (weight 0.19): The campaigns are different from traditional ones and are appreciated for their uniqueness. Players enjoy the variety and the new mechanics introduced.
- Positive reception of the DLC (weight 0.14): Overall, the DLC is well-received, with players finding it to be one of their favorites. The scenario pack is enjoyed, and the DLC is considered worth playing.
- Voice acting presence (weight 0.06): The inclusion of voice acting is noted, although it is not a major point of discussion. It adds to the overall immersion of the scenarios.

Common complaints:
- Scenarios are lengthy and difficult (weight 0.48): Many players find the scenarios to be too long and challenging, often describing them as tedious and more difficult than average. This includes issues with scenario design and balancing.
- DLC quality and pricing issues (weight 0.34): The DLC is criticized for not being enjoyable and not worth the full price. Many players feel it is overpriced and lacks sufficient new content.
- Boring and uninteresting gameplay (weight 0.32): Players find the gameplay boring and uninteresting, with scenarios and missions lacking challenge and being generally dull and forgettable.
- Poor voice acting and narration (weight 0.3): The voice acting is minimal and poorly executed, with issues such as misaligned voice acting and subtitles, and lack of effort in voice-over.
- High and unbalanced difficulty (weight 0.3): The difficulty level is perceived as too high and poorly balanced, making the campaign and missions excessively challenging and frustrating.
- Numerous bugs present (weight 0.24): The game contains many bugs that have not been fixed, including minor bugs and issues with villagers not working properly. This affects the overall gameplay experience.
- Lack of new civilizations and content (weight 0.21): Players are disappointed by the lack of new civilizations and content. The DLC mostly revises older levels and scenarios, offering little new material.
- Large and bloated maps (weight 0.21): Maps are often too large and bloated, leading to tedious gameplay. Some maps also have extensive tutorials that replay every time, adding to the frustration.
- Scenarios available for free elsewhere (weight 0.2): Some scenarios were previously available as free mods, making the DLC feel less valuable. Players feel that community-created scenarios are often better.
- Poor AI behavior (weight 0.11): The AI in missions is often criticized for doing nothing or behaving bizarrely, making missions boring and unsatisfying.
- Lack of historical accuracy (weight 0.11): The game is criticized for its lack of historical details and inaccuracies, which detracts from the overall experience and narrative.
- Text and event errors (weight 0.08): The game contains various text errors and incorrect event triggers, which affect the gameplay and mission objectives.

Gameplay feedback:
- Historical scenarios and battles (weight 0.31): There are numerous historical scenarios and battles, including detailed events and standalone scenarios like Viking campaigns.
- Complex and unique scenarios (weight 0.27): The game features complex and sophisticated scenarios that introduce new win conditions and mechanics, often playing by their own rules and offering unique gimmicks.
- Challenging and difficult content (weight 0.25): The game provides challenging scenarios and missions with varying difficulties, including increasing and exponential difficulty curves.
- Varied gameplay modes (weight 0.22): The game offers a variety of gameplay modes, including co-op campaigns, single-player missions, and objective-based gameplay.
- Rich campaign narratives (weight 0.22): Campaigns feature detailed narratives and varied strategies, with a focus on historical storytelling and accuracy.
- Additional content and features (weight 0.14): The game includes community and DLC content, as well as multiplayer options, adding to the overall variety and replayability.
- Resource and unit management (weight 0.12): Players must manage resources and unit production carefully, with mechanics that add depth to the gameplay.
- Beautiful and expansive maps (weight 0.07): The game features huge and beautifully designed maps that enhance the visual and strategic experience.

Performance notes:
- Performance and lag issues (weight 0.25): Many players report significant lagging and performance problems, including game crashes and freezing. These issues seem to be widespread and affect the overall gameplay experience.
- Buggy gameplay and villagers (weight 0.11): Players frequently encounter bugs, particularly with villagers and general gameplay mechanics. These bugs detract from the game's enjoyment and smooth operation.

Recommendations:
- Buy on sale (weight 0.3): Many players recommend purchasing this game or DLC during a sale, suggesting it offers better value for money at a discounted price.
- Ideal for Age of Empires fans (weight 0.18): Fans of the Age of Empires series, especially those who enjoy the campaign play and historical aspects, are recommended to try this DLC.
- Recommended for scenario fans (weight 0.16): Players who enjoy curated, challenging, and well-designed scenarios are likely to appreciate this content. It is particularly suited for those who enjoy long and engaging missions.
- Great for single-player (weight 0.15): This DLC is highly recommended for players who prefer single-player missions and enjoy good single-player action.
- Variety and challenge (weight 0.1): Players who enjoy varied and challenging gameplay will find this DLC appealing. It offers a range of different scenarios that can be quite challenging.
- Desire for more content (weight 0.08): Players have expressed a desire for more campaigns like this one and have suggested the addition of cooperative campaign DLCs.
- Limited appeal (weight 0.08): Only a portion of the maps are considered fun, and the DLC may not appeal to those who prefer traditional or classic campaign styles.
- Story-driven content (weight 0.07): This DLC is recommended for players who enjoy story-driven content and historical battles.
- Mixed reviews (weight 0.07): Some players do not recommend this DLC due to mostly negative reviews. It seems to have a mixed reception among the player base.
- Not for multiplayer (weight 0.04): This DLC is not recommended for players who are primarily focused on multiplayer gameplay.

Other player notes:
- Management and pricing issues (weight 0.04): Players have reported problems related to the management aspects of the game as well as concerns about pricing.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.33): Players are frustrated primarily due to the high difficulty and poor design of missions, which often feel unbalanced and repetitive. Bugs and glitches, particularly in the Viking and DLC campaigns, further exacerbate this frustration, making gameplay feel unfair and poorly tested.
- Disappointment (weight 0.26): Disappointment stems from the lack of originality and effort in the DLC's content, with many scenarios feeling tedious and unpolished. Players also express dissatisfaction with the overall quality and value of the DLC, citing poor design choices and a lack of new, engaging content.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.13): Players find satisfaction in the challenging and unique scenarios offered by the DLC, appreciating the variety and high-quality content. The enjoyment of refined mechanics and visually stunning scenarios contributes to a positive experience.
- Anger (weight 0.13): Anger is primarily caused by the poor quality and bugs in the DLC, which players feel are indicative of lazy development and exploitative practices. Unbalanced difficulty and restrictive gameplay mechanics further fuel this anger, making the experience feel unfair and poorly optimized.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the variety and challenge in the scenarios, with new mechanics and historical events adding to the appeal. The diverse and challenging campaigns, such as the Ragnar campaign, provide a satisfying and engaging experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.02): Excitement is generated by the quality and uniqueness of the campaigns, which offer new and engaging scenarios. Positive experiences with the DLC and its content contribute to this sense of excitement and anticipation.
- Approval (weight 0.02): Players approve of the unique scenarios and the opportunity to engage with historical events and change outcomes. The enjoyment of the DLC's content and its storytelling aspects contributes to this approval.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm is driven by the positive experiences with the DLC's campaign stories and scenarios. The engaging storytelling and unique gameplay mechanics contribute to this enthusiastic response.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the effort put into the scenarios and the introduction of unique gameplay mechanics. The visuals and new mechanics are particularly noted for their quality and the enhancement they bring to the game.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is expressed for the sumptuous and well-crafted scenarios, which stand out for their quality and attention to detail. The effort and craftsmanship in these scenarios are highly regarded by players.}