- Distinct and diverse civilizations enhance gameplay
- Stunning remastered visuals and audio quality
- High replayability from innovative deck system
- Abandoned developer support hurts long-term value
- Severe performance and stability issues persist
- Toxic and declining multiplayer community experience
Emotions
Players experience frustration primarily due to technical and performance issues, such as frequent crashes, lag, poor optimization, and high RAM requirements. Additionally, gameplay mechanics like clunky combat, unit pathing, AI behavior, and balance problems (e.g., overpowered civilizations) exacerbate the issue. Multiplayer experiences are further marred by toxic communities, arbitrary kicking, and connectivity problems.
Disappointment stems from unmet expectations regarding content and developer support, including cancelled DLCs, discontinued updates, and lack of innovation compared to previous titles. Players also express dissatisfaction with AI performance, historical inaccuracies, missing features (e.g., air units, card progression), and technical issues like crashes and bugs that persist despite high-end hardware.
Players feel satisfied due to the game's strategic depth, replayability, and improvements in the Definitive Edition, such as bug fixes and enhanced graphics. The unique mechanics (e.g., Home City Card Deck), diverse civilizations, and engaging campaigns contribute to its enjoyment. Affordability and positive community interactions also enhance satisfaction.
Nostalgia is driven by personal memories tied to the game, such as childhood experiences, playing with family, or revisiting the franchise after years. The remastered version evokes fond recollections of the original, including specific campaigns, soundtracks, and historical settings that resonate with long-time fans.
Excitement arises from the game's modernized visuals, audio improvements, and fresh gameplay mechanics introduced in the remaster. Players appreciate the strategic depth, diverse civilizations, and dynamic battles, as well as the thrill of discovering new builds or playing with friends in an updated RTS experience.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 67% · Negative 33%. Score: 33 / 100
Positives:
- The game’s civilizations are lauded for their unique units, abilities, and playstyles, which add strategic depth and variety. New additions (e.g., African, Inca, Swedish factions) and rebalanced older ones are particularly well-received.
- The Definitive Edition’s 4K graphics, detailed textures, and remastered soundtrack are frequently cited as major improvements. Players appreciate the visual fidelity and immersive sound design, which modernize the game while preserving its original charm.
- Players consistently highlight the card/deck system as a core driver of replayability, enabling varied strategies, faction diversity, and long-term engagement. This mechanic is praised for making each match feel unique and supporting both solo and multiplayer experiences.
- Multiplayer is highlighted for its balance, cross-play support, and flexibility. Players enjoy cooperative and competitive modes, as well as the ability to play with friends or randoms in custom scenarios.
- Long-time fans appreciate the game’s nostalgic connection to the Age of Empires series, with many considering it a standout entry. The Definitive Edition’s enhancements amplify this appeal.
Negatives:
- Players report a lack of updates, discontinued DLC support, and unfulfilled promises, leading to perceptions of abandonment. The game is described as a 'deadgame' with no active maintenance.
- The game suffers from frequent crashes, lag, and poor optimization, even on high-end hardware. Multiplayer and campaign modes are particularly affected, with reports of unplayable conditions due to constant freezes and disconnects.
- The game lacks modern QoL features, such as unit grouping, formation controls, and intuitive pathfinding. Combat feels chaotic, and the UX is criticized for being unintuitive and outdated.
- The multiplayer experience is marred by toxic behavior, empty servers, and poor matchmaking. The community is smaller compared to other *Age of Empires* titles, exacerbating these issues.
- The game is criticized for offering little new content, with cancelled DLCs and no substantial updates. It is seen as a cash grab, lacking the depth and variety of previous *Age of Empires* titles.
Gameplay:
- Each civilization features distinct units, strategies, and playstyles, such as Japan’s shrine-based resource gathering or Mexico’s money-back-on-kills system. This asymmetry enhances replayability and strategic depth.
- The game blends real-time strategy (RTS) mechanics with turn-based elements, particularly in resource management and strategic planning. This hybrid approach caters to both fast-paced and methodical players.
- Resource gathering (wood, gold, food) and tower-building are core mechanics, with some civilizations offering infinite resource generation. This economy-driven gameplay loop is central to strategy.
- Multiplayer options include competitive PvP, co-op historical battles, skirmishes against AI, and ranked matches. The fast-paced gameplay (30–60 minute matches) appeals to both casual and competitive players.
- The Home City system allows players to customize decks for shipments of units, resources, or upgrades, adding a layer of strategic planning. Recent updates made all cards unlocked by default, streamlining progression.
Performance:
- Players report consistent performance problems, including lag, freezing, and FPS drops, even on high-end hardware. Optimization issues persist regardless of graphics settings or hardware capabilities.
- Performance varies unpredictably across hardware, with some high-end PCs struggling while lower-end systems run smoothly. Issues include high RAM requirements, CPU spikes, and GPU underutilization.
- The game crashes during matches, startup, and campaign modes, often without clear reasons. Crashes are severe enough to prevent completion of gameplay sessions and require frequent restarts.
- Online multiplayer suffers from high latency, asynchronous matches, and frequent disconnections. Server optimization issues exacerbate these problems, particularly in larger matches.
- Players encounter severe bugs, such as black textures, unresponsive units, and pathfinding issues for NPCs. Some bugs render the game unplayable or require workarounds like reinstallation.
Recommendations:
- The game is highly recommended for real-time strategy (RTS) enthusiasts, fans of the Age of Empires series, and players seeking immersive, historically themed gameplay. Its blend of strategy, resource management, and modern polish appeals to both veterans and newcomers.
- The remaster successfully preserves the original’s strengths while introducing quality-of-life improvements, visual enhancements, and new content, making it appealing for both longtime fans and newcomers.
- While the game is praised for its low cost and value, some reviewers caution against purchasing at full price, suggesting it’s only worth buying on sale or at a steep discount due to its current state.
- The free-to-play version is suggested as a low-risk way to test the game, offering partial campaign access and regular modes. Some reviewers advise trying it before purchasing or even sticking to the free content.
- Reviewers express hope for a larger community and more content, such as additional civilizations (e.g., Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark) and improved tutorials or advertisements to grow the player base.
Miscellaneous:
- Players express frustration over the cancellation of planned DLC content, attributing it to external decisions rather than gameplay or creative issues. This has led to disappointment among fans who were anticipating additional content.
- Some players criticize the game for perceived overemphasis on political correctness or sensitivity in character representation, suggesting it detracts from the original experience or creative direction.
- Criticism is directed at corporate decisions, including the removal of the original game and changes made for political correctness, which players feel undermine the game's authenticity or legacy.
- Players highlight the value of community-created mods, such as the Polish localization mod, which address gaps left by official releases. This demonstrates the community's proactive role in enhancing accessibility.
- Some players express nostalgia for the DVD version of the game, reflecting a preference for physical media or sentimental attachment to the original release format.
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