Updated Review (January 2025)

A classic RTS which has outlived many of its predecessors and successors (including the original AoE). 25 years and still going strong with loads of new content every year and updates that keep the game not only fresh but also balanced.

This revision of the game on launch included all the previous expansions, namely, the original Conquerors plus all 3 HD expansions (Forgotten, African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas) and 4 brand new civilizations, namely the Bulgarians, Cumans, Lithuanians and Tatars in a whole new free pack named The Last Khans.

The original pricetag for this game was really cheap, ranging at 8 dollars, however, as of 2024 it has increased to roughly 18 dollars, as it now bundles the base game with its 3 original DLC (Lord of the West, Dawn of the Dukes and Dynasties of India), making the game even more diverse and full of features. Everyone who owned the game prior to this merge got all those DLC for free if they didn't have it, which is honestly amazing for keeping players interested.

This game also features the original Age of Empires in the form of Return of Rome, a kind of spin-off DLC which brings all the original civs and its dynamics to a more modern engine with all the AoE2 quality of life features, on top of that it includes a brand new civilization (The Lac Viet), and to top it all off it also adds the Romans to the base game.

There's also the currently ongoing Chronicles mode (DLC), which is also set in antiquity but with gameplay and unit design more akin to the base game rather than the first one which features a long campaign with different civilizations where your previous choices matter and affect how things turn out. Truly a new way of experiencing the game.

All of this brings the total of civilizations to a whopping 45, where, as of writing this review, only 3 are DLC (Romans, Georgians and Armenians), also not counting the 17 from Return of Rome and the currently 3 from Chronicles, which again, are also optional DLC content.

The Scenario Editor in particular is fully expanded and fleshed out in this installement, with more customization than ever via triggers (more than ever before), winning conditions, etc. There's a bit of everything for everyone, even the ones that never touched the editor before! New editors will love the amount of options they have available while experienced ones will fully bring those to their full potential.

There are more types of map and options to play than ever, ranging from the Battle Royale, where players must survive the corruption, to the Empire Wars where players start off with a small settlement on the Feudal Age and must expand quickly and prepare to attack or be attacked by the enemy. In regards to maps you have your standard land maps such as Arabia, Black Forest, Arena, Fortress to the more complex Runestones or Seize the Mountain. Hybrid maps such as classic Continental, Mediterranean or Nomad to Bog Islands, Dunesprings or Hamburger. Last but not least, water maps such as Islands/Team Islands.

There are new and improved ways to enjoy viewing your replays, since CaptureAge is now integrated into the game itself and can be launched directly after one. Sure, there are a few options unavailable unless you pay the developers, but its not that expensive and its really worth it if you're focused on improving by watching you or other players or streaming games ala T90.

In regards to ranked, the game now fully embraces the competitive side and it has been vastly improved in comparison to the slow, sloppy mess that was HD. There's a working elo system that matches you with players close to your level and gives or takes score accordingly, there are also map bans, preferred maps and a few other useful options that overall make the ranked experience much more smooth. However, i have noticed a few ocassional bugs happening now and then, but nothing gamebreaking or that actually affects the game experience itself.

Last but not least, campaigns. There are currently 37 well polished and thoughtout campaigns, not including the new Art of War challenges (which puts you to the test to train your skills), the Historical Battles (which have been improved and expanded upon) or the Victors and Vanquished DLC campaigns (which im not a fan of). There's a lot to play through and with over 202 achivements for the base game, plus 14 from The Mountains Royals DLC, 20 from the Victors and Vanquished Campaign DLC, 39 from the Return of Rome DLC and 26 from the Chronicles DLC, you'll be spending a lot of time trying to 100% the game cause there's in total a whopping 301 achivements. I myself only have about half of them without having played most of the campaigns, but im sure people with enough time and skill will be able to get all of them in no time!

In conclusion: There's a lot of content for singeplayer and infinite replayability on multiplayer, i think if we counted the hours i spend playing the Original AoE2 and HD Edition it would be more than 10.000 for sure! I have over 800 on this version of the game alone, so its a must play if you're a RTS enjoyer or a casual player, you'll be entertained by what this game has to offer.

Score: 9.5/10
(Would be a 10/10 if DLC weren't overpriced)