For decades, Age of Empires has captivated gamers with its combination of history, strategy, and resource management. As the gaming business has changed, so have RTS games. For Age of Empires fans seeking for new games with comparable gameplay and fun, you’re in luck. This article will examine five of the finest Age of Empires-like games that have retained the series’ spirit while adding their own distinctive twists and improvements.
Rise of Nations
For good reason, Rise of Nations is considered a spiritual successor to the Age of Empires. Rise of Nations, released by Big Huge Games in 2003, blends real-time strategy with turn-based strategy, giving it a unique and fascinating experience for enthusiasts.
Gameplay:
You choose one of 18 nations with different perks and qualities to start the game. From ancient periods to the contemporary day, you manage resources, discover technologies, create cities, and extend your domain.
What’s Different:
Rising Nations’ territory system lets you claim and govern land as you extend your borders, making it unique. This dynamic aspect adds strategy to the game by requiring you to choose where to battle and which areas to take.
Rise of Nations also has a compelling single-player narrative and a full multiplayer option for solitary and competitive gamers.
Three Kingdoms: Total War
Creative Assembly’s Total War: Three Kingdoms, released by Sega, combines turn-based grand strategy with real-time tactical warfare in ancient China’s Three Kingdoms period. While it varies from Age of Empires in gameplay, it loves history, resource management, and epic battles.
Gameplay:
Three Kingdoms lets you play a warlord fighting for China. The game features enormous real-time battles with armies of warriors and a turn-based campaign map where you govern your empire, establish alliances, and make strategic decisions.
What’s Different:
Three Kingdoms succeeds in its character-driven storyline, where individual characters and connections shape game events. Diplomacy, espionage, and alliance-making are as vital as combat.
Each real-time fight is a cinematic experience with significant tactical depth and breathtaking visuals. Total War: Three Kingdoms takes a new approach to RTS design, emphasizing strategy and diplomacy for success.
Civilization VI
Sid Meier’s Civilization series, especially Civilization VI, emphasizes turn-based 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) gameplay above real-time strategy. However, its complex city-building, resource management, and grand strategy make it ideal for Age of Empires lovers.
Gameplay:
Civilization VI lets you change society, culture, and technology from the start of time to the present. You’ll create cities, develop technology, fight battles, and negotiate on a hexagonal grid map to compete with other civilizations.
What’s Different:
Civilization VI, a turn-based strategy game, shares resource management, city-building, and military battles with Age of Empires. Its scale, historical correctness, and focus on cultural and technical growth set it distinct.
The game also has a full multiplayer component where you can challenge friends and compete globally. Strategic depth and historical background are different yet equally intriguing in Civilization VI.
Stronghold Crusader
Firefly Studios’ real-time strategy game Stronghold Crusader takes players to the Crusades. It offers city-building, resource management, and heavy siege warfare, making it ideal for Age of Empires enthusiasts who like medieval settings and big castle fights.
Gameplay:
In Stronghold Crusader, you can play as Crusaders or Saracens in campaigns and skirmishes. The game involves building and administering a medieval fortress, acquiring resources, recruiting soldiers, and defending it from enemies.
What’s Different:
Stronghold Crusader excels in siege warfare and fortress management. Castle design and fortification must include defensive buildings, army positioning, and resource generation.
The game’s detailed medieval surroundings, difficult AI opponents, and multiplayer options offer a satisfying and historically inspired gameplay experience.
Past Ancestors
Destructive Creations’ real-time strategy game Ancestors Legacy focuses on epic wars and historical battles. For tactical RTS fans, it delivers an intense and deep battle experience without city-building like Age of Empires.
Gameplay:
Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Germans, and Slavs have their own units, structures, and playstyles in Ancestors Legacy. In tactical warfare, you control squads of soldiers on the battlefield and use cover, terrain, and flanking tactics to win.
What’s Different:
Realistic and violent combat distinguish Ancestors Legacy. Impressive visuals, destructible settings, and a dynamic day-night cycle effect gameplay. It also emphasizes tactical considerations throughout conflicts, making every battle feel important.
For those who appreciate military games like Age of Empires, Ancestors Legacy is a refreshing RTS that emphasizes fighting and warfare.
Conclusion
For Age of Empires aficionados seeking for comparable games, the five above provide a variety. The city-building and historical depth of Rise of Nations, the character-driven diplomacy of Total War: Three Kingdoms, the grandeur of Civilization VI, the medieval castle warfare of Stronghold Crusader, or the intense battlefield tactics of Ancestors Legacy embody the RTS genre while adding their own twists and innovations.
The greatest Age of Empires game for you depends on your choices and what you like most about it. These games provide an immersive experience with strategic challenges, historical locations, and epic conflicts.
