Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose

Age of Empires IV is a real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and World's Edge, set across multiple historical periods from the Dark Age to the Imperial Age. You gather resources, advance through ages, field unique military units, and crush your opponent's economy before they crush yours. It is the fourth mainline entry in a franchise that has been setting the bar for accessible-yet-deep RTS design since the late 1990s, and after a long gap since Age of Empires III, expectations were enormous. The result is a game that mostly earns that weight. The eight launch civilizations, since expanded through updates and DLC, are genuinely asymmetric in ways that matter for build order and late-game strategy. The English rely on farm-based economies and longbow defensive lines. The Mongols pack up their entire base and relocate mid-game. The Chinese unlock dynasty-specific bonuses that reward long-term planning. The Rus generate gold through hunting rather than mining. These are not cosmetic differences slapped on a shared template. Each civ demands a different mental model, which means your first hundred hours are really eight different games stacked on top of each other. If you are the kind of player who enjoys cataloguing matchup charts, you will find a lot here to obsess over. The campaign deserves a mention beyond the usual RTS checkbox. Four campaigns covering the Normans, the Hundred Years War, the Mongol Empire, and the Delhi Sultanate each include short documentary segments narrated over real archaeological sites and historical artifacts. It sounds gimmicky, but it actually works as a framing device. It also makes the campaign a legitimate entry point for newcomers. Each mission introduces mechanics gradually, ties them to historical context, and gives you a reason to care about the outcome beyond just winning a scenario. If you are coming to this franchise for the first time, starting with the campaign is the right call, not a consolation prize. On the strategic depth side, the AI on higher difficulties is competent enough to punish sloppy macro and will apply pressure at the moment your attention drifts, though dedicated competitive players will find ranked multiplayer is where the real test lives. Cross-platform multiplayer against Xbox players is supported, which broadens the pool. The mod ecosystem, accessible through the in-game mod browser, is active and growing, with quality-of-life tools, custom scenarios, and balance experiments available. The game has also received consistent post-launch support, with balance patches and new civilizations added over time, which matters when you are evaluating a competitive title's longevity. What does not work as well: pathfinding under heavy combat load can feel sloppy, especially when you are trying to micro a group of melee units through a choke point. Some civilizations feel noticeably stronger in certain matchups even after patching, and the ranked ladder can expose those gaps quickly if you land on the wrong side. The visual clarity during large battles occasionally makes it hard to track unit compositions at a glance, which is a real issue in a game where reading the fight quickly is half the skill ceiling. For newcomers to the RTS genre, Age of Empires IV is one of the more welcoming entry points available. The campaign pacing is generous, the mechanics are layered rather than dumped on you at once, and there is a practice mode and coaching tool built in. For veterans of Age of Empires II in particular, the game respects the muscle memory you already have while adding enough new complexity to justify the transition. It is not a revolutionary redesign, but it is a well-built, historically rich RTS with genuine strategic depth and a healthy community.

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