Reviews Age of Wonders: Planetfall Reviews

[lashman]

Game Information

Game Title: Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Platforms:

• PlayStation 4 (Aug 6, 2019)
• Xbox One (Aug 6, 2019)
• PC (Aug 6, 2019)

Trailer:

• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Gameplay Faction Spotlight: The Assembly
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall E3 Trailer
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Gameplay Faction Spotlight: The Syndicate
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall Story and Pre-Order Trailer PEGI
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Gameplay Faction Spotlight: Amazon
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Gameplay Faction Spotlight: Dvar
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Faction Spotlight: Kir'Ko
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Faction Spotlight: Vanguard
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Q&A with Triumph Studios at PDXCON
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Announcement trailer

Developer: Triumph Studios

Publisher: Paradox Interactive

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 84 average - 100% recommended

Critic Reviews


Saving Content - Scott Ellison II - 5 / 5 stars

It's been a long time since Age of Wonders III was released back in 2014, and Age of Wonders: Planetfall reminds me what makes this series so great. This is a strategy game that feels like classic Age of Wonders in every respect, but thrust into the future with a renewed energy. There's essentially two games here that work in concert with one another, and Age of Wonders: Planetfall demonstrates how to do this flawlessly. The missions feel handcrafted, rather than "make your own fun"; the planets are colorful and vibrant, teeming with life, and the factions are unique, silly, and fascinating. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better strategy game than Age of Wonders: Planetfall this year, or in the past few years.

GideonsGaming - Joseph Pugh - 9.5 / 10

It is deep, fun and has extremely high replay value. It's disappointing that the multiplayer has a couple of hiccups but the AI is solid and provides a good challenge with plenty of entertainment. Whether you're playing a custom scenario or the campaign, you are in for a good time. Planetfall may end up being my personal game of the year and I can't recommend it enough. Especially for console players who rarely get these type of games. If you like strategy or grid-based tactics, buy it immediately, you won't regret it.

PCGamesN - Phil Iwaniuk - 9 / 10

Initially unwieldy but eventually engrossing, Age of Wonders' latest entry translates its Civ-meets-XCOM formula brilliantly to a new sci-fi setting. Even if the elements of that sci-fi are a bit rote.Phil Iwaniuk

GameSkinny - Ty Arthur - 9 / 10 stars

The turn-based strategy game of the year has arrived, and the unexpected transition from fantasy to sci-fi is handled superbly.

God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10

Whether you're a veteran of the genre or a relative newcomer, Planetfall will keep you plotting and planning your rise to glory for a long time.

IGN Italy - Claudio Chianese - Italian - 9 / 10

Age of Wonders: Planetfall brings a new setting, and lots of improvements, to a classical 4X series. The increased complexity can be occasionally overwhelming, but the strategical experience remains top notch.

GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 9 / 10

Despite concerns with the shift in setting, Age of Wonders: Planetfall presents a fun, 4X-style turn-based strategy experience. It's already stellar combat is bolstered by some solid diplomatic options, excellent race design and well-designed environments.

GameWatcher - Marcello Perricone - 8.5 / 10

A very capable turn-based sci-fi 4X game that mixes Civ with squad-based tactics.

PC Gamer - Ian Boudreau - 85 / 100

Age of Wonders: Planetfall, while a bit opaque in some areas, is the most entertaining 4X I've played in years.

CGMagazine - Preston Dozsa - 8.5 / 10

Age of Wonders: Planetfall excels thanks to an emphasis on customization that makes it stand out from the competition.

The Games Machine - Gian Filippo Saba - Italian - 8.2 / 10

Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a great 4X, but it lacks in accessibility.

GameMAG - Russian - 8 / 10

Age of Wonders: Planetfall turned out to be more specific than the triquel. It seems that Triumph Studio managed to get stuck in time, steal some ideas of competitors and at the same time predict development of trends. However, it is still a very exciting game that will be interesting to fans of the genre. Especially it should be recommended to the owners of PS4 and Xbox One, which ignores by Sid Meier's Civilization.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 8 / 10

The science fiction setting puts a compelling new spin on Age of Wonders: Planetfall, with a lengthy single player campaign and half a dozen contrasting factions to see rise from the ashes of the Star Union. There's some niggles I have on console, but this is easy to recommend if you're hankering for a new 4X strategy game.

PCWorld - Hayden Dingman - 4 / 5 stars

Dinosaur-soldiers, character customization, and strong storytelling help Age of Wonders: Planetfall get over the early-game onboarding hurdles and micromanagement woes.

Wccftech - Nathan Birch - 8 / 10

Planetfall is certainly worth exploring, but not all strategy fans are going to want to set up permanent residence.

Spaziogames - Italian - 8 / 10

No more fantasy setting for Triumph Studios: Age of Wonders: Planetfall brings the 4x series into the future and this transaction in almost perfect.

IGN Spain - Ángel Almansa - Spanish - 7.5 / 10

A good format that optimally mixes two different strategy modes, but which in turn has too much information to process and requires time to adapt, with a somewhat more repetitive campaign than we would like.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Nate Crowley - Unscored

Don’t make the mistake I nearly made and disregard it: if you enjoy the tactical and strategic game styles it draws from, you’ll find a game that doesn’t go out of its way to innovate on either front, but one that performs a bloody lovely duet.

 

[Stevey]

Nice, glad its reviewing well

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

The word i've seen is that it's damned good and those reviews back that up. Nice.

 

[JMTHEFOX]

Great reviews as expected.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

It's a 4x? I thought it was going to be a turn-based strategy.

FML.

 

[Ruvon]

Interesting and enthousiast review from eXplorminate here : Age of Wonders: Planetfall Review

I think I'm gonna buy day one, which is unusual to me

 

[CthulhuSars]

I was going to ask how people are liking it then read the release date. I am an idiot and going back to bed.

Glad to see it reviewing well though.

 

[lashman]

I was going to ask how people are liking it then read the release date. I am an idiot and going back to bed.

Glad to see it reviewing well though.

i haven't bought it yet (and probably won't for a while) ... but yeah, still a few days until release, haha

 

[Taborcarn]

Steam says it unlocks today, in less than an hour.

 

[lashman]

Steam says it unlocks today, in less than an hour.

oh yeah, you're right!

 

[prudis]

 

[Taborcarn]

Well that last review put me over the edge, I went and bought it like the low-willpower individual I am

Just an FYI GMG has code SUMMER12 that can be used for 12% off this title.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

I put 7 hours into this game yesterday, and it confirms for me that 4x is not my thing.

Pacing is much too slow. for my tastes. They provide quests and spawn enemies to fight in the interim, and have "rival" commanders heckle you and make demands and such, but that all feels like busy work, as does the length of time to perform research to gain the really cool stuff like warp tech for the Vanguards.

Coming They Are Billions and Total War: Three Kingdoms in June and July, playing Planetfall in August is a DRAG.

I was expecting more Heroes of Might and Magic; combat is GREAT, it's all the other "3x" stuff in between that I dislike.

 

[Crayon]

Okay so I've never heard of this, but it sounds so appealing to me. Sci-fi is the ri-fi. And I like strategy games, and I like the idea of 4x.

But God damn do I bounce off 4x games. There's something about the way a match evolves as you expand. He gets to be a real handful. Funny enough, I do really enjoy them but for maybe 10 hours so I'm know I'm not properly getting into the game before I bounce.

Idk. I'll try again. Maybe soon.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

After finishing the first (real) campaign mission and moving on to another race, the game is beginning to grow on me.

Also, this game is a reminder to me just how...unviable...it is to review games for a living. Codes went out (checks notes) on the 26th of July. In the once most-reputable publication for PC games, the reviewer writes as if there are only three playable races instead of six. As I am just now finishing the first mission, I can tell that they only played that far themselves, because you have to beat another Human, bug, or "dwarf" race mission before unlocking the amazons, cyborgs, and "enlightened" races. But hey, gotta make that 8/6 embargo for the clicks!

pfft

I've been spending some time with the developer diaries, and there's one thing they said that felt like a jab at Forged Battallion:

So, why Mods and not a unit construction system? This question was raised in the forums and it’s a good point to raise in this journal. There is a lot of fun, crazy and creative stuff possible with unit mods; but we specifically didn't go for a unit construction system for Planetfall as this would blur the lines between unit categories – and between units and heroes. For this game we made a large set of units with clear functions, personalities and art styles, which you can develop further in multiple directions, but with some constraints coming from their role and faction origin. Treating every base unit (of which there are 100++) as a mere "chassis", would undermine this.

That's some unintended shade right there...if you follow strategy games. .

 

[eonden]

After finishing the first (real) campaign mission and moving on to another race, the game is beginning to grow on me.

Also, this game is a reminder to me just how...unviable...it is to review games for a living. Codes went out (checks notes) on the 26th of July. In the once most-reputable publication for PC games, the reviewer writes as if there are only three playable races instead of six. As I am just now finishing the first mission, I can tell that they only played that far themselves, because you have to beat another Human, bug, or "dwarf" race mission before unlocking the amazons, cyborgs, and "enlightened" races. But hey, gotta make that 8/6 embargo for the clicks!

pfft

I've been spending some time with the developer diaries, and there's one thing they said that felt like a jab at Forged Battallion:



That's some unintended shade right there...if you follow strategy games. .

If it is PCGamer, it would be ... hilarious as they actually made an article about all the races:

Age of Wonders: Planetfall has endearingly weird factions

Who do you want to be, the Russian space dwarves or the Amazonian dino brigade?

www.pcgamer.com

Also weird that Paradox sent the codes only one week before launch, they tend to sent it to streamers and co 2-3 weeks before hand.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

If it is PCGamer, it would be ... hilarious as they actually made an article about all the races:

Age of Wonders: Planetfall has endearingly weird factions

Who do you want to be, the Russian space dwarves or the Amazonian dino brigade?

www.pcgamer.com

Also weird that Paradox sent the codes only one week before launch, they tend to sent it to streamers and co 2-3 weeks before hand.

Heheh, I wasn't gonna name names, but indeed, this outlet has a screenshot of the Amazons in its review, yet doesn't actually mention them in the review itself. It does mention the Psi-Fish as an NPC faction, but you can tell that they didn't play as long as I would expect someone to invest in a 4x.

In that regard, I do admire IGN's approach, the "review in progress." The risk there, though, is giving an initial impression, and then the finalized review goes in a totally different direction due to new discoveries made during the playthrough, for better or for worse. In my case, of taking an extra week to play after not liking the game, I am glad that I did, because I do like it, after all. I think it is a very good game.

And even though I consider Planetfall to be very good, it's still too slow for my tastes. I was thinking during my Three Kingdoms playthrough that it was the absolute limit of my tolerance for "grand strategy" games. Even if I didn't move my armies an inch, or didn't build anything, I spent a good deal of time in the diplomacy screen trying to exploit every inch that I could. There was always a favorable trade to be made because the AI is TERRIBLE at maintaining a healthy food level.

Anyway, that's a whole 'nother game, lol.

Outlets not reading the work of their own peers is not new; most of these folks are freelance, and with the pay already being ****, they're not gonna do any extra reading. But that's why you're supposed to have (full time!) editors, who catch things like a reviewer not referencing to internally-produced material to re-direct ppl back to the site. I forget the marketing term for that "looping," but the business-brains know it's important for site rankings.

All of this that I wrote is one of the reasons why I write where I do. Even as the entire internet does nothing but pursues clout (because clicks = crappy $$$, but $$$ nevertheless), I'll just be over here trying to produce quality work, time and cost be damned...and as long as the PR distributors of codes are okay with the delay, of course.

 

[Taborcarn]

Not the best Quick Look (he was fighting with the interface at the start) but always like seeing their take on things.