Age of Empires Mobile Review (iOS & Android)

It’s always dicey to adapt a console or PC game on mobile platforms. For one, developers may feel the need to water down the mechanics of the original franchise to play seamlessly on mobile. As a result, the ports from consoles and PCs to mobile haven’t always sat well with fans. Often, mobile games will be packed chock full of microtransactions and pay-to-win won’t be far off from an overall disappointing experience. 

Still, Age of Empires is a stellar franchise that has stood the test of time. Many of you may have kick-started your journey with the franchise as early as the ‘90s with pleasant memories of the historical references and in-depth strategy mechanics that make the series so damn great. Now, we’re faced with a new game built for mobile, and unsure whether fans will enjoy a similar experience. 

Just how worthwhile is the new mobile game? Is it a brand-new take built exclusively for mobile? Is it simply a port that translates all that we love about the franchise and adapts it for mobile? Should you play this game? Let’s answer these burning questions, and more in our Age of Empires Mobile review below.

RTS in Name Only

Let’s cut to the chase and say Age of Empires Mobile is, unfortunately, an RTS game in name only. The game has been described as a medieval war strategy game. Apparently, it’s supposed to feature familiar elements from the franchise. However, the base strategic gameplay is built afresh for mobile. This is meant to give newcomers a new way to play the game that the developing team hopes will provide the entry point for playing Age of Empires on PC. 

But as much as newcomers will probably flock in to explore a new way of playing the RTS genre, veterans and fans of Age of Empires, in particular, will likely make up the biggest bunch of players checking out the new mobile version. As such, fans of the franchise will be looking for a similar in-depth strategy and thoughtful resource management. Unfortunately, neither one has been given the attention it deserves. 

Build an Empire

Upon booting up the game, you’re taken to a breathtaking world with splendid graphics and design. There’s also a story campaign giving you a reason to push forward in battle. As is the case in the Age of Empires franchise, you’ll often be treated to deep stories with historical references. However, the story here is rushed over and hardly bears true historical references. 

It’s disappointing, though the campaign makes up for it later with Heroes pulled from history, the likes of King Arthur, Miyamoto Musashi, Julius Caesar, Octavian, and many more. At least then, you identify with historical references that are true. Otherwise, the story feels disjointed, with hardly a profound inkling to latch onto across the campaign. 

In any case, the routine for building an empire in Age of Empires remains firmly in place. You still have villagers picking berries, farming uncharted land, and building camps. Soon, though, you will need to defend your camp or attack opponents for loot and resources that will further enhance your base. 

Command Your Empire

You read that right. Age of Empires Mobile has you commanding your empire rather than individual units. All you need to do is direct your empire on when and where to attack. Afterward, they do all the heavy lifting for you, hacking away at the opposing empire until either side wins. The battles are automatic. And so, you’ll often be watching battles unfold, hardly inputting any strategies to turn the tide in your favor. At the end of the day, the side that has the highest number of soldiers and is on a higher upgrade level wins. 

Auto-battling does plenty to take away the thrill of war strategy, which is the core of Age of Empires games. Sure, mobile games have a propensity for auto-battles. However, many gamers will boot up Age of Empires Mobile expecting to rack their brains on the best approach to take down enemies, whether positioning archers at the far back or having tankers at the frontlines. None of that is present here, making for overly bland battle sequences. 

Now, there’s some comfort in the fact that you can hop onto online multiplayer battles and pit empires against one another. Hundreds of players can compete for territory and resources across a large map, and the beauty of the battles unfolding can be enough satisfaction. But, ultimately, there’s very minimal strategy in the real-time controls that you’re likely to get bored rather quickly. 

Pick Your Poison

Battles can pick up pace, though, when choosing which Heroes to lead your empire to victory. That’s because there are plenty of heroes and varied roles. You can have swordsmen, archers, pikemen, cavalry, and more. The idea is to choose three heroes, ensuring to mix and match them to optimize their abilities against your opponent. 

This can introduce some strategy, though the selection process takes place before battles, and then auto-battling ensues, at which point the Heroes seem to bear minimal significance to how battles unfold, defaulting to which side has the highest upgrades.

Perhaps Age of Empires Mobile will add future content and updates that make the player more actively involved in battles. The concept of empires battling one another on a massive map sounds exciting, especially when there will be waves of enemies to attack and defend against. 

You could form alliances, too, that take down players thriving on the pay-to-win model. You could build a dominant empire with global gamers, conquering new territories on grand battlefields. The battles just need to be more engaging and actually challenge your tactical moves in real-time.

Demand and Supply

The second gameplay element where you’ll spend most of your time is resource gathering and upgrading. The usual resources from Age of Empires return: wood, stone, gold, and food. You’ll need to set up buildings that produce each resource. At least the search for the prime location for resource buildings is fun. However, customizing the buildings once set up feels oddly shallow. 

But you’ll also need to focus on leveling up your resources to increase production. And, unfortunately, upgrades take time. It can feel incredibly idle as you start an upgrade and then wait for the clock to run out to actually use it, at which point you’re given the option to spend actual cash to hasten the upgrade process that starts to lean a little too heavily on the cash-grab front. 

In the meantime, you could keep yourself busy by taking your empire into battle. As you approach new territories, you’ll discover treasure chests and loot you can bring back to your base. Still, aspects like technological research also take time. There are upgrades for weapons, too, that include trebuchets, alliance towers, airships, and more. But, you guessed it, they’re purchasable, too. 

It’s unfortunate that the bulk of Age of Empires Mobile is on collecting resources so you can build up your citadel and upgrade your Heroes and troops. However, the efforts you put into ultimately upgrading your heroes and troops never feel satisfying because the battles end up being automatic shenanigans that rely on who brings the most numbers.

Verdict

Age of Empires Mobile holds a lot of promise, thanks largely to the staggering success of its franchise. For the joy Age of Empires induces in building legendary empires, you might be willing to try the mobile version. However, if you choose to do so, be prepared to come to grips with a watered-down version of the game. Hardly any profound strategy goes into battles. You cannot command individual units, tactfully placing them in advantageous positions and directly manipulating combat in real-time. 

The mobile version relies on commanding an entire empire, which drastically reduces the minute attack and defense strategies you can control. To put salt to injury, battles ensue automatically. So, you’re left idly watching battles unfold and can almost predict the outcome, given the side with the most numbers always wins. Online multiplayer battles do add spice to the gameplay, as you have lots of empires vying for control across a vast map. You can form alliances and thwart opponents, all at the convenience of an on-the-go platform. However, the battles remain persistently non-engaging with minimal tactical play. 

As you’ll need to collect resources and upgrade buildings, vehicles, weapons, and more, you’ll spend a decent amount of time hunting these down. However, once you start an upgrade, you have to wait it out actually to use it. You do have the option to cut short wait times, but that opens room for pay-to-win, among actually purchasing upgrades. Lastly, the story is disappointing, with fictional plotlines rather than actual historical arcs, which we’re used to from the Age of Empires franchise. I guess the key here is that the mobile version is its own master. It doesn’t mimic the franchise, and, unfortunately, that decision may have cost its success.