The castle gate has finally been opened! After Age of Empires 4 has been secretly played by members of the press around the world for some time, everyone has been able to share their opinions on the eagerly anticipated real-time strategy game since October 25th.
And since Age of Empires 4 is one of the most important strategy games of the year, this stream consists of a large number of international ratings. Of course, they are often evaluated and weighted very differently. But on the whole there is an unusually large amount of agreement. Sure, there are always a few outliers up or down. But with Age 4 significantly less than, for example, with games like Outriders.
We were also one of the ranks of experts who were able to grapple with the game before it was released. Above all, our age experts Maurice and Fabiano jumped at the game and rated them. You can find the extremely extensive GameStar test right here:
more on the subject
Age of Empires 4 im Test
Spoiler: We really liked the RTS because it has classic Age of Empires strengths, extends the principle and feels very well thought out. The biggest point of criticism is the sober staging of the campaign.
The pain itself is the love Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aeneas mass The mountains will labor with their friends, and their homes, and their great gods; a ridiculous mouse will be born.
Do you want to prepare for the start of the game and still need some support? Our strategy experts put together guides and tips for you about the races and the Age of Empires 4 campaign. If you are new to the series, we have also prepared helpful tips for you:
You can find more tips and guides for Age of Empires 4 in our overview.
You can see how colleagues from other game magazines rate it here in the overview:
These are the strengths and weaknesses of Age of Empires 4
The strengths of Age of Empires 4 are according to most reviews:
- The factions offer many different facets
- The AoE formula has been implemented great
- The campaign is extensive and informative about history
The weaknesses of Age of Empires 4 are according to most reviews:
- No innovations to speak of for the genre
- The graphics do not quite meet modern expectations
By the way, if you want to see our opinion on Age 4 in video form, then take half an hour. Maurice had a lot to tell:
32:07
Age of Empires 4 is fantastic – but not yet saving the RTS
An overview of the international ratings
Age of Empires 4 received an overall rating of 86 fun points from us. We are currently a little above average. To Metacritic AoE 4 achieved an average rating of 84 points in a total of 35 test reports. Bei Open Critic 40 reviews were considered, which also leads to an average of 84 percent.
The voices of the press
Age of Empires 4 impressed some of the press so much that they gave the game a top rating. In most cases, however, this affects publications on a scale from one to five. Hayes Madsen from CGMagazine also gave full marks on a 10-point scale. The reason for this is:
After more than 30 hours with Age of Empires 4, I am impressed by the consistent quality. Relic had a vision of what a new game in the series should look like and they stuck to that vision instead of playing it safe. I can’t see what else to expect from an Age of Empires, but I look forward to seeing what else the developers have planned.
The majority of all ratings accumulate in the 80s area or, depending on the rating scale, in a corresponding region. With that, Age of Empires 4 is pretty stable. Outliers are rather rare. The Game Informer test is one of the ratings in this area. Here tester Daniel Tack draws the conclusion that Age 4 is fun, but by no means sets new standards:
The real-time strategy genre remains relevant here and there thanks to a few big titles. Even if Age of Empires 4 lacks the ambition to even begin to touch the standards of an Age of Empires 2 from decades ago, it is a good way to still play a classic RTS today that has been carefully developed and exudes enough vigor.
Incidentally, no magazine considers Age of Empires 4 to be a total failure. Ratings beyond 70 are almost impossible to find. Of the more well-known publications, one of the lowest ratings comes from PC Gamer, who only put a 77 under their review. The reason for this:
Age of Empires 4 has a strong foundation for becoming special, but it comes at a time when Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is backing up the long-awaited co-op campaigns and an ever-expanding library of historical battles. In comparison, Age of Empires 4 lacks a bit of content, especially for a £ 50 game (in Europey, AoE 4 costs 60 dollars).
Age of Empires 4 will be released on October 28th, 2021. Then all other fans can get a taste of it and form their own opinion.