Paradox announces Age of Wonders 4 - first glimpses of gameplay

Paradox Interactive continues the Age of Wonders series. After the last published series spin-off Planetfall, Age of Wonders 4 with a fantasy setting is to be released on 2.5.2023. And that looks really promising according to the strategy community.

Miracles do happen: At yesterday's showcase event hosted by strategy game specialist Paradox Interactive, the publisher announced Age of Wonders 4, currently in development at Triumph Studios (Age of Wonders: Planetfall, Overlord 2). Rule over a fantasy realm of your choice in Age of Wonders 4! Explore magical worlds and expand your own empire in this Age of Wonders signature blend of 4X strategy and turn-based tactical combat. Lead a faction that grows and changes as you expand your AoW empire with each turn. Want a taste? Here's the first announcement trailer:

Age of Wonders 4: 40-minute gameplay presentation

But that's not all. Paradox also recorded a in-depth video of the game during its announcement show and presents Age of Wonders 4 in detail in the following dev presentation, which lasts almost 40 minutes. Lennart and Jordi from the Triumph development studio introduce you in detail to the factions (Humans, Elves, Goblins, Halbings, etc.), but also the different fantasy races and creatures (Humans, Dwarves, Rats - you name it) and different cultural expressions among the factions in Age of Wonders 4.

After selecting the starting spell and the character creation, which is unusually flexible for strategy games, the dev duo makes their first moves on the map of AoW4, which doesn't reveal too much about the surroundings before being revealed by units. For your first forays, you can use exploration units such as the "scouts". With them, you can spot resource deposits on the map early on and also positions of hostile factions. If you stumble into one of these or into enemy units that dispute your territory, tactical turn-based combat takes place on hexes. It's all very reminiscent of a nice mix of classic Heroes of Might & Magic and Total War: Warhammer, isn't it?

As a partner of Paradox Interactive we will soon be able to offer Age of Wonders 4 on Gamesplanet. Stay tuned!