After the last one, Age of Wonders: Planetfall, was an exceptional sci-fi romp that let us live out our fantasies of galactic conquest and being a dashing intergalactic general, AoW4 heads back to grass roots fantasy. Age of Wonders 4 is a return to the fantastical side of the series. And struggle I should, probably, because these games aren’t really designed for the kind of mindless brute force that usually carries me through any game.

I’m always caught up following the tool tips and pissing money away on foot soldiers when the enemy nation next door comes through my green and verdant lands like a bus-load of Man City fans through a kebab shop.Īnd so I struggle. Why bother building up diplomatic relations, questing for some magical Mcguffin, or attempting to reach the peak of civilisation when you can just mash the next country over into the ground and jog on? Unfortunately it never seems to work out that way. Age of Wonders 4 has done nothing to dull my clumsy bloodlust, either.Ĭonquest is always a victory path in the Age of… series, and it always seems like it’ll be the easiest one. I only have two modes: I’m either so indecisive I can’t decide what to have for breakfast, or I’m blitzing the neighbouring country before my Coco Pops have even turned the milk brown. Having played my fair share of RTS and 4X strategy games, I’ve decided I probably wouldn’t make a very good ruler.

Age of wonders 4 gameplay