Age of Empires IV
World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios
About This Game
Super ReviewAge of Empires IV is a rich real-time strategy game immersing players in historical campaigns, demanding strategic thinking, and offering extensive creative tools. While its core loop of building, managing, and battling is engaging, parents should be aware of online multiplayer interactions with strangers and optional purchases. It's a solid choice for older players with an interest in history and strategy, provided appropriate family rules are in place.
Super Review
Parent verdict
Age of Empires IV earns a 'Good' health score for its substantial educational value and deep strategic gameplay, making it a qualified fit for players aged 13 and up. Its historical campaigns, complete with mini-documentaries, offer a unique learning experience, while the mod editor encourages creativity. The main trade-off for parents involves managing online social interactions, where players can communicate with strangers via voice and text chat in public matches, and monitoring optional cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions.
What players actually do
- Players build cities, manage resources like food and gold, and advance through historical ages, exercising long-term planning and economic management skills.
- Players command armies of various unit types, including spearmen and siege weapons, in strategic battles, developing tactical decision-making and problem-solving.
- Players can create and share custom maps and game modes using the in-game editor, fostering creativity and understanding of game design principles.
Where it shines
- The game provides strong historical learning opportunities through its detailed campaigns, which are complemented by engaging 'Hands on History' mini-documentaries and deeper historical modules that add real-world context to the gameplay.
- Age of Empires IV offers genuine creative tools, allowing players to utilize a mod and content editor to craft new maps, adjust unit statistics, and even build entirely new game modes, fostering customization and creative expression.
Parent watch-outs
- Online multiplayer matches can expose players to strangers through built-in team voice and text chat, requiring vigilance regarding social interactions and potential inappropriate content.
- The game, rated Teen, centers on medieval warfare with battles depicting various units and mild blood, which parents should consider for younger, more sensitive players.
Family rules worth setting
- Limit or disable online multiplayer features entirely, or restrict play to co-op matches against the AI or custom games with known friends only.
- Establish clear rules about in-game purchases, discussing the value of optional cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions to prevent impulse spending.
Talk about this
- Discuss the historical events and cultures depicted in the game, encouraging players to research further and distinguish between historical accuracy and gameplay abstraction.
- Talk about good online communication practices, the risks of interacting with strangers, and how to report or block inappropriate behavior in multiplayer settings.
Play style
Sessions can vary from quick skirmishes to longer campaign missions or extended online multiplayer matches. The strategic depth means players will constantly make decisions about resource allocation and troop movements. Difficulty is adjustable against AI, but online play against human opponents can be challenging and competitive. Younger or less experienced players may need help understanding complex strategies or managing multiple tasks simultaneously, especially in real-time battles where quick decisions are key.
Score Breakdown
Positive Aspects
Risk Factors
Why this rating
Educational Value
4/5Age of Empires IV earns a strong Educational Value score of 4 due to its comprehensive historical campaigns and integrated 'Hands on History' mini-documentaries. These features provide genuine real-world context and teach players about the evolution of civilizations, strategic thinking, and resource management. The game consistently connects gameplay to educational content, making learning an integral part of the experience.
Addictive Monetization
2/5The Addictive Monetization score of 2 reflects a relatively low risk, as Age of Empires IV is a premium game without pay-to-win mechanics or gambling systems. While it does offer optional cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions, which can prompt purchase requests, these are not central to the core gameplay or progression. Daily quests reward regular logins with experience, adding a light habit-forming pull, but this is a minor concern.
Social Risk
4/5Age of Empires IV receives a Social Risk score of 4 due to its robust online multiplayer features, which include built-in team voice and text chat for up to eight players. This exposes players to potential interactions with strangers in public matches, which carries inherent social risks. Cross-platform play further expands the pool of potential online contacts, necessitating careful parental oversight.
Content Intensity
3/5The Content Intensity score of 3 aligns with the game's Teen rating, primarily due to its focus on strategic medieval warfare. Players command armies in battles involving various unit types and siege weapons, with mild blood shown during combat. While the developers made a conscious decision to avoid realistic gore, the core subject matter still revolves around conflict, which parents should consider.
Negatives
- •Online multiplayer supports up to eight players and includes built-in team voice and text chat, so children can be exposed to strangers in public matches.
- •Medieval warfare is the core subject: battles with spearmen, archers, knights and siege weapons, with mild blood shown during combat.
- •Rated Teen, so the strategic warfare content and competitive online play are aimed at older players.
- •Optional cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions are promoted alongside the game, which can prompt purchase requests.
- •Daily quests reward regular logins with experience, adding a light habit-forming pull.
Positives
- •Strong history learning: campaigns unlock mini-documentaries and deeper historical modules that give real-world context to the missions.
- •Builds planning and resource-management skills, plus the Art of War challenges that teach and reward strategic thinking with bronze, silver and gold medals.
- •Genuine creative tools: a mod and content editor lets players craft maps, adjust unit stats, and build new game modes.
- •Flexible play styles, including single-player campaigns, skirmishes against adjustable AI difficulty, and co-op matches against AI.
- •Premium game with no pay-to-win mechanics and no gambling or loot box systems.
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Official Ratings
Age Fit
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