Rise of Empires: Ice and Fire

About

"Rise of Empires: Ice and Fire" is a 4X strategy game with a good story and ingenious gameplay, but marred by excessive grinding, annoying ads, and bugs. Despite its flaws, the game offers perfect visuals, good music, and hilarious moments. The game challenges you to build and conquer your own empire in the age of war.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Rise of Empires: Ice and Fire screenshot

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 9,994 reviews

graphics606 positive mentions

monetization748 negative mentions

The game has great graphics and an engaging storyline that keeps players interested.
Players can enjoy the game without spending money, although spending can enhance the experience.
The community aspect is strong, with opportunities to connect and collaborate with players from around the world.

The game heavily promotes pay-to-win mechanics, making it difficult for free players to compete.
There are frequent bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, including issues with loading and freezing.
The tutorial is overly long and restrictive, preventing players from fully exploring the game on their own.

monetization
907 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
10%
82%
The monetization aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players criticizing the misleading advertisements that falsely portray the gameplay as similar to classic titles like Age of Empires. Users report a heavy reliance on in-app purchases and subscriptions, often labeling the game as "pay-to-win," which creates a significant gap between paying and non-paying players. While some players appreciate the option to play without spending money, they note that progress becomes increasingly difficult without financial investment, leading to frustration and disappointment.
- “Love that in-app purchases are not necessary to play or build.”
- “Super enjoyable game with good playability without in-app purchases.”
- “Great game, fun and doesn't require buying anything; sure it helps with progression, but the game does a good job at making you feel good without spending money, and there are no ads so far!”
- “It's not a bad game, but it's very different from the ads, and a significant portion of the game is locked behind a super expensive subscription-based paywall.”
- “While the game was exciting and engaging until now, the last few months seem to be a cash grab from the developers, with skins and packs every day.”
- “The game is nothing like the advertisements make it seem; it's just another trashy pay-to-win game in the mobile gaming cesspool.”
graphics
883 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
28%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their quality and detail, often noting that they are visually appealing and reminiscent of classic titles like Age of Empires. However, some users criticize the graphics for being outdated or lacking in flexibility, and there are concerns about performance issues on lower-end devices. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered a strong point, there are calls for further improvements and optimizations to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The graphics are outstanding and the dialogue is on point.”
- “Graphics are amazing, animations are believable and the voice acting is a bonus.”
- “The graphics are exceptional and worth the installation.”
- “The graphics are old school...so boring, little comical.”
- “The graphics are nothing like the ads either...the first 20 minutes have some cool animations then it is the same old boring farm and gather as every other game of this style.”
- “The graphics are very old looking, gameplay is terrible, just looks out of date.... bad bad bad.... uninstalled it after 2 days.”
gameplay
487 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
63%
6%
Gameplay reviews for this game reveal a mixed bag of experiences. Many players appreciate the engaging mechanics and graphics, noting that the gameplay can be fun and addictive, especially with various quests and challenges. However, a significant number of users criticize the game for its heavy reliance on pay-to-win mechanics, misleading advertisements that showcase gameplay from other titles like Age of Empires, and a lack of originality, leading to a repetitive and frustrating experience for free-to-play users. Overall, while some find enjoyment in the gameplay, the monetization strategies and false advertising detract from the overall experience.
- “I like the gameplay and how the developers made the way on how we build and expand.”
- “Gameplay is smooth.”
- “Enjoyable game, immersive, a lot of gameplay to take in, with base building, upgrading individual characters, your fighting units, technology etc. if you like those aspects in a game this is one for you.”
- “The gameplay is nothing like the age of empires I know.”
- “The ads straight up steal aoe 2 footage and try to pass it off as their own gameplay, not to mention the game plays nothing like an aoe game at all.”
- “This game uses gameplay from another game entirely as adverts, mount & blade: bannerlord.”
story
351 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
51%
5%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated into the gameplay, while others criticize it for being overly linear and restrictive. Many appreciate the graphics and the initial storyline, but express frustration over the forced progression and the prevalence of pay-to-win mechanics that hinder quest completion. Overall, while the story has potential, it often feels bogged down by repetitive quests and a lack of player agency.
- “The game is captivating, plenty of story line and a good mix of add-on activities - events.”
- “The story is interesting so far as well, love the voice acting too~ 💙💙💙”
- “Great graphics and story line well put together.”
- “The storyline is exceptionally lame, more so than others of a similar genre.”
- “You don't make any choices, it's just a story in which you're shown and told what to do.”
- “Game is nothing like what's advertised... ads show 'Age of Empire' gameplay... and this game is nothing like 'Age of Empires'... it's not even close... total waste of time with the story and dialogues.”
stability
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
3%
95%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent freezes, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players experience black screens and slow loading times, often requiring them to restart their devices. Overall, the game's performance issues have led to frustration among users, who feel that the developers are neglecting necessary fixes in favor of monetization.
- “No glitches or any real performance issues.”
- “Game is also smooth, no freezes, no bugs, no ads 👍”
- “So far no glitches.”
- “It freezes every 5 minutes.”
- “But it doesn't even open; it just freezes my whole phone and I just get a black screen.”
- “Game crashes all the time, buggy as hell, doesn't load, is pay-to-win, unskippable cut scenes, and freezes during forced tutorials.”
grinding
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The grinding aspect of the game is a major point of contention among players, with many describing it as tedious and time-consuming, often leading to frustration. While some enjoy the extensive resource gathering and building mechanics, others feel that the game heavily leans towards a pay-to-win model, making progress feel slow and unfulfilling without spending money. Overall, players recommend the game for those who enjoy grinding, but caution that it can become repetitive and overwhelming, especially at higher levels.
- “Good tutorial to get a broad bit of knowledge on how to play, and the resources aren't overbearing, so there's no grinding 24/7.”
- “Easy to play, good graphics, fun, good storyline, not too grindy (at least to start with), and easy interaction with other players.”
- “The game has become greedy and tedious.”
- “Grinding is just a waste of time rather than a productive experience.”
- “The game is too repetitive and not fun to play once you reach around level 18 as it requires a lot of grinding.”
music
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
78%
6%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the fun and relaxing background tracks, while others criticize the inability to turn off or adjust the volume of the music, especially during tutorials. Many users have pointed out that the game heavily borrows music and graphics from Age of Empires, leading to accusations of misleading advertising and copyright infringement. Overall, while some find the music enjoyable, the lack of customization options and the association with Age of Empires detracts from the experience for many players.
- “The theme music is fun.”
- “Music is nice and mellow.”
- “I just installed the game, normally I find this genre boring but when I started playing I love the in-game music as it is relaxing and you can think and strategize what you need to do.”
- “The gameplay is nothing like Age of Empires, nor are the sounds or music like the ads make one believe.”
- “Going through the cut scenes, the music is too loud and the characters are whispering, and when you start a new build or upgrade, the sound is bugged and robotic.”
- “Every time I open the game, I just get the Angry Birds theme song blaring through the game.”
optimization
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
39%
14%
The optimization of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and good graphics, while others report significant issues such as frame stuttering, lag, and poor mobile compatibility. Many users express a desire for better optimization, particularly for mobile devices, citing problems with storage and frequent updates that hinder performance. Overall, while some find the game enjoyable and well-optimized, a substantial number of players highlight the need for serious improvements in this area.
- “It runs smoothly with excellent beginner instruction.”
- “No glitches or any real performance issues.”
- “I am playing for a long time, I am level 25 castle and all I can say it's a very optimized game and you can play without spending money at all.”
- “This game is at its very core unoptimized if it can't be easily run on a device like mine.”
- “I experienced frame stuttering and massive lag.”
- “The game is not optimized at all... in the tutorial itself most of the icons are black, due to which the person playing the game doesn't even know what he is pressing. This game needs some serious optimization from scratch.”
humor
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding the dialogue and character interactions amusing, as well as the absurdity of the game's pay-to-win mechanics. While some appreciate the comedic elements and quirky design, others criticize the misleading advertisements and basic humor, suggesting that the game's comedic value may not be as strong as initially perceived. Overall, the humor adds a layer of entertainment, but opinions on its effectiveness vary widely among players.
- “Any problem you may have, be sure that the machine will answer invariably 'please send us a screenshot'... hilarious.”
- “Tried the game because of the funny ads.”
- “Nice game, the little comments the workers say are funny because they are silly.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
13%
Players express a range of emotional responses to the game, from nostalgia and disappointment to frustration and exhaustion. While some find moments that evoke strong feelings, others criticize the repetitive mechanics and lack of originality, leading to a sense of emotional letdown. Overall, the emotional impact varies significantly among users, with some feeling deeply connected and others feeling misled and dissatisfied.
- “Could even become emotionally exhausting.”
- “With the use of our minds and bodies, mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, we can create kingdoms or tiny homes.”
- “Gave it two stars only because it made me feel nostalgic about another game I used to play.”
- “Nothing to do with what is announced in the many advertisements for this game. Boring story, more of the same like thousands of other games with the same mechanics. After seeing this game's advertisements ad nauseam, I gave it a go, and I was disappointed.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its engaging design and social elements, creating an enjoyable experience for players. However, concerns are raised about the presence of toxic behavior and the developers' lack of action to foster a more positive environment. Overall, while many players appreciate the atmosphere, there are significant issues that detract from it.
- “One of the best strategy games of all time, so addictive and lovely with a beautiful atmosphere, easy daily tasks, and interesting challenges.”
- “Thoroughly enjoy the game and atmosphere.”
- “Great game with a good social atmosphere; really nice and enjoyable.”
- “Developers allow hate speech, vulgarity, racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc., despite many reports and complaints over a long period of time about one bully player. Developers do absolutely nothing to protect the rest of the players and their right to play in a friendly atmosphere.”
- “Great atmosphere.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
Character development in the game is notably inconsistent, with some players criticizing the dialogue and the progression of characters as strange or lacking depth, while others find the overall experience enjoyable and engaging despite these flaws.
- “The character development is incredibly engaging and adds depth to the overall experience.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making each decision feel impactful.”
- “The growth of the characters is well-written and makes you genuinely care about their journeys.”
- “Terrible dialogue, strange character development.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users express uncertainty about the game's replayability, comparing it to other wallet-draining apps and suggesting that it may not offer significant long-term engagement.
- “It's too early to tell if this game is any more playable than the countless other wallet-sucking apps out there.”
- “Once you've completed the main storyline, there's little incentive to dive back in.”
- “The lack of diverse gameplay mechanics makes it hard to find reasons to replay.”