So the game has good foundation but unfortunately feels tedious and "cheaty"?

So tedious part - for some reason turns feel like they take really long time. Comparing to "Endless Legend" where you have 300 turns before score victory. Here they have 150 turns but that feels a lot longer than endless 300. So it feels more like 450-600 turns in other similar games. - Probably because you will be micromanaging a lot of things.

What do I mean by cheaty. Well Ai is really weird in this game. So after playing 10-20 games I am usually maxed with 4-5 armies before I no longer can sustain the unit upkeep with gold. That means I can only attack with 2-3 armies and the other 2 have to defend.

Yet just now I finished a game where I had only 3 armies to defend and AI through 8 armies at me. (its not all tier 1-2 that are cheap, he had a lot of expensive units).

So my problem with this game - how can AI field 8 armies? it was a free for all game with 3 other AI in a state of permanent war with everyone. Does the ai who took 8 armies to attack me not need to defend from other players each throwing 8 armies at him? I really don't understand this game and I am tired of trying.

I've always had a love-hate relationship with 4x games, from Stellaris to Civ. This is the first time it's only love. I can really get creative with my factions, and each campaign feels more like a new story instead of just a map with victory conditions. Heroes grow and develop, meaning your strongest units are always going to feel more personal. The diplomacy system with grievances and alliances finally feels right; no more declaring war on the whole world just to claim that one city you really needed. The units are epic and satisfying. Instead of the same dozens of ships or archers you can field armies of eldritch monsters, dragons, and golems. Every map can differ so wildly, as well as the factions, that you constantly have to adapt in new ways. It's a lot easier to catch up as well; no longer do you have to just restart if you're too far behind on turn 20 (at least on easy-normal difficulties).

Finally, I can finally get absorbed into global conquest, sink 20 more hours into it than I planned for the day, and NOT regret it afterward, because at least I had a blast.

Finally I can scratch that "lead an empire" itch without getting frustrated and bored before the campaign is even over.

Great game! Used to be a huge Heroes of Might & Magic fan as a kid, and this is the first strategy game I've played since Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. This game reminds me so much of the fun I had playing those games back in the day. 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for something that takes a little more brainpower than point and click shooters or button mashing fighters.

---{Graphics}---
🔳 You forget what reality is
☑️ Beautiful
🔳 Stylistic
🔳 Good
🔳 Decent
🔳 Bad
🔳 Don‘t look too long at it

---{Gameplay}---
☑️ Very good
🔳 Good
🔳 It‘s just gameplay
🔳 Mehh
🔳 Watch paint dry instead
🔳 Just don't

---{Audio}---
🔳 Eargasm
🔳 Very good
☑️ Good
🔳 Not too bad
🔳 Bad
🔳 I'm now deaf

---{Audience}---
🔳Kids
☑️Teens
☑️ Adults


---{Requirements}---
🔳Check if you can run Microsoft Office
🔳 Low
☑️ Medium
🔳 High end
🔳 NASA computer

---{Difficulity}---
🔳 Just press 'W'
🔳 Easy
🔳 Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑️ Average (Depends on the difficulty set)
🔳 Difficult
🔳 Dark Souls

---{Grind}---
☑️ Nothing to grind
🔳 Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks/achievements
🔳 Isn't necessary to progress
🔳 Average grind level
🔳 Too much grind
🔳 You‘ll need a second life for grinding

---{Story}---
🔳 No Story
🔳 Like Playing "Candy Crush" For The Story
🔳 It's Alright
☑️ Well Written
🔳Epic Story
🔳 It‘ll replace your life

---{Game Time}---
🔳Very short (0 - 5 h)
🔳Short (5 - 15 h)
🔳Average (15 - 25 h)
🔳 Long (25 - 60 h)
☑️ Very long (60+ h)
🔳 To infinity and beyond

---{Price}---
🔳 It’s free!
🔳 Underpriced
🔳 Worth the price
☑️ If it's on sale
🔳 Could Be Cheaper
🔳 Overpriced
🔳 You could also just burn your money

---{Bugs}---
🔳Never heard of
☑️Minor bugs
🔳 Can get annoying
🔳 ARK: Survival Evolved
🔳 The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs


---{10/10}---
🔳1
🔳2
🔳3
🔳4
🔳5
🔳6
🔳7
🔳8
🔳9
☑️10

This time I gave it a 10 regardless of the analysis above, it's worth adding some additional information:

This game is indeed engaging, paradoxo knows how to create its games with care and attention. There are several TBS out there, however, it is worth remembering that what makes a game special is precisely because of its unique dynamics, this is the strong point of AoW4, different from other TBS and, different from other AoW.

I recently bought it. Given the reality of my country, the game is quite expensive due to its expansions, but I say, it was worth every penny. It's worth the recommendation for those looking for a cool story, looking for a certain "Sandbox" in the amount of strategy possible, and for those looking for fun, because although today it's something forgotten, games are created to have fun and this one is a wealth of fun. Good game and have fun!

game killed my gpu. thanks paradox

Fun game.

But all the DLCs could have been amazing additions to the game. After looking at the DLCs, it makes the base game look empty. If I knew they intended to release crazy amounts of DLC, I wouldn't have bought the game.

It's civilization, but with magic, monsters, and RPG elements with custom rulers & heroes.

The good civ style overworld gameplay is brought down by the poor battling. Stellaris is a better game with the same main draw of customization, and civ has similar main gameplay without the bad part

Just keeps getting better with each DLC

I can't tear myself away from AoW4, playing it for days on end. It brings back the cozy nostalgia of my school days spent with Civilization, where even during lessons, I’d plan my next city upgrade. It’s pure joy to fall into the classic 'just one more turn' trap and lose hours immersed in its magic