While the young me would plump for the town layout that looked prettiest, on return I’m starting to value efficiency.
It’s almost – dare I say it – relaxing.īut that doesn’t make it an easy game, or one devoid of any strategy – far from it. There’s a simple thrill in building a idyllic medieval town, houses all in a row, a slowly turning windmill set in the centre of wheat fields and an army of pikemen lining up on the crest of a hill, spears at the ready. It’s rooted in real history, which makes it relatable in a way, and each of the long list of civilisations has their unique architecture, units, and language that the villagers will mutter to one another as they go about their business. There’s something comforting about watching villagers scatter grain on a field, or seeing your houses slowly become more ornate as you advance through the Ages. When I played it growing up I’d dial down the AI difficulty and just enjoy pottering around my village – something you can’t say about many other RTSs. A window into a simpler timeĪnd then there’s the atmosphere of the game. Soon, you’ll advance through the Ages – Dark, Feudal, Castle and Imperial – which again grants you better units and more powerful buildings.
There’s a constant sense of progression that means you’re always achieving something: as your resources rise, interesting units and buildings become available. The game’s UI is simple, uncluttered and tells you everything you need to know, outlining your possible choices clearly at any given point. Even if you’ve never played before you’ll be able to give it a good shot: just point your villagers towards resources and watch your numbers tick up. That transparency means it’s perhaps kinder to new players than anything else in the genre. Each resource is unmistakable on the map – just look for the trees or the sheep – and in two clicks you’ll be watching your villagers at work in delightful detail. Where mining minerals in Starcraft 2’s fantasy world feels abstract, whacking a pile of stones with a pickaxe until it crumbles into dust is something everybody can understand. There are only four basic resources: food, wood, gold and stone, and the historical setting makes the RTS gathering grind tangible.
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