The best “Age of” game, and honestly one of the most memorable RTS experiences out there. Age of Mythology takes the familiar Age of Empires formula and meaningfully expands on it by adding gods, mythological units, and the favor (faith) system, which completely changes how the game plays. On top of that, it delivers a surprisingly strong story campaign rooted in Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology. At its core, it’s still classic real-time strategy. You gather food, wood, and gold, with favor added as a fourth resource, and use those to build your settlement, train units, and research upgrades. Advancing through the ages Archaic, Classical, Heroic, and Mythic unlocks new buildings, technologies, gods, and units, and each age-up feels impactful rather than just a stat bump.
There are three main factions Greeks (including Atlanteans), Egyptians, and Norse. What really sets them apart is how deeply their mechanics differ. You begin by choosing a major god, which grants permanent bonuses, and with every age advancement you choose between two minor gods, each offering unique technologies, myth units, and a one-time god power. These god powers range from small economic boosts, like attracting animals for easier hunting, to devastating abilities like meteor strikes or long term income generators. The higher the age, the more powerful and game-changing these abilities become. Myth units are a huge part of the appeal. Greeks get Minotaurs, Centaurs, and legendary heroes; Norse field Giants, Trolls, and Valkyries; and Egyptians summon Scarabs, multiple types of Sphinxes, and Mummies. All of these require favor, and how you generate favor depends on your faction. Greeks gain it by praying at temples, Egyptians by building monuments, and Norse primarily by fighting (with smaller gains from hunting and fishing). This alone adds a lot of variety, but it doesn’t stop there.
Each faction plays fundamentally differently. Egyptians start weaker militarily but have strong priests who can heal and counter myth units early on. Norse use mobile ox carts as storage and production buildings, giving them incredible flexibility compared to the more static playstyles of the other factions. Greeks have some of the strongest conventional units in the game, but they’re expensive, and favor generation competes directly with your economy, forcing careful planning. Despite all these differences, the game feels impressively balanced, which is something a lot of RTS games struggle with.
The gameplay is excellent overall deep, varied, and endlessly replayable. It’s the kind of game you come back to every few years and immediately get hooked again. It’s also far more approachable than many other RTS titles, which is something a lot of players have pointed out over the years. The campaign deserves special praise. It’s not just a series of loosely connected missions, but a fully realized story that draws heavily from mythology. You play as Arkantos, an Atlantean admiral on the brink of retirement who gets pulled into a war between Greek colonies and Troy a conflict that turns out to be only the beginning of something much larger. The writing, pacing, and use of mythological lore go far beyond what you’d expect from the genre, and many RTS campaigns fail to reach this level of cohesion. With 32 scenarios, the campaign is long, varied, and never felt repetitive to me. On top of that, there’s multiplayer and an excellent scenario editor that lets you create your own missions, which adds even more longevity.
Visually, the game looked great for its time and has aged surprisingly well. The intro cinematic is still fantastic, and the soundtrack remains excellent. Even after multiple playthroughs, the game never gets boring or fails to deliver. This is not only my favorite game in the Age franchise, but one of my favorite RTS games ever made. It’s an easy recommendation, and I really hope the series continues with new entries in the future.
