The release of Age of Wonders 4, latest and highly-anticipated entry in the iconic turn-based strategy series, is almost upon us. We’re incredibly excited to immerse ourselves in its magical universe yet again and to celebrate that, we’ve prepared some awesome things to get ready for the launch on May 2nd.First of all, you can pre-order
Age of Wonders 4 right now, both in its
Standard and
Premium Edition, and by doing so get access to some awesome additional content!
Moreover, if you’d like to know which of the game’s 6 affinities to cosmic forces will best suit you while playing
Age of Wonders 4, take our
QUIZ and find out!
And now, the reason that you’ve come here for. Age of Wonders series director Lennart Sas has prepared a special article for our community where he shed more light on the foundations of the series, as well as Age of Wonders 4 features and story. We hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we did. Take a look!
Hello there! My name is Lennart Sas and I have had the privilege of being director of the Age of Wonders series since the first game. In this article I’ll tell you about the journey of the Age of Wonders series, from the “good old game” Age of Wonders 1 to the brand new Age of Wonders 4 and its big new features: Faction Creation and Evolution. This is our best game yet, and the result of a journey lasting more than 25 years!Age of Wonders’ inceptionWhen we were wee young lads and built the first
Age of Wonders in the nineties, it was our dream to make a strategy game where you could play as the ruler of a fantasy empire. It was a project filled with great ambition and the blissful ignorance of youth. We started working on a game where you could experience many stories, choose from a variety of rulers, build cities and command armies against others in a sweeping high fantasy conflict, inspired by the books of Tolkien and his ilk. We made the game turn-based and split the gameplay up into a world map and a combat layer. We gave the player an on-map hero avatar who could charge into battle, in gory pixel-graphic glory. There were multiple ways to play including a detailed story campaign, skirmish maps, hotseat and live multiplayer in simultaneous turns. You could build underground empires, be defenders of the forests, or become war-crime committing warlords.
I remember a marketing person describing the game as having “everything but the kitchen sink.”
Age of Wonders 1 became a success for us. But, we spent 6 years or so on it (including a rewrite). How do you evolve such a series that already has so many features, without it becoming stale or collapsing under its own weight?
Developing the FoundationsOur answer was that, step by step, we gave players more agency: more ways to configure and develop their rulers' empires, more ways to steer development and more roleplaying opportunities. For example:
Age of Wonders II introduced the Wizard Kings which were detached from their minion races and a more elaborate magic system.
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic introduced configurable Random Maps.
Age of Wonders 3 brought us race-class combos and 3D ruler customization. The sci-fi spinoff
Planetfall - our first game with Triumph’s new parent Paradox Interactive - added a Unit mod system where players could add modules to units, drastically evolving their abilities.
Age of Wonders 4This brings us to
Age of Wonders 4 which is very much a continuation of the Age of Wonders series' decades-long journey: gradually becoming more systems-driven, replayable and open-ended with each sequel, putting more powers in the player’s hand. This sort of evolution is essential to keep long-running franchises fresh and relevant, for the audience and for ourselves. Additionally we have welcomed many talented young developers with fresh perspectives to the team which was instrumental in achieving this objective.
Faction CreationThe starting design pillar for
Age of Wonders 4 was putting player agency and creativity first. Allowing players not only to create their own ruler but also customize their entire fantasy race at the start of the game and evolving them would be done according to the player’s chosen path. Space GSG 4X
Stellaris from our colleagues in Stockholm has been an inspiration in terms of species creation. For
Age of Wonders 4 we actually had to generate whole fantasy army rosters from a large set of variables: your race's starting physical form with associated traits, their culture and social traits have an impact on how your creation materializes.
The Tomes of Magic and EvolutionThis new focus on agency and creativity doesn’t stop in the front end. We cut up the “tech tree” into the Tomes of Magic and magical affinities. Each Tome contains a number of spells, unit unlocks and other effects centered around a single theme. As you go through the game phases you get to pick new tomes and research their contents. You can create a race of wild barbarians and research the Tomes of Cryomancy, Necromancy and Cold Dark to transform your people into sinister cold-based undead beings. Or, you can create a race of Cannibal Halflings and uplift them as angelized little cherubs. There are endless combinations to make! As you make choices you build affinities to the six Magical Spheres in the game (Order, Chaos, Astral, Matrium, Nature and Shadow) which all guide development, unlocking additional empire effects. By looking at the affinities of rival factions in the game, you also get a quick impression of their capabilities.
Story and the Return of The Wizard KingsAll these sandbox features don’t mean we have abandoned our narrative and world building efforts. The premise for the fourth entry in the series has been two decades in the making. The conclusion of 2003’s
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic saw the warring Wizard Kings banished from Athla. We knew that if the stars aligned we’d bring them back, bigger and scarier than before.
Age of Wonders 4 starts with the banished Wizard Kings breaking free from their otherworldly prisons. Corrupted by centuries of torment in eldritch domains, they have returned to the world of Athla and now seek other realms that lie within their grasp. Not merely satisfied to reclaim their thrones, they seek to establish themselves as gods over mortals.
The mortal leaders scramble to rally their populations against the invaders. Choosing to be a mortal champion or one of the returning Wizard Kings, you must master the forbidden arts and prepare for a confrontation the likes of which the universe has never seen, taking the conflict to Athla and other worlds within the Astral Sea.
The Game develops the lore surrounding the Astral Sea, Mage Haven and returning Wizard Kings. The game ships with 5 Story Missions, and most importantly an all new dynamic event system which wraps around your experiences. Your heroes may come with personal quests, lords leading minor cities may plead for your aid, and as you grow in power, entities associated with the Magical Affinities will start to stir. You’ll need to use your leadership skills to handle these varied events.
Your PantheonAs you play you collect a pantheon of Wizard Kings called “Godir” in Magehaven. They can be your personal creations or premade rulers coming from our own designers. Below follow a couple of examples.
The realms you visit may be premade story realms, or entirely configured by yourself to tailor your fantasy. Sylvan Fey Worlds, ancient worlds scorched by dragons, you name it. You can play these single player or with (or against!) friends in multiplayer.
We are proud to release this game after nearly 4 years of work! We enjoyed making it and we are very much enjoying playing it ourselves and are looking forward to expanding it even further. Join us on the journey -
Age of Wonders 4 is out May 2nd, 2023, on GOG!
So there you have it! We’d like to thank Lennart Sas and Paradox Interactive very much for this awesome opportunity to learn about the Age of Wonders 4. Honestly, we couldn’t be more excited for the release!Now check out the pre-order for Age of Wonders 4, take our Affinity QUIZ, and expect more cool stuff to come just before the launch. 