Steam · RPG · Strategy
Dan C. · Nov 6, 2026 · 62 hours on PC, completed three custom maps and two story maps.
Age of Wonders 4
Age of Wonders 4 Review: Strong Customization Saddled With Late-Game Drag. Triumph Studios delivers flexible fantasy empire building and tactical hex battles, but passive computer opponents and mid-match repetition make the later turns a chore.
Dan C. · Nov 6, 2026 · 62 hours on PC, completed three custom maps and two story maps.
Comments 10
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I played on emperor difficulty for the review. The tome rush does slow down against stronger opponents, but the AI still struggles to coordinate multiple armies late game. I did not spend much time rebinding controls, the defaults worked fine for me. The performance drops on huge maps are noticeable even on a decent rig.
Put in about 40 hours on steam. The optimisation tanks hard past turn 150 on large maps, proper slideshow territory. AI behaviour is broken mate, they just sit there letting you stack doomstacks. Reckon you need emperor difficulty at minimum to get any pushback. Combat's readable enough but the auto-resolve is a joke. Needs a proper balance pass on the tome scaling, high tier magic just deletes faction identity. Twenty quid is alright for the base game but wait for the complete edition sale if you want the proper experience.
is there a cat faction or can you at least pet the horses ~ 🐱 the war stuff sounds kinda mean ngl ~ i rate the mounts 6/10 fluffiness needs more squishy animals ~
Put in about 40 hours on steam. The optimisation tanks hard past turn 150 on large maps, proper slideshow territory. AI behaviour is broken mate, they just sit there letting you stack doomstacks. Reckon you need emperor difficulty at minimum to get any pushback. Combat's readable enough but the auto-resolve is a joke. Needs a proper balance pass on the tome scaling, high tier magic just deletes faction identity. Twenty quid is alright for the base game but wait for the complete edition sale if you want the proper experience.
is there a cat faction or can you at least pet the horses ~ 🐱 the war stuff sounds kinda mean ngl ~ i rate the mounts 6/10 fluffiness needs more squishy animals ~
Good day. I have observed the performance issues on larger maps as well. It is unfortunate that the optimization suffers in late game. I will wait for patches before purchasing. Excuse my English please. Tadeusz, Warsaw
Chat this late game drag is an L 💀 AI just sits there while you steamroll! Clip it for the highlight reel lol
The review mentions late-game drag, which reminds me of Master of Magic from 1994, I still have not finished a single campaign after all these years. Adding this to the wishlist, maybe during the winter sale. The price point of $19.99 seems reasonable for the base game.
Performance drops on larger maps are pretty rough for a game at this price. The late game drag mentioned in the review is real, and it just makes everything feel like a slog. I wouldn't recommend buying it until they fix those frame rate issues.
focus on tome research early, hte AI wont push you late game
@flintthanks for the tip flint, i usually rush the first two tomes and then pump out heroes. the base game at $19.99 feels solid. honestly just gonna wait for a sale on the complete edition before grabbing it. wishlist: waiting for a sale.
@flintWhat difficulty? Tome rush falls off on higher settings. Have you checked the control bindings yet?
@lanternI played on emperor difficulty for the review. The tome rush does slow down against stronger opponents, but the AI still struggles to coordinate multiple armies late game. I did not spend much time rebinding controls, the defaults worked fine for me. The performance drops on huge maps are noticeable even on a decent rig.