When I first booted upAge of Empires Mobile , it seemed like a faithful , if simplify , mobile adaption for the popular real - time strategy game series . I used my headphone ’s touchscreen to move whole around , take in combat , or take down structures . I was starting to see how this game could pinch me if it were always like this , as I ’ve dump my just parcel of time into games likeAge of Empires II . Unfortunately , after that chess opening , Age of Empires Mobileexposes its true form .
Much of my early time inAge of Empires Mobilewas spent in gacha menus , wild city construction , and machine fight — none of which squall Age of Empires to me . Nuggets of what ’s so enjoyable about Age of Empires can be found in its mobile similitude , but in practice , it feels like a nomadic secret plan adapted to the Age of Empires IP rather than a faithful and considerate Age of Empires version for Mobile River .
A historical gacha
The core gameplay loop ofAge of Empires Mobileis all about obtain resourcefulness so you could carry on to build up your citadel and raise the historical heroes and troops . For this early build , I was given tons of resource and never had to worry about timer or have deficient resources to build up what I needed . I suspect there will be time and money gate for innocent - to - play role player , though . find historical figures through gacha twist work forAge of Empires Mobile , as it gives the game a chance to cover a wide breadth of history without overloading the experience with many camarilla or campaigns from sidereal day one .
While games likeMarvel Strike Forcehave shown me how this system can get predaceous , I at least understand its cellular inclusion here . These historical figure serve as the loss leader of troops I require , but unfortunately , Age of Empires Mobilelacks the depth of its PC counterparts or even fellow literal - time strategy games on Mobile River , such asWarcraft Rumble . There ’s a world map where players can take the air around and engage players , but these battle are as round-eyed as clicking a button to attack and catch the battle play out in real fourth dimension . If you ’re at a higher level than whoever you ’re fighting , you ’ll always win .
Age of Empires Mobiledoes feature Sieges and multiplayer battles that seem to act nigher to the PC strategy plot , but I did not encounter any of these in the early hour of the secret plan outside of that first step . Even if that kind of cognitive content exists somewhere down the line , it feel a little deceptive forAge of EmpiresMobilenot to get correct into it . Choosing to focus on idle city building and an autobattler mode too soon on rather than the form of RTS gameplay the series is known for is a baffling decision .
work up up my bastion was where most of my playtime was expend . It ’s a sensible area for this mobile secret plan to focus on , as maintain a well - build and defended substructure is part of the PC Age of Empires game . Unfortunately , there ’s little in the mode of actual customization , so this part of the game feel like a huge time and resourcefulness sink to me rather than plight . It also did n’t help that I was ofttimes directed toAge of Empires Mobile’sIsland Tactics mode .
This modality is a direct clon ofAuto Chess , as I come out my historical heroes in tiles and hoped they outlasted the vie forces . Autobattlers can be fun , but that ’s not the eccentric of strategy gameplay I come to Age of Empires for . It lacks much in the way of life of strategical interaction , which seems to be a recurring problem withAge of Empires Mobile . Outside of that chess opening and the occasional exciting historical hoagie wrench , it does not finger like an Age of Empires game , but rather a reskin of other democratic mobile games .
I ’m not one to immediately dismiss mobile games . Marvel Snaphas been my most - played game ever since it entered beta in May 2022 , and I ’ll on occasion check out games likeThrees , Marvel Strike Force , orWarcraft Rumblewhen I need to wipe out some meter on my phone . As a fan of Age of Empires , I was quick to be hooked by its mobile adaptation . Instead , I was leave underwhelmed and confused about why I was run across so many clichés rather than a sharp mobile scheme adaptation that sire why the PC Age of Empires games are as beloved as they are . Age of Empires Mobilemay detect an audience , but I doubt it will be with hard-core Age of Empires lover who ’ve enjoyed the series for decades .
Age of Empires Mobilelaunches for Io and Android on October 17 .
