Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Collection

I've spent time across most of these games individually, so when Microsoft packaged the whole lineage into a single collection, the first question worth asking isn't 'what's in it' - it's 'is every piece worth your time'. The honest answer: mostly yes, with one clear hierarchy. The collection spans five full games. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is the oldest entry, a remaster of the 1997 original rebuilt with 4K visuals, an orchestral score, and up to 8-player multiplayer. It's a nostalgic artifact more than a competitive RTS in 2024, and the menus feel undercooked compared to its successors, but the 40-plus hours of campaign content hold up better than you'd expect. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is the clear crown jewel here. With over 45 civilizations, Empire Wars mode (a faster-paced format that skips the early village-building grind and drops you straight into economic pressure), three Lord of the West campaigns, Dawn of the Dukes, Dynasties of India, and a still-active online ranked scene, it's one of the deepest strategy packages available on PC. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition sits in the middle of the pack - it added Home City trading, deck-building mechanics, and new civilizations including the African Royals and Knights of the Mediterranean, but its RPG-adjacent systems have always divided the fanbase, and they still will here. Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is the modern entry, developed by Relic Entertainment, with per-civilization asymmetric design, age-up Landmark choices that shape your strategy, and a visually rich campaign. It earned 'Best Strategy Game' recognition on release and the Anniversary content added Malian and Ottoman civilizations to the roster. The wildcard that arguably justifies the whole bundle for lapsed fans is Age of Mythology: Retold. Released in September 2024, it's closer to a remake than a remaster - rebuilt on the same engine used for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, with God Powers that recharge across the match, mythological units from Greek, Egyptian, and Norse pantheons, and an Arena of the Gods co-op and competitive mode. The campaign alone runs substantial hours, and the fantasy setting scratches a completely different itch from the historical titles. Some critics noted the controls can still feel rooted in early-2000s RTS conventions, but the core loop of choosing a major god, earning favour, and dropping Titans on your opponent holds up. What the bundle doesn't resolve is the quality gap between its components. AoE II remains the backbone of the franchise's competitive community, and if that's your primary interest, the rest of the collection is a bonus rather than a draw. Newcomers should also know that AoE IV and AoE II have meaningfully different design philosophies - IV leans into asymmetric civilizations and visual spectacle, II leans into unit composition depth and a vast catalogue of campaigns. Starting with II is the usual recommendation; IV is a great second stop. The one practical friction point: each game in this collection is tied to individual Steam apps, and online multiplayer requires a Microsoft account login across all of them. It's a minor hurdle, but worth knowing before you launch for the first time.

Alex · Scout Team

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