Age of Wonders 4 Preview

Age of Wonders 4 is developed by Triumph Studios and published by Paradox Interactive. It will be a while before the final version is ready in May, but I was able to attend a preview event and get an impression.

Like its predecessors, Age of Wonders 4 is a turn-based fantasy strategy game in the tradition of Heroes of Might and Magic stands and loosens up with modern elements of the game mechanics. The first part – Age of Wonders – came out in 1999. After more than twenty years and four more titles, it will be time in May 2023 and you will once again have the opportunity to lead your own faction to victory. Different from the last one published offshoot Age of Wonders – Planetfall (In the test 7.5), you are no longer in a science fiction world, but back in the classic setting.

In Age of Wonders – Planetfall, too, it was possible to give your character an individual look and change your face, hair or armor.
Age of Wonders 4 extends this feature and offers you a very large selection of optical details. Your hero is not tied to the faction in terms of appearance. A magical frogman leading a group of human barbarians is entirely within the realm of possibility.

Among other things, you can also use the sliders to change the length of limbs during character creation, which then leads to creations that are fun to look at. Of course, it’s also possible to take the system a little more seriously and create a malicious witch king or a noble knight prince.

The creation of your faction, on the other hand, is not as detailed, in which you do not determine the basic race, but the physical form. They give you a physical and a mental trait that can affect your playstyle. Physical traits include choice of mount, while mental traits include adapting to different biomes. In addition, there is the choice of culture, which affects clothing and armor, as well as social attributes, such as the special affinity for magic or ritual cannibalism. The kit is very large and you can use it to create individual factions according to your wishes.

The worlds in which you start your adventure are also diverse. In the preview there was the beginner realm, the first story realm and other cards from
Tier 1 through Tier 3. Each realm has up to eight different traits. Four of these determine geography, climate, inhabitants and the dominant kingdom. The other four slots are for environmental effects like Arcane Storms, Free Cities Traits, and other mods. With this system you can also create your own worlds, in which you also have other settings, such as the number of players and the difficulty.

In the advanced options, you also have the option of determining the factions that should be resident in the created realm. The options for the multiplayer rounds can also be found here. However, multiplayer was not enabled for the current build.

The magic you cast and learn is dependent on the Tomes of Magic. From a total of twelve books you choose the first one when creating a faction. You gain access to additional spell books during the round. What you can research from the book is determined by chance. But you also have the chance to re-roll the suggestions you drew. As the game progresses, you put together your own repertoire of spells that affect your faction. The tomes also have different tier levels, which unlock powerful spells.

With so much choice, sorcery only inhibits your own mana. Therefore, a decision has to be made: What do you want to spend the precious arcane currency on? To improve your units or for healing spells? It is also possible to summon creatures and damage enemy units. Which of the options suits you best depends on your playstyle.

The provinces on the map all have different shapes, giving your city an organic borderline over time. However, the underlying hex fields on which you move are unaffected by this. Visually, they are hardly noticeable, which definitely helps the world look a little more natural. Aside from that, your units have a fixed range of movement. Long journeys from one location to another take time, so strategically positioning units is important. If the units stand side by side, they also support each other in combat.

In addition, there are treasures, abandoned ruins and special buildings on the map that you can collect and occupy. This improves your war chest. Caution is advised in the red-framed areas, because dangers lurk there. When discovered, these are still inactive and become stronger as the number of rounds progresses. If such a danger wakes up, it becomes a small challenge that you should fight quickly.

combat system

particularities