Age of Wonders 4 is My Newest Obession... Again.
A few months ago, my fiancee, Jaye, finally introduced me to his favorite childhood video games, Heroes of Might & Magic III. We booted up the 1999 classic and the nostalgia in our house was instantly palpable. We felt like little kids again. The tinny music and cheesy art was a much-needed break from the high-def graphics of some of the new games I’ve been playing. It felt… simpler. Just like being a little kid, I guess.
After two weeks of a Heroes obsession, it was only fair that I shared Age of Wonders 4 with him, a game that I had been devoted to for years before I met him. I had tried it on him before, but the overwhelming depth of mechanics and economic management was just a little too much for the simpler days of yesterday; and I concede that this is much more complicated than Heroes of Might & Magic. With a little more time spent on mechanics, Age of Wonders 4 finally clicked.
Half the fun of Age of Wonders 4 is the character creator. Nigh infinite combinations with outfits, race, colors, and spells make your imagination the only limitation. Stylized graphics and high saturation make the multiverse of Age of Wonders 4 a truly unique experience that reminds me of Netflix’s Arcane sometimes. Complex tactical combat with massive armies make every choice important, and diplomacy is just as important as waging war. A few quick button clicks can get you to a Wizard's Bond, but it may take 45 minutes to defeat an enemy army just to save your new Tier III Archer unit that you had just trained in your capital city.
This isn’t the first time Age of Wonders 4 has completely captured my interest. It drags me back in for months and then I put it down for a little bit. But its variety, not to mention its absolutely wonderful DLCs, keep me coming back for more and more.
In honor of our Heroes playthroughs, and Jaye’s history with the game, he created the hero Neela, one of the heroes from the Tower faction, in Age of Wonders 4’s character creator. He can now roleplay her like he’s playing Heroes but with better graphics and more magic, where she is stronger and has more dynamic armies. She can level up, ascend to our Pantheon, and show up in future games to help his other heroes. Age is alive, and now Neela has come straight out of his childhood into the present day.
With Season 4 of Age of Wonders 4 announced and the Season Pass on sale now, there’s no better time to start playing. The newest DLC (already available) is adding the Silver Seas, with pirates, Aqualons, and shark people akin to One Piece. There’s something here for everyone, and I still haven’t tried all of the DLC and hero types, but there's still plenty of time.
Happy gaming.
B
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