When it comes to 4X turn-based strategies, the benchmark can only be Civilization VI. The one signed by Sid Meier, in fact, is not necessarily the best experience on the market, but it is the most famous and the one that, due to accessibility and readability, has marked the path that all the others have begun to follow. . The game interface designed by Firaxis, for example, is not only one of the most fluid on PC, but has allowed the genre to reach consoles and mobile devices without major problems.
Starting (also) from this model Paradox e Triumph studios have decided to create the latest chapter in the Age of Wonders series, an interesting fantasy twist on the classic formula that asks you to explore, expand and exploit the game map and exterminate your enemies to lead your faction to glory. After a digression into science fiction with Planetfall, the Dutch studio dusts off dragons, magic wands and orcs: this is how it started Age of Wonders 4 review.
Why Age of Wonders 4?
We could describe Age of Wonders 4 as one strategic 4X with role-playing game elements and a turn-based combat system. A kind of fantastically inspired Humankind, given that Amplitude's work shares many elements with Triumph's, or perhaps it's the other way around, given the longevity of the Dutch series.
In other words, the player's task will be Play as the leader of one of the many factions present. to lead his people to victory, whether magical, domination or any other kind. You must achieve the objective on the one hand by growing your empire, managing cities, building improvements and founding new outposts, on the other by expanding your army, recruiting new heroes and exploring the territory in search of treasures with which to adorn your most famous warriors. .
Obviously, there is no lack of a kind of technological progression, in this case linked to magic, which allows you to progressively obtain stronger spells to use on the map or during battles, new units or upgrades for old ones. Finally, there are improvements for the empire, thanks to which you can specialize your domain based on your personal needs or those of the game.
I fight They do not take place directly on the game map like in Civilization or Stellaris, but are resolved within a separate instance in which all units within the battle radius are gathered, for a maximum of 3 armies per side. Before leaving you can choose if you want the computer to manage the combat or directly control the different units. In this case everything is developed as a turn-based strategic game where the two sides alternate in the movement of each individual troop, trying to win by registering the fewest deaths possible. Victory can only be achieved by making the most of the characteristics and abilities of all the troops and heroes, it is a shame that the arenas in which everything takes place are not very elaborate and they all resemble each other. A greater variety of geographic elements (bottlenecks, high points to attack from) or situational elements (in addition to sieges, perhaps "boss" confrontations or timed missions) would have made these moments more interesting, especially in the long term. For now, these are always frontal confrontations between two well-organized sides, without cover or variants of any kind.
A little role playing
One of the distinctive elements of Age of Wonders 4 is the presence of heroes. These are special and particularly powerful units that you can put in command of your armies and cities. Each of the heroes can have a greater number of skills than "normal" troops, but above all they can grow in a very similar way to that of the classics. role playing games. Each hero, in fact, has an experience parameter that grows after each battle and allows him to become stronger and acquire new skills, but above all he can equip himself with weapons, items and armor capable of greatly improving his statistics. These items can be recovered throughout the world by defeating the independent creatures that populate it or they can be obtained by interacting with the other factions on the map or by solving some particular quests.
The nature of role-playing is also seen in the characterization of the various factions. There are those who prefer a certain type of magic and those who love being underground, those who specialize in warriors and those who specialize in healing magic. This good characterization of the different races It's diluted a bit by the ability to create your own: it's certainly a fun option for those who want maximum customization, a little less so for those who like to stay true to the Age of Wonders 4 mythology.
A base from which to start
At the beginning we talked about cleaning theinterface of Civilization VI. Firaxis' work, in fact, guarantees a practically uninterrupted flow of gameplay, easy to read and, above all, that always pushes you to take "one more turn", as a famous trailer for the series said. Despite trying to replicate the scheme, with a large button in the lower right corner of the screen around which all notifications are concentrated, playing Age of Wonders 4 is less fluid than the game designed by Sid Meier: it is not always easy selecting units on the map and switching between them, the game doesn't automatically switch between troop management and empire management and stuff like that. Nothing dramatic, obviously, the experience is absolutely enjoyable, but the feeling is that you always make those 2-3 more clicks than you could do.
Even looking at other gaming systems, the feeling is that Triumph has always stopped one step away from excellence, leaving wide margins for improvement on which to base future expansions. The diplomatic system, for example, is functional, although too schematic and predictable, the combat works well, but lacks variety, the role-playing part is present, but some slightly different and more complex missions could have been implemented. The impression is that whether we like it or not we always end up fighting and there is no effective alternative to achieve victory.
Stronger than expected
Despite somewhat alarming initial reports, our experience with Age of Wonders 4 has been very good. The game runs smoothly on an AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U with integrated graphics and during our tests we encountered a couple of glitches that didn't do much harm, given the very punctual auto-save system. This allowed us to really appreciate the premium of the different creatures and the game world, while the music did not particularly impress us. Longevity depends on many factors, as each match can be tailored to your needs and, if you have already explored all the available content, it will always be online, where you can find other players to challenge.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Price 49,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.0 Readers (13) 8.3 your voteAge of Wonders 4 is a very interesting 4X that lays solid foundations to expand in the coming months. Everything works as it should, the various systems are well integrated into the fantasy structure with the pinch of role-playing of the series. A slightly more fluid interface would have allowed for a more pleasant experience, especially on consoles, but even so Triumph's production manages to entertain. A little more variety in combat, role-playing, and diplomacy would have allowed the game to stand out from its competitors, but we have a feeling these will be the elements future expansions will focus on.
PRO
- 4X Solid Construction
- Good world design and unity.
- The different parts are well integrated with each other.
AGAINST
- The interface could be clearer and more fluid
- there is little variety
