Age of Wonders 4

Age of Wonders 4 is a 2023 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Paradox Interactive. It is the sixth game in the Age of Wonders series, following Age of Wonders: Planetfall.

Plot
At the end of Shadow Magic the warring Wizard Kings and Shadow Demons were banished from Athla. Thus the Third Age of AoW III was a lower-magic era. The Human Commonwealth's renaissance empire filled the power vacuum of the banished archmages.

When wizards such as Yaka, Karissa, and Nimue left Athla in search of riches in the Shadow Realm, Merlin sealed their return path. They became stuck in the void between realms. The Torment of Shadows left them scarred and mentally warped. They were corrupted for centuries in the Eldritch domains. Yet some claimed new domains and followers in faraway realms. The scheming Shadowborn helped the Wizard Kings escape their otherworldly prisons and return to Athla to establish themselves as gods over mortals.

The Fourth Age heralds a new beginning where magical forces flow freely again. The returning Wizard Kings first preyed on bountiful and harmonic realms to hone their skills. They are no longer limited to their original mortal form and can create vastly different followers. A new mortal ruler rises to protect the Fields of Rebirth from the invasion. The mortal champion is ascending to Godirhood on Athla and challenged by old Wizard Kings who reclaim the realms from which they were banished. The mortal champion must prepare by mastering forbidden arts and rallying the population for an unparalleled confrontation in the universe. The conflicts occur on Athla and other worlds within the Astral Sea. Only by ascending to Godir can the mortal champion save the people from the dangers beyond the World Gates. The fate of all Godir in the Astral Sea is threatened by an unfolding grand plot in Magehaven.

Setting
AoW 4 takes place on Athla and other worlds in the Astral Sea. Athla is one of the oldest worlds with great natural beauty and magical potency due to the convergence of Astral Flows. Through the ages, Athla had a pivotal role in the shaping of the cosmos with important battles of conquest and many Godir originate from this planet. The Elven Court of House Inioch was sacked by the first Athlan humans. In the Fourth Age, the Ascended Champion who joined the Pantheon of Godir at Magehaven, starts on the Valley of Wonders in the Blessed Continent on Athla. The Ascended Champion must build a new home for their tribe in the Valley of Wonders and overcome a clash with the returning Wizard Kings who seek power across the realms of the Astral Sea.

All worlds beyond Athla are connected through the vast ethereal ocean called the Astral Sea. Some of these distant worlds are explorable by the mortal champions and claimable as their own. The ascended Mortal Champions and Wizards become godlike Godir capable of traveling between the worlds and create followers. The gathering of Godir on Magehaven became known as the Pantheon. Magehaven is a world in the Astral Sea where the Godir hold their forum of dispute and council. An unbreakable spell protects all living creatures and souls in Magehaven. Each Godir is part of the grand Pantheon of the Astral Sea. The most important alliances are the lawful Covenant and the conniving Shad’rai. The Covenant want to uphold ancient agreements of peace and stability. The chaotic Shad'rai believe no power should be hidden and invade worthy realms for domination. The Godir built magic portals called World Gates to allow near-instant access to new realms.

Gameplay
AoW 4 is a turn-based strategy game set within a high fantasy universe. The core 4X-based gameplay is similar to the prequels with a plethora of improvements, new systems and deep customization. There are 2 turn systems options: Classic Turns and Simultaneous Turns. Classic Turns mode; each player plays their turn in order. Simultaneous Turns; all players play their turns simultaneously. However, battles have the classic wait for your turn style.

Factions
Each faction consists of a race and Ruler. There are 20 official factions or build a unique starting race defined by their physical form, culture, traits and magical tome. There are over 10 physical forms ranging from Humans to Molekin and 36 traits. The player chooses the ruler's origin: Champion or Wizard King. A Champion is a mortal risen from the ranks of their people. A Wizard King seeks dominion over a new realm and can be a different race than the followers. There are new faction creation and evolution systems and an enhanced avatar character creator. The player's faction embodies their traits. Players can determine the research, build and evolution paths of their factions.

Realms
There are multiple official realms with distinct portal visions; The Fields of Rebirth, Valley of Wonders, The Crystalized Sands, Paradise Plains, The Infinite Forest, The Vacant Throne, The Husklands, The Frostbreeze Valleys. The Tiers indicate the difficulty level. The Valley of Wonders is the first story realm about the Rise of the Godir. The new realm creation options enable the player to customize and create new realms. There are a variety of traits such as geography, climate, inhabitants, environmental effects, rule modifiers, free city and unit modifiers. However, there is no map editor to design the shape of continents or islands.

Narrative
The new narrative engine adds encounters, diplomacy and events reactions to players. There are also story missions and narrative events. However, there is no linear story campaign with missions. The player can set Bounties which are optional quests with rewards for other Rulers.

Cities
The city domain expands based on population growth. Each province has optional improvements. Cities have separate queues for structures and units. Imperium is the resource for empire management.

Combat
The turn based combat has a new morale system, and clearly defined unit roles. There are many new units and abilities. The new siege system adds preparations and options for defenders.

Tomes
There are over 50 tomes of magic with 6 affinities to the cosmic powers.

Development and release
AoW 4 was announced on January 19, 2023 for the PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It's powered by an upgraded Creator Engine which was also used for all the previous titles of Triumph Studios. Development took nearly 4 years. The central theme of AoW 4 is creation. AoW III's lower magic era has autumn hues, renaissance, and industrialization. In contrast, AoW 4 has fresh spring hues, early medieval/fantasy, creation and high magic. The art style has more fresh, green and blue tinted color palettes. The game launched on May 2, 2023.

Music
Michiel van den Bos composed the nearly 2 hours long OST of AoW 4. It consists of mostly completely new music material with a few nods to legacy AoW songs. On May 15, 2023, a lo-fi soundtrack of AoW 4 composed and mixed by Van den Bos was released on YouTube. It includes some classic AoW 1 and 3 songs. Van den Bos made 6 additional songs for the Empires & Ashes expansion.

Downloadable content
Three DLC has been released for the game. Each one is optional and can be installed on the base game in any order.

Empires & Ashes
The first expansion of AoW 4 released on 7 Nov, 2023. It added the Avian form, the militaristic Reaver culture, four tomes, the Seals of Power victory mechanic, two story missions, an ancient wonder and an infestation location, wildlife units and mounts, and six music tracks by Van den Bos. The free Golem Update was released simultaneously for all players. It features the Item Forge, and reworks for core systems such as form traits.

Eldritch Realms
The second expansion released on 18 June 2024. It added new features: the Umbral Abyss map layer, the Eldritch Sovereign ruler type, three tomes (Tentacle, Corruption and Cleansing Flame), an event system with mini-crises, two forms (Insectoids and Syrons), two story realms, two mounts, three realm traits, three realm templates, five pre-made rulers, and six music tracks by Van den Bos.

Dragon Dawn
The Dragon Dawn content pack was released on June 20, 2023. This DLC added Dragon Lords, the Lizardfolk form, the Dragon Ruler godir origin, additional tomes, and the Ashen War realm. The Wyvern Update was also released for all players. It includes new traits, Cavalry and mounted units, and world map improvements.

Primal Fury
The Primal Fury content pack added the forms Lupine and Goatkin, the Primal culture, new tomes, the Stormwreathed Isles realm, four Achievements, four new mounts and more, on 27 February 2024. The Wolf Update is free for all players and includes War Bounties, Hero Recruitment, a Necromancy overhaul, Pantheon Expansion and QoL improvements.

Critical reception
Age of Wonders 4 received a "generally favorable" reception from video game publications on release (88% positive). PCGamesN said: "This is undoubtedly the best 4X game I’ve played in years, delivering top-notch exploration, combat, and diplomacy alongside a rewarding and dynamic customisation system." Polygon said: "Age of Wonders 4 is good fun as a solidly entertaining amalgamation of familiar things I love." PC Gamer called the game "A flavourful and inventive 4X".

Sales
The game sold 250,000 copies in less than a week by May 9, 2023. There were 42,826 peak concurrent Steam players on May 1, 2023.

Awards
AoW 4 won the Best Game award at the Dutch Game Awards in 2023. The judges said AoW 4 is an excellent continuation of the series, innovative within the strategy genre and combines old and new mechanics to create a masterpiece. It was added to the Collection of Sound & Vision for preservation.