Age of History 3
- October 23, 2024
- Łukasz Jakowski
- 19h median play time
Get on Steam"Age of History 3" is a turn-based strategy game that spans the entirety of human history, from ancient civilizations to the far future. Players can choose from various civilizations and advance their technology tree to unlock better buildings and units. The game features a new battle system with a focus on army composition, where front-line units must be resilient, while second-line units provide support or specialized functions. With over 63 unique unit types, players have a wide range of strategic options at their disposal.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Massive improvement over Age of History II with more complex mechanics and better graphics.
- The game offers a lot of customization options and scenarios, making it engaging and replayable.
- Real-time strategy gameplay enhances the experience, allowing for more dynamic interactions.
- The game lacks a tutorial, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics.
- Many features from Age of History II, such as the ability to create custom vassals and trade, are missing.
- The AI can be unbalanced, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially with alliances and peace treaties.
- gameplay171 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Age of History III" has seen notable improvements over its predecessor, with expanded mechanics and a shift to real-time strategy that enhances the overall experience. However, many players feel that while the game introduces interesting new features, it also suffers from unpolished mechanics, a lack of depth, and some frustrating design choices, particularly in war and economic systems. Overall, it offers a more engaging experience than "Age of History II," but still requires further refinement and balancing to reach its full potential.
“I love the new mechanics even if I only barely understand them; I love the expanded amount of provinces, and the scenario creator makes me get super creative.”
“The gameplay has been improved, but it has also taken out many features from the previous game.”
“The shift from turn-based gameplay in the previous title to real-time strategy here is a brilliant move, giving the game a much smoother, more dynamic feel.”
“The game has a decent base in regards to some things but as a war game it fails in the fact that the war mechanics are not properly thought out.”
“Gameplay is painfully repetitive, with only minor tweaks separating it from its predecessors.”
“A lot of its mechanics are unpolished at best, and at worst almost game breaking.”
- story38 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate a significant lack of a compelling story in the game, with many users noting that there are no unique narrative elements or mission trees that differentiate the nations. Players express a desire for more diverse and engaging storylines, suggesting that the game feels repetitive and lacks depth in its narrative structure. Overall, the consensus is that the game could benefit from improved storytelling elements to enhance the gameplay experience.
“I hope he or modders continue to improve and build upon these by adding things like nation-region specific missions, events, etc.”
“Some improvements I can see for the game should be focused on balancing, as I find the AI to get really overpowered extremely quickly, leaving my nation to be completely obsolete.”
“Next nation was the exact same story.”
“The countries all start off pretty much the same with the same missions, same armies, same set of research.”
“The mission tree is very bare and mid, as it's just the same throughout everything and it's kind of boring.”
- graphics37 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's graphics have received positive feedback for their quality and aesthetic appeal, with many users noting significant improvements over previous titles. However, some players have expressed concerns about glitches and a lack of customization options, while others mentioned the simplicity of the art style and the use of AI-generated content. Overall, the graphics enhance the gameplay experience, making it visually appealing despite some technical shortcomings.
“Absolutely love the graphics compared to the last one.”
“The improved graphics and sound design also enhance the overall gameplay.”
“The graphics are also excellent!”
“I tried lowering graphics but that didn't work; there aren't many options to change, so yeah.”
“However, I will say that the map's graphics are on the same level as Victoria 2.”
“Something felt off about the art style, and would you look at that, AI-generated content.”
- grinding26 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players frequently describe the grinding aspect of the game as excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring an unrealistic investment of time to achieve progress. Many find the mechanics, such as territory management and army control, cumbersome and frustrating, leading to a general sentiment that the game demands more effort than enjoyment. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback that detracts from the overall gameplay.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Getting to 1k provinces and wanting to build something as simple as farms in every province is tedious and awful.”
“So, trying to fight a war just felt tedious and annoying.”
- stability24 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 4 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that significantly impact gameplay, including freezing, crashing, and poor optimization. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these issues, the overall consensus is that it feels unfinished and requires substantial updates to address its instability. Concerns about the developer's ability to resolve these problems further contribute to the game's reputation for being buggy.
“I hope from past experience, Lucas can actually maintain the game bug-free (of course that is impossible, but I mean a sense of bug-free) and add some mechanics that it still needs, like making alliances bigger than only one country and possibly even factions, and more depth in people's liking of your choices.”
“The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs/glitches.”
“Game is good, new features are pretty cool, but it is really poorly optimized for some reason. The game freezes and stutters a lot to the point where I have to close the game entirely, sometimes losing progress. This usually happens when I speed time up during a session.”
“Some of the major bugs right now are that you can't end rivalries, my computer freezes up every time I exit the game, and I've had it crash on me to desktop. This also isn't to mention the numerous reports of this game having viruses attached to it.”
- optimization12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews. While some players appreciate the improved performance compared to previous titles, many report significant issues such as freezing, stuttering, and crashes, particularly during late-game scenarios or when speeding up time. There are calls for further bug fixes and optimization updates to enhance the gaming experience.
“What a fun game, it's basically an improved and standalone take on the extended timeline mod for EU4 without the bloat of that game that makes performance crawl to a halt on later dates.”
“Runs very smoothly and is optimized really well.”
“Performance is much better than AOH2, though the civilization name glitch still doesn't get fixed.”
“The game is really poorly optimized for some reason; it freezes and stutters a lot to the point where I have to close the game entirely, sometimes losing progress. This usually happens when I speed time up during a session.”
“The game also has some problems in terms of performance.”
“I love this game; however, there are some performance issues causing the game to freeze when building too many things. This only happens 300-400 years into the game for me.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players praise the new soundtrack and its ambient sounds, comparing it favorably to compositions by Jeremy Soule, others find the background noise distracting and annoying. Overall, the music is seen as a significant improvement over its predecessor, contributing to a more immersive experience.
“The overall experience is just cleaner, better, prettier, and more glorious, especially with the music.”
“It's incredible, with incredible new functions, and I love the new soundtrack, especially when you zoom in on the ambient sounds.”
“I can already say that the compositions are made quite well; I really like them, and some perfectly remind me of Jeremy Soule's music from Skyrim or Oblivion.”
“The only step up is the music and graphics.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low due to a lack of significant differences between nations and a tendency for players to steamroll once they gain an advantage. While there are some customization options and mod support that could enhance replay value, many players find the experience to be generic and lacking in variety, ultimately leading to a missed opportunity for greater longevity.
“It allows practically infinite customization with great ease in the game, as well as allowing for mods, which, when paired with the mechanics, gives it a very high level of replayability.”
“Despite the improved mechanics and expanded features, it just doesn't hit as well as one would think for someone who invested hundreds of hours into the previous game, which should have given it a better lifespan for potential replayability.”
“The lack of significant differences between countries makes replayability low, which is a missed opportunity.”
“And if you couple that with the bad variety between nations, you get a game that doesn't really have much replay value.”
“- Lack of significant differences between countries makes replayability low, which is a missed opportunity.”
“But due to the rough edges, despite the improved mechanics and overall expanded additional ones, it just doesn't hit as well as one would think for someone who invested hundreds of hours into the previous game, which should've given it a modestly better lifespan for potential replayability.”
- humor4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its quirky and unexpected elements, such as amusing map designs and situations that arise from gameplay mechanics. However, some players find the interface issues detract from the overall comedic experience. Overall, the humor is appreciated, but it is accompanied by some frustrations.
“If you make a game like this and never check the history maps, that's funny.”
“I like painting maps in funny colors.”
“It's genuinely funny.”
“A very fun game with very unfunny interface problems.”
“The jokes fell flat and often felt forced, making it hard to enjoy the humor.”
“I expected a lot of laughs, but the humor was stale and predictable.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing concerns about potential malware and intrusive ads that compromise the gaming experience.
“I don't know why the creator decided to make this besides a cash grab.”
“This game contains PUA:Win32/GameHack, which has various symptoms like installing other malicious files and putting ads on your PC.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is generally consistent due to the cohesive art direction, though some users feel it may detract from the overall experience.
“The art direction is consistent, but it might cheapen the atmosphere for some.”
“The game lacks a sense of immersion, making the atmosphere feel flat and uninspired.”
“Despite the interesting setting, the overall atmosphere feels lifeless and fails to engage the player.”
