Age of Wonders: Planetfall

I bought this game not long after it was released, but didn't play it until three to four years later. For whatever reason like many people I just couldn't get into it, however I did manage eventually, and let me tell you this, this is the best 4X game I've ever played! As far as I know this is the only 4X game with X-COM like combat, though not exactly like X-COM, it's very fun regardless. This game has everything, great visuals, art, sound, voice acting and writing. You will not be disappointed on any one of those points. There are some bugs but it was never a deal breaker for me, it didn't delete my save or corrupt my games, just some minor bugs. Game wise, the one shortcoming is diplomacy, it's very basic. Other then that I don't have any other gripes. The factions in this game are all very unique, it's very well done! A faction is not just composed of a race but also a secret tech, so you can have many combination to play with. Some races does have slightly difference with their secret tech. Units and technologies are also very unique to the faction or secret tech, non playable units are also very cool, and you can get those units in many ways. 198 hours in and I am still not very good at it yet, so I don't know what it's like to play it on very high level, currently I am enjoying hard difficulty AI and normal over all difficulty. The in game encyclopedia is very thorough, maybe missing one or two concepts or I just couldn't find them. But it's nothing major, I can learn them just through game play alone, so don't worry about the game keeping secrets from you.

I refunded this after about an hour when it first came out. Coming straight from Age of Wonders III probably didn’t help, the shift to sci-fi, the different pacing, and the way systems were presented just felt off at the time. It didn’t grab me, and I didn’t feel like pushing through to figure it out. Got access to it again later and decided to give it another go after spending a lot of time with Age of Wonders 4, and it’s a completely different story. Once you understand how Triumph builds these games, Planetfall makes a lot more sense. The mod system, unit roles, and combat depth are all doing interesting things, they’re just not explained particularly well up front. What felt clunky before now feels more like a different design approach. You can also see pretty clearly how Planetfall feeds into AoW4. A lot of the ideas are here in an earlier form, especially around unit customisation and empire progression, just adapted to a sci-fi setting. It’s still not the most accessible entry point, and I think bouncing off it early (especially coming from Age of Wonders III) is understandable. But if you’ve gotten into AoW4 and are curious where some of those systems came from, it’s worth another look.

I hardly ever review a game but I had to for AoW4 and Planetfall. I am stunned that this game has mixed reviews. Are you people out of your minds? I've had a blast playing this game both solo and with friends. Bought it on sale a few weeks ago almost have 50 hours played 0 bugs or crashes great game 9/10 would buy again don't listen to the haters.

Play This instead of Age Of Wonders 4 - Why? Welll.... 1. It's complete 2. No more DLC ???? oh did you need more? It's everything Age Of Wonders 4 COULD be ironically. Less customization OBVIOUSLY - But the game is refined and COMPLETE.

[b]Tactical soul trapped in a depriming ground-slog[/b] As a fan of the original Age of Wonders and Master of Magic, Planetfall is a massive letdown. While the tactical combat engine is excellent, the rest of the game feels like a soulless chore. Instead of embracing the "Master of Orion 2" DNA—which would have been the logical evolution for a Sci-Fi AoW—we got a boring, brown-and-grey ground-slogger. There is no "Sense of Wonder." Instead of majestic star systems and epic ship-to-ship combat, you are stuck micromanaging cluttered sectors on a muddy planet surface. The visual design is a major step back. The factions lack the iconic soul of the 90s. Even the Amazons have been "sanitized"—losing their classic, elegant warrior aesthetic for a bulky, generic look that fits the modern "safe-design" trend. Everything feels sterilized and "Disneyfied," lacking the grit, blood, and dark atmosphere (and the uncensored character designs) that made AoW1 so immersive. Even the developer (Jordi) admitted on the forums that the game failed to find a significant audience to warrant support beyond the first season pass. It’s a sterile 4X that traded soul and atmosphere for clinical complexity. Great tactical combat, but the rest is a depriming slog.

My personal favorite entry in the Age of Wonders franchise.

Is the game straightforward? Yes. Does it lack depth? Yes. Is the game good? Absolutely. Do you wanna play as Space Dwarves with Protoss technology? Yes you do! 7/10. The fun of having Age of Wonders build variety but in space!

Идеально гармоничная смесь Civilization, HoMM и XCOM. Ни один из аспектов не уходит в крайность, от каждого добавлено только самое интересное. И все это в классном сеттинге, с хорошей графикой и разнообразными фракциями. 10/10

great game to learn and play

Combo of Civilization and XCOM - really enjoying it so far!