Age of Mythology: Retold - Expansion Pass Review Summary

The Aztec civilization and campaign shine and new myth units are welcome, but the new Greek god Demeter feels weak and unbalanced while severe performance issues make this DLC poor value.

Aztec civilization and campaign shine: The Aztec civilization and its campaign are considered creative and fun to play. The myth units and overall Aztec theme are highlights of the expansion.

Demeter adds new gameplay mechanics: Demeter introduces new mechanics and a fresh playstyle focused on economy and resource gathering. Her myth unit specialization adds strategic depth.

Expansion Pass is well-received: Players find the expansion pass to be good, beautiful, and full of enjoyable content. It adds a lot of stuff that enhances the overall experience.

Aztec pantheon is extensive: The Aztec pantheon includes a full campaign with 12 missions, three major gods, and nine minor gods, along with new myth units. It fulfills fan expectations.

Obsidian Mirror is standout: The Obsidian Mirror is considered the heart of the expansion pass and the only part truly worth it. It is a major highlight.

Demeter is weak and unbalanced: Demeter lacks consistent human troop buffs, has weak myth units, and is not useful after the early raid defense stage. Many consider her the worst god ever created and significantly worse than other Greek gods.

Ultimate Fan Pack lacks value: The Ultimate Fan Pack offers zero gameplay content and is purely cosmetic, with many calling it worthless and ugly. It is essentially just a badge for acquiring all items at once.

Poor value for money: The DLC is not worth the price tag, offering little content relative to its cost. The complete game purchase is cheaper than this DLC, making it a poor deal.

DLC feels rushed and unbalanced: The overall DLC feels rushed and poorly balanced. The Demeter god pack released with bugs and is unbalanced.

Blood and Bones pack paywalled: Blood features are only available through the full Expansion Pass, not as a separate DLC. Even those who bought the most expensive version must make an additional purchase to access the Blood and Bones pack.

Demeter adds new Greek god: Demeter is a new Greek major god with unique powers, units, and upgrades. She introduces a distinct playstyle and expands the Greek pantheon.

New myth units introduced: Myth units include harpies, lykanos, dryads, medusas, and sirens. These units have unique twists and special abilities as part of the god's kit.

Demeter God Pack content: The Demeter God Pack adds new gameplay for existing civilizations, featuring Demeter, three minor gods, four god powers, and four myth units. It offers a new playstyle for the Greek civilization.

Blood and Bones pack effects: The Blood and Bones pack adds blood effects, blood pools, and skeleton models that fit the game's animations. It includes dynamic blood and gore effects.

Demeter minor gods and powers: Demeter has access to minor gods, including Hera instead of Hephaistos in age 4, and Persephone as a minor god choice. She also has god powers and myth units.

DLC causes severe performance issues: Players report significant lagging, low FPS, and game hangs lasting minutes after downloading the DLC for the expansion pass. These performance problems appear consistently across multiple reports.

Bots matches broken after update: Matches with 10 bots that previously ran flawlessly are now described as a mess. This suggests a regression affecting bot-based gameplay.

Lycans buggy and clunky: Lycans are reported to be super buggy and clunky with their transformations. This points to issues with the transformation mechanics.

Expansion Pass Value Debated: Many reviewers debate whether the Expansion Pass is worth its price compared to buying individual DLCs. Some find it a good deal if you want all content, while others see it as pointless if you only want specific parts.

Wait for Sale: A common recommendation is to wait for a sale or discount before purchasing the Expansion Pass. This advice appears frequently across reviews, suggesting that the full price may not be justified for many players.

Not Worth Full Price: Several reviewers state that the Expansion Pass is not worth buying at full price or at this stage. Some explicitly advise against purchasing it now or skip it entirely.

Aztecs and Demeter Value: The Aztec civilization and Demeter god pack are highlighted as key reasons to buy the Expansion Pass. Some consider the pass the best value way to get the Aztecs.

Buy DLCs Separately: Many suggest buying only the desired DLCs separately instead of the full Expansion Pass. This is often recommended for those who only want the Aztecs or only Obsidian Mirror.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00.

Mixed reports: some players find the Demeter God Pack fun with friends or in late game, but the stronger DLC-specific evidence says the playstyle never clicks due to boring god powers, bugs, weak techs, and balance issues.

Friction: Balance issues with over/underpowered units; Boring and uninspiring god powers; Lack of economic techs for late game; Insignificant techs from unique minor gods; Buggy and boring design; Demeter God Pack playstyle did not click.

Story-Driven AoM Veteran: Campaign-focused and collection-oriented, revisiting classic gods and new campaign content. Motivation: Continue the Age of Mythology story and support the franchise they have long followed. Stance: buy.

Casual PVE and Myth Unit Enthusiast: Campaign and skirmish against bots, experimenting with new pantheons and units. Motivation: Casual fun with new gods, myth units, and PVE content. Stance: sale.

Competitive Multiplayer Balance-Seeker: Ranked PVP, unit matchup analysis, and optimizing build orders. Motivation: Competitive multiplayer viability, balance, and fresh maps or strategies. Stance: no buy.

Monetization: The filtered reviews are dominated by dissatisfaction with paid DLC and expansion pass value: too little content, high DLC prices, and content that some feel should have been free or included in the base game. There is no direct evidence of real-money gacha, loot boxes, in-game currency, pay-to-win mechanics, or a microtransaction shop. Under the audit rules, these traditional DLC and season pass complaints cap the score at 20.

Expansion Pass DLC Contents: The Expansion Pass includes four DLCs: the Aztec pantheon and campaign, New Gods Pack: Demeter, Ultimate Fan Pack, and Blood & Bones Pack. This bundle is the primary way to obtain all these contents together.

Gradual Content Release Schedule: Content from the Expansion Pass is released over time, with only Demeter available so far. The remaining DLCs, including the Aztecs, are planned for future release.

Blood Effects Sold via Pass: Blood and gore effects are sold as part of paid content, specifically through the Expansion Pass or season pass. This has been a point of contention among players.

Pricing Concerns and Value: The expansion pass is considered expensive by some, but others find it worth the price for the content offered. The price is seen as a premium for a loyal fanbase.

Aztecs as Upcoming Civilization: The Aztecs are a new civilization that will be added to the game as part of the Expansion Pass. Players are eagerly anticipating this addition.