You choose one of six cultures such as a Feudal, Barbaric, or a Mystic society, and then apply some principles. You can have brutish beefy Halfings, elusive and wise Orcs, or water-adapted Molekin. They have default traits but you are free to change them. One of the neat things is that your factions of people can take any physical form. Or Fizzle Bunkus who leads an inventive group of Goblins that I named, in my infinite genius, Bomblins. It was a blast to come up with and play factions like my Norse Vikings who have Arctic Adaptation, and Seafaring. You build a faction from scratch, how they look, their culture, and more. The system really rewards coming up with thematic concepts, not just min-maxing abilities, and it’s far more fun if you play it that way.

I’ve also made a faction of wholesome Halflings led by Gandalf the Grey and Dark Goblins led by Sauron.

I’ve made factions based on ancient mythologies. Factions I’ve made include a bunch of original ideas as well as ones inspired by media. The system is pretty extensive, both mechanically and when it comes to customizing the way your ruler looks. You are really meant to dig in and make the game your own by making several factions yourself and then using them to set up scenarios to your own liking. While there are some pre-generated rulers. The faction creator stands at the forefront of everything that Age of Wonders 4 aims to be. Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S & PlayStation 5 While many of its changes are undeniably great, others could prove divisive among fans of the series. However, Age of Wonders 4 isn’t a simple or linear evolution of the series, it’s in many ways, a vast departure from those that came before it. A faction of spider-riding dark cultists is just one of the many faction ideas you can bring to life.

You can even customize the very realms you play on. You can create your own factions and rulers in Age of Wonders 4, both to play as and against. You can find a video version of this review on my YouTube Channel!Īge 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. That variety is why the previous game in the franchise, Age of Wonders: Planetfall, became one of my favorite games. One of its defining features is the sheer variety of playstyles available from its various factions. Age of Wonders has a long history of great 4X strategy games.

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