Age of Mythology – Review

The Age of Empires series is special to me. I was fascinated by the game when I saw it on my friend’s father’s office for the first time in 1998. When the first computer arrived in our house in 2001, we played Cossacks: Back to War, the strategy genre managed to have a special place for me.

I’m not really into fantasy and mythological characters, but my interest in strategy games led me to check out the 2002 remake of Age of Mythology years later. I didn’t play Mythology a lot in the early 2000’s, however basic mechanics catched my attention. I don’t like keeping it long at the beginning, so I can say that Xbox Game Studios has taken a classic adventure and done a good job. Let’s now take a look at how the legend has turned back.

• Age of Mythology: Retold has been reviewed on the PC platform.

Age of Mythology: Retold, a retelling of 2002’s Age of Mythology, one of the best real-time strategy games of all time, developed by World’s Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, is coming to PC and Xbox on September 4, 2024.

The game, which will be of great interest to strategy players, especially Age of Mythology fans, is quite successful as a renewed version of the series, even if it is not a sequel like Age of Empires 4.

In this new game, besides graphics, animation and sound elements, mechanical innovations attract attention. Let’s take a look at the details now.

Why Retold?

Why it isn’t Age of Mythology 2 but Age of Mythology Retold? Let me try to answer this question in my mind. In digital games, remakes attract as much attention as the sequels of series. This may be part of Microsoft’s marketing strategy. Perhaps we can consider it as a preliminary preparation for the sequel to the series, Age of Mythology 2. Of course, none of this is official.

Another way of consideration might be that these classical titles have strong brand values. The aim may have been to redesign them in a sustainable way, to keep the player in the circle for a while longer by polishing them with next-generation systems. Tournaments, events and new expansion packs are also part of this new generation of marketing.

I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was certain that Age of Mythology Retold would be a success.

Age of Mythology: What’s new with Retold!

All the original Pantheons (Greek, Egyptian, Scandinavian and Atlantic civilizations) have been redesigned with 4K graphics. The powers of the gods can now be reused multiple times instead of being one-time abilities in the original game. Whether you summon powerful lightning storms or earth-shaking earthquakes, this renewed mythological fun now included in the game as an endless feature.

With the Villager Priority system, collecting and managing your resources are easier than before. It offers an interesting experience alongside the classic gameplay. One of the biggest innovations is the Wonder Age. This is a whole new era. (Titans can walk on the sea… ) With this development focused on the endgame, both buildings and units and, of course, god powers become cheaper. Get ready for surprises in the late game!

Villager Priority system makes the game less challenging for newcomers to the series. With the help of presets you choose, AI handles the distribution of villagers across resources. Again, you can enrich this management with options such as building placement and farm creation. Of course, this is not a mechanic that is designed for experienced players.

And finally, if you are an old Mythology player, you will notice the changes in the interface.

In-game balancing, new quests, stories, civilizations and gods, monsters and humans are all unique and distinct from each other.

Age of Mythology: Retold gameplay mechanics

The game features the basic mechanics of real-time strategy games, with each civilization, unit, monster, and god having a unique characteristic. The game features four civilizations at launch. There are 13 different gods in these. The Scandinavians have become the civilization I like to play with the most. Dwarves take part in gold mining along with humans. And they are quite practical in collecting resources with ox carts next to them. Berserk infantries are your builders. Each villager can also transform into these infantries for some gold.

Food, wood, gold, and last but not least favor are the four resources in the game. We produce mythological gods and special units with favor. Unique powers also use this resource. You can cover a certain area with ice and freeze your opponent.

Different game modes such as Standard, Death Match, Lightning, and Special Scenario, and various victory conditions included in this remake. There are many fun options. In victory conditions, in addition to the classic Conquest option, there are also King of the Hill (controlling the map center for a while), Kingslayer (killing all enemy kings) and Sudden Death (starting with a castle and defending it with all costs).

Special units coming out of temples play a critical role in battles.

The game includes mythological stories with three official campaigns in addition to single-player battles. These expeditions, which have a total of 50 missions, will also grow with the announced new expansion packs. Two expansion packs will come with the premium edition. Let me tell you one is Chinese mythology. The other is not certain yet. In multi-player mode, you also compete against other players in real time and take part in leader-boards.

In the game where you will experience the classic strategy experience to the fullest, I told you that each civilization has different features and you can become an expert by experiencing them.

Graphics, animation and sound design

Structures, people, soldiers, slaves, monsters and gods in civilizations each have a different appearance and animation.

Combats in the game might turn into a complete power riot. As someone who doesn’t really like fantasy elements, interactions of the gods who intervened combats as they get heated.

I must say that the new generation graphics have taken this classic production to a rather pleasant level.

Conclusion

Age of Mythology: Retold is a game that players who are into strategy should definitely try. It is worth to mention that Age of Mythology Retold is coming on Game Pass on day one. For this reason, it is reasonable to expect a fair amount of people will give it a try, resulting in a enriched multiplayer experience.

If you are looking for a strategy game build with fantastic elements, or if you are an Age of Mythology fan, Age of Mythology: Retold will be your favorite game until the next one comes out.