Age of Wonders

About

In Age of Wonders, a turn-based fantasy strategy game, players build their empire amidst the chaos caused by the arrival of humans in a once peaceful land. With six distinct races, numerous spells, and ancient artifacts to discover, players must form alliances with forces of light or darkness to determine the world's fate. The game's intimate atmosphere, painterly graphics, and fully patched-up experience create an engaging adventure for strategy enthusiasts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,061 reviews

graphics70 positive mentions

stability34 negative mentions

Age of Wonders is a classic turn-based strategy game that combines elements of RPG and strategy, offering a rich fantasy experience.
The game features a variety of races and units, each with unique abilities, allowing for diverse gameplay and strategies.
Despite its age, the game still holds up well with a charming art style, engaging soundtrack, and a strong sense of nostalgia for long-time fans.

The game suffers from frequent crashes and technical issues, particularly on modern systems, making it frustrating to play without patches.
The user interface and controls feel outdated and can be cumbersome, especially for new players unfamiliar with older games.
The AI can be unbalanced and predictable, leading to a lack of challenge in some scenarios, which may detract from the overall experience.

graphics
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
51%
9%
The graphics of "Age of Wonders" are widely regarded as dated, reflecting its 1999 release, with many players noting the pixelated sprites and simplistic animations. However, the game's unique art style and vibrant colors have retained a certain charm, appealing to those who appreciate nostalgia and classic aesthetics. While some criticize the graphics for being hard to distinguish and glitchy, others find them atmospheric and fitting for the game's fantasy setting, making it enjoyable despite its technical limitations.
- “The visual aesthetic is unique and charming, the music enchanting, the story campaigns are great (better than any of the later installments) and the units and factions are timeless.”
- “One of the best classic turn-based strategy games that still holds up today, 20 years after it released, thanks to hand-drawn graphics, a fantastic soundtrack and all-around great gameplay.”
- “The graphics hold up well, with an appealing palette, detailed sprites, and a varied landscape.”
- “Graphics are so bad it is hard to tell what unit is which.”
- “The game is old, the graphics are low, and the interface is crappy and needs to be remade entirely.”
- “The graphics are very dated, so if that's a sticking point, you might want to move on to Age of Wonders 2 or 3.”
story
158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The game features an engaging story with two distinct campaigns—light and dark—each offering branching paths and choices that significantly impact the narrative. While some players find the overall plot to be simple or fragmented, many appreciate the unique storytelling approach and the depth of the world, which is enriched by a charming visual aesthetic and memorable music. Despite some criticisms regarding coherence and execution, the multiple endings and replayability of the campaigns provide a captivating experience for those who enjoy strategic gameplay intertwined with narrative elements.
- “The game has an engaging campaign/story - two paths: light and dark, each worth playing, interesting quests. Even nowadays I play it from time to time and enjoy it very much.”
- “Each of the two main campaigns features heavily branching stories and missions based on the choices you make.”
- “The multiple endings are all quite different, and the branching storyline made replaying both campaigns a fresh experience the second time around.”
- “The campaign story itself is very fragmented, has major gaps, and is almost incoherent, which almost defeated the reason for me getting the game in the first place.”
- “While there are absolutely elements that carry over all the way through to AOW3, these elements mostly exist 'by mention' more so than by plot since the plot is extremely weak.”
- “With multiple attempts, I couldn't even make it past the first campaign story screen.”
gameplay
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The gameplay of this classic turn-based strategy game is characterized by its strategic and tactical modes, offering a blend of depth and accessibility with mechanics that remain engaging despite some dated elements. Players appreciate the rich lore, unique unit abilities, and the ability to manipulate the environment through magic, although some aspects, such as AI behavior and combat balance, can feel unrefined. Overall, while the game has its flaws, it is still considered a rewarding experience for fans of the genre, especially when played with an understanding of its mechanics.
- “For a game released in the 1990s, it had decent graphics and amazing game mechanics (heroes, monsters, spells, artifacts, ruins to explore, magic not only can be used in battle but also affect the map/landscape, like you can freeze the river in order to cross it; every detail makes this game incredible).”
- “Still, it’s a great game with gameplay that is easy to grasp while still having a good amount of depth and a lot of lore.”
- “One of the best classic turn-based strategy games that still holds up today, 20 years after it was released, thanks to hand-drawn graphics, a fantastic soundtrack, and all-around great gameplay.”
- “Overall, the game is quite wonderful when it comes to some aspects of its gameplay, and quite lacking in wonder when it comes to others.”
- “Even with a fan-made patch for the biggest issue, it remains glitchy in a number of other areas, often to the point that you can't even load up a map to begin gameplay.”
- “The game has not aged well; I'm not talking about graphics but gameplay.”
music
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
39%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its enchanting and memorable soundtrack, with many considering it a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. While some tracks are described as repetitive or average, the majority of players appreciate the atmospheric quality and nostalgic value of the music, often highlighting it as one of the best aspects of the game. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant contributor to the game's charm and enduring appeal, despite some criticisms regarding its comparison to contemporaneous titles.
- “The music really added to the immersion for me.”
- “One of the best classic turn-based strategy games that still holds up today, 20 years after it released, thanks to hand-drawn graphics, a fantastic soundtrack and all-around great gameplay.”
- “The soundtrack in my opinion is very strong with a fairly robust series of tracks composed by Michiel van den Bos (who went on to also score Age of Wonders III and its expansion).”
- “If you can get past the pixelated graphics (they don't hold up well in 2020), repetitive music and plain sound effects, the strategy side of the game is pretty good.”
- “Similarly, the soundtrack and effects don’t hold up and can’t compare to some of the musical masterpieces that came out with similar games of the times (Dark Reign, Warcraft), which was the weakest part of the game.”
- “This steaming pile of shit I give a 4/10 simply because it seems they kept most of the music and lore from the original.”
stability
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches that severely impact gameplay. While some users have found workarounds and noted that the game can run well on certain systems, the overall consensus is that it remains buggy and often unplayable, particularly on Windows 10. Many recommend following troubleshooting steps, but the persistent issues have led to frustration and dissatisfaction among the player base.
- “The Steam version runs great on modern machines.”
- “The game runs great on my system (using Windows 10) and still provides hours of fun.”
- “Because all of this pales in comparison to the amount of crashes and freezes and other 'exceptions' - as the game puts it - that lots of players (judging by the reviews), including myself, are being continuously subjected to.”
- “This game has so many bugs it is unplayable after 5 minutes (either you are booted from it or it freezes your PC no matter how powerful it is). Steam support is unable to refund for a game that is impossible to play and cannot refund because I've played over two hours (two hours of frozen screens whilst trying to figure the problem out) and has no help to sort the problem out.”
- “As it stands right now, the game freezes and crashes during every battle, regardless of whether I choose tactical battles or automatic battles.”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
The game boasts a high level of replayability, driven by features such as a robust level editor, diverse campaigns, and numerous factions and maps. Players can enjoy varied experiences through skirmishes and scenario choices, making it a standout in terms of replay value. Overall, the combination of these elements ensures that players will find plenty of reasons to return.
- “The level editor allows for hours of replay value.”
- “Both the campaigns and the scenarios offer a lot of replayability, due to the choices you make in the campaigns, as well as the numerous factions available in the scenarios.”
- “It has a high level of replay value due to the number of maps available.”
- “Replay value: this is a particular strength of Age of Wonders.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its impressive and funny sound effects, as well as memorable moments like lizardmen riding frogs. Players find the game to be both epic and hilarious, especially when enjoyed with friends, making it a fun and engaging experience. Overall, the blend of comedic elements and strategic gameplay adds a unique charm to the turn-based RPG.
- “One of the most fun, epic, hilarious games I have ever played!”
- “Scandalous funny moments like the silly walk of lizardmen riding on a frog (maybe it is not a minus after all).”
- “The sound effects are both humorous and great, while micro-managing cities and outposts while maintaining a steady flow of gold and magic adds an extra level to the turn-based RPG.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and uninspiring, often leading to a decline in enjoyment over time. While some elements, like dungeon exploration, are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by repetitive and frustrating gameplay mechanics.
- “Alas, its issues make it become quite tedious after a while, and so I cannot, in good conscience, give it that high a gameplay score.”
- “By convention, 'easy' should be 'hot knife through butter' with the AI in small numbers and/or being dumb as bricks, but in this game they are quite tedious.”
- “Tedious and uninspiring at best.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning graphics and beautiful music, creating an immersive experience that some players feel surpasses the sequels, despite their more polished gameplay. While the visuals may be considered outdated by some, the overall ambiance remains captivating and memorable.
- “The graphics are the most atmospheric I have ever seen in any game, and the music complements them beautifully.”
- “Beautiful music and atmospheric graphics create an immersive experience.”
- “While the sequels are more polished gameplay-wise, the original has much better immersion, atmosphere, and game feel.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized as a cheap cash grab, lacking the necessary effort to ensure quality and functionality. Despite this, some players feel it serves as an effective advertisement for the franchise.
- “Cheap cash grab for a classic without taking the time to make sure the game works correctly.”
- “I've played this for a couple of hours, and it is the best advertisement for their franchise that I could have possibly experienced.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from ongoing performance and stability issues, with frequent crashes reported by users.
- “Sometimes it will still continue to crash or have performance and stability issues.”
- “Sometimes it will still continue to crash or have performance and stability issues.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express strong appreciation for the character design, indicating that it significantly enhances their enjoyment of the game. However, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of growth or narrative progression.