Release of Age of Empires Mobile: what to expect from the new opus of the mythical licence ?

While the game's global arrival was scheduled for 19 August, the release of Age of Empires mobile (already available in China) has finally been pushed back to tomorrow, 17 October 2024.If you're a fan of the licence, you'll certainly want to know a little more about what's in store for this new mobile opus developed by TiMi Studios and published by Level Infinite (Tencent). Unsurprisingly, you're in for an idle game rather than a full-blown MMORTS.

Release of Age of Empires Mobile on 17 October 2024: the promises of the new opus

On paper, Age of Empires Mobile promises a return to the sensations of previous PC releases, with epic, intense battles, resource gathering and the customisation of your military base to defend against enemies, all while forging alliances with other players.

Age of Empires mobile

Google Play App Store

For global release of Age of Empires Mobile, you will be able to develop your own civilisation, choosing from one of the 8 available: Chinese, Roman, French, Byzantine, Egyptian, British, Japanese or Korean.

Exploring realistic environments, which can have an impact on the movement of your armies, capturing medieval cities and managing up to 5 troops are all part and parcel of the gameplay. As for the heroes of AoE mobile, you'll be able to choose from among the 40 available, combining their attributes to create unique troops.

In short, the release of Age of Empires mobile offers an experience (in theory) very similar to that of previous AoE games, with gameplay adapted for smartphones. So, what's the reality?

Release of AoE mobile, more of an idle game than a true sequel to the licence

It would seem that AoEM has not escaped some of the familiar mechanics of mobile games. Forget the epic sensations offered by RTS games on PC, as the battles (too few in number according to some players) take place in auto mode.

For the release of Age of Empires mobile, say hello to idle mechanics that force you to wait in order to upgrade the elements of your base, which don't always work.your base, which can't be customised either, as the locations of each building are predetermined. The whole gameplay loop revolves around base management, to the detriment of the strategy that was at the heart of the PC versions.

Add to that the gacha mechanics, the stale historical narrative and the pay-to-win aspect, and it's hard to see AoEM as a genuine sequel to the legendary licence. In short, Age of Empires on Android and iOS is a decent mobile RTS, like Call of Dragons or Rise of Kingdoms, but not a good Age of Empires.