Age of Wonders 4 Review
Age of Wonders has a long history of great 4X strategy games. One of its defining features is the sheer variety of playstyles available from its various factions. That variety is why the previous game in the franchise, Age of Wonders: Planetfall, became one of my favorite games.
Age of Wonders 4 attempts to take that variety one step further by taking apart the various pieces that make up a faction’s jigsaw puzzle, and handing them to you. You can create your own factions and rulers in Age of Wonders 4, both to play as and against. You can even customize the very realms you play on.
**Gideon’s Bias**
Review Copy Used: Yes
Hours Played: 60+
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Fan of Genre: Yes
Mode Played: Normal, Hard and Brutal
**Age of Wonders 4 Information**
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Type: Full Release
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
Genre: 4X, Turn-Based Strategy
Price: $49.99
**Pros**
A very extensive faction creator
Customizable realms to play on
Fantastic strategic gameplay with quality improvements that make Age of Wonders 4 a cut above most 4x games
Excellent combat
Great diplomacy system
Tons of variety and playstyles through a massive amount of unique magic tomes
**Cons**
Cultural units can feel too similar
Nautical Combat is mechanically sound but looks goofy and unpolished
Technical issues on the Xbox were awful but are supposed to be fixed upon release. (The issues I was having prelaunch seem to have been patched out now)
**Links**
Website: https://gideonsgaming.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GamingGideon
Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/gaminggideon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GideonsGaming
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gideonsgaming/
**Time Stamps**
00:00 Overview
00:51 Build a Baron Workshop
03:04 Emperor’s New Tome
04:47 Cross Cultured
06:36 The Art of War
09:18 The Other Three Xs
12:31 Age of Technical Issues
13:37 Verdict
#ageofwonders #gideonsgaming
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Man, you got straight to the points. No bs, saying it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You deserve way more views than you currently have. Just keep going. I'm 100% sure it will become a big channel in no time if you keep up with this kind of quality content.
I really enjoyed AoW Plantfall. I love they they brought the progression system from that game into here. I was kinda sad when they stop putting out content for Planetfall, their expansions really opened that game up. I hope if they are able to get multiple years of new expansion then 3 DLC and quietly working on the next game.
I read your review for this game on your website and you did a great job on it!
Did the developer issue the performance patch for the Xbox that you had mentioned in your review?
Really amazing review. Thank you!
I do not know if any game is going to be as insane as the first age of wonder game was. But playing the 3rd one time to time, I do what something new. It looks good and im totally going to buy it once it comes…
Is it better then Master of Magic remake ?
It runs very well on the Playstation 5 btw
Hope it comes to GeforceNow
Good review, keep it up. I hate it when "reviews" are more like an overview of what the game is, instead of a subjective judgment of said systems.
I'm curious though, how does one with 1k subs bag a review copy for such a big title? You wouldn't see this happen from a publisher like Square Enix or EA.
Informative ❤
Great review. Let's hope those technical issues are ironed out – I somehow don't think it will be all solved in a single day-one patch, but we will see. Thanks for doing an XBOX review – I've been looking for this exact thing. Cheers!
Knowing this is a triumph/paradox makes feel okay about naval combat as it is now, as they have a habit of planning expansions even before base game release so the expansion team will say “ we need you to have a naval combat system because we want make a pirate or Viking expansion” so the main team will okay we will get a naval combat system working.
jone point i heavily disagree. in terms of starting unit roster and early unit variety.
you point out that AoW4 early game units can feel a bit sameay between cultures because they don't play so different between two spearman for example and cite planetfall as a good example of being different.
in planetfall you basically had the same unit types too, if you compare for example the assembly sniper and the syndicate sniper, they play almost identically, only having one subtle difference.
the age of wonder series does this every time because they have a certain rock paper scissor mechanic and it would completely break the balance otherwise. also you can't have 36 types of units (6 unique units per culture) because there is only so much types (categories) of units you can create also while not making it confusing.
especially in AoW4 they more uniqueness of the units comes with the tomes and their enchantments and transformations.
so the difference in units is vastly different depending on the tomes used.
Very nice, balanced review, Gideon. I have been enjoying your channel for a while and it deserves many more views.
Based on the popularity of Age of Wonders, it looks like this review is getting tons of well deserved views. Hopefully that will translate into a lot more people being aware of your channel!
Best review on YouTube right now. Subbed. Wishlisted.
Glad I wasn't the only one that thought the naval battles were horribly animated. I suggested they need something that looks more nautical like rappelling ships with deck fighting going on. Cannons or Potion Launching ships would have more of a visual appeal as well. They need to totally redo the naval units and animations.
You have me interested in purchasing this over Jedi Survivor.
I did like Planetfall so maybe down the road I will try it out.
Watching someone play a strategy game on a console is just looks painful. Cudos for managing to do it.
From what I've seen thus far the naval combat is what rubs me the wrong way the most thus far. Would rather have it play out like in HoMM III with two ships connected by planks, but I will likely just try to avoid naval battles like the plague.
THx for being from wat sofar see as honest
Bruh. That naval combat. lol.