Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

I write this review for people that are deciding whether to buy the game or not. The way i see it, its one of the most balanced and lasting RTS games i played. It does have it's downsides alongside with more advantages. To the former there is: - Lack of significant punishment for players leaving mid game - the second some random loser sees he lost 2 units, he quits the game and leaves the rest of the team lacking a teammate, wasting everyones time, cause you usually lose 3v4 for example. The only punishment for that is, if you leave such game before 5 mins in game passes, u get 5 min ban. - Inability to rejoin game after internet crashes - its self explanatory - Lack of chat in lobby searching for game (it does have in game chat when game starts tho) - No significant rewards for doing stuff in game - some games have tidal awards for completing a random target, this game limits itself to giving profile avatars. This might be good or bad depending on how much motivation you need to play - Old goddamn community - average player in this game is a 30-40 yo latino dude with 4 kids disturbing his game while he rushes. If you ask why is it a problem, its because those guys dont even feel engaged in game and dont see any problem leaving it after minor inconvenience, cause they "dont have time" to rebuild (their wife will kill them for playing late and kids wont hear a lullaby I guess [average game takes 30 mins]). Plusses of AoE II are: - Balanced mechanics - every unit is being countered by something - Good modding system - you can customize both multiplayer unranked lobby and singleplayer match in various ways such as visuals, new buildings and mechanics like Castle Blood. Ranked game you can easily customize only visual way of course but its not always the case in RTS games so its cool - Continuous support for the game - AoE still has decent player base so I guess Microsoft sees profit in releasing DLCs and updates to the game. In my opinion those stuff are done well and are enriching it - Rich single and multiplayer service - singleplayer enjoyer has few options to pick from and these usually are skirmish or campaign. The latter offers gameplay of almost every faction in game (45 factions). Multiplayer is classic but due to the amount of nations to play as, the same map can be played in many different ways depending on the faction - Non childish graphics - I must admit these are old and all but if you are not 5 yo, you wont complain about AoE being designed for kids (and thus simplistic) in any way - Cool looking unit massing - its less objective but I personally like how massed unit of paladins, archer or meatgrinder in choke points look like Thats all i can think of. I hope it is helpful to someone in case they want to decide to play this game or not. I'd say myself its worth it. Downsides might be the same number as upsides but it doesnt mean the latter doesnt outweight the former.

every update makes pathing worse and all the new civs do not fit in the gameplay. devs keep adding silly units and ruining the core gameplay loops

Great co-op game. play all the time with the wife. we love to play together

Classic and still great and balanced RTS game!

Fantastic value at only $20 or $15 for HD owners. This is a full-fledged remaster with a lot of love put into it, far superior to the AOE 2 HD offering. If you're interested in playing AOE2, this is the version you should be playing. Pros: + Classic and great AOE2 gameplay + Fresh new graphics and animations + Packed with content. Includes ALL prior expansions and a new expansion campaign + 4 entirely new civilizations, which roughly doubles the content, civilizations, etc. from the original release and expansion. Tons of campaign content (150+ hours). 35 civs total, more than two dozen campaigns, numerous historical battles, etc. + Lots of quality of life improvements including on-screen control groups, default QWERTY-grid hotkeys (can toggle to classic), auto-reseeding farms, improvements to queues, numbers telling you how many villagers are gathering each resource, and more - but nothing that feels like it's dumbing the game down. + Revamped campaigns with new voice acting and thematic polish + Updated music and sounds + Camera zoom + Server based multiplayer instead of terrible P2P connections (a bit rough at launch, have patience people) + Improved AI + New official tutorials to help people ease into online and competitive play + New "Empires War" game mode allows for Random Map style games without the first 7-10 minutes of monotonous sheep herding/scouting and boar luring. Of course, RM is still there for the purists. Cons: - Optimization isn't great and hopefully will be improved. It runs completely fine for me on a Ryzen 7 and a 1060 GB, but a lot of AOE 2 players have potato PCs. Judging from other reviews, if you have a potato PC this release may frustrate you. - Multiplayer was rough at launch but has been rapidly improving. I hear there are crossplay issues still but it's been very smooth for me, especially in ranked. - Pathfinding could have been improved more.

Not a casual game. The first missions are easy, but then the game becomes harder. Now, I feel miserable and there is no way to lower the difficulty level. Also each mission is pretty long. P.S. don't understand how I played it in my childhood.

We need more players, this takes some time to get onboarded but once you get your hands on it, it's super fun. The game is crazy balanced and you will enjoy it!

its a fun easy no time consuming game, don't need high graphics and a tactical game. Its been around for many many years but still fun to play. Strategy games are like chess its not demanding but persuasive its a lot of fun game.

micropenisoft milked the players promising no stutter, bug-free gameplay, and no cheaters... nothing was delivered, and if you raise your voice againt this, you get INDEFINITE suspensions. I DO NOT RECOMMEND PLAYING THIS GAME, WORSE COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT THAN CSGO

Great classic game that has improved massively with the DE remaster. New campaigns and maps are awesome and a super fun time playing

Amazing game, i played the first version back in the day and haven't played since game is so fun.

Exactly like you remember it, but with smoother graphics and a ton of civilizations and new campaigns. Pretty dope.

Everyone knows you'd rather be playing Starcraft: Brood War. It is the better game anyway. Why is there no actual campaign? Just random maps with cobbled together sketches. There should be 1 contiguous campaign where you play with different factions... idk, like Brood War or something. Otherwise it just feels like random floating missions that aren't all that unique in the first place. The game is so slow, even on faster game speed, it takes like 15 IRL real world minutes to actually stage an attack on most missions, its just a boring and slow RTS. How hard is it to make an RTS, seriously... This is the best RTS that isn't called Brood War and it makes me want to take a nap.

This game it's a master piece, its not only a remake. I play this game after a few years thinking its the same game of HD version and I was very in love of this version. Buy it now if you don't have it!

From all aoe, only this one still keep the old spirit. The only issue is buildings continue to burn infinity after get some damage... Still no fix that in the main game.

Great graphics! Loved the original game so it's fun to play it all over again after so many years!

If you're into RTS (Real-Time Strategy) this game is a MUST HAVE! Once in a while they have some DLC but even if you don't want to invest your money into that it's still one hell of a game. I had the original CD's back in the day, the HD version before this one and now the DE. A game that has +20 years of dedication finetweaking to make it one of the most fun games i've ever owned.

Its just a classic game if you are into strategy this is the game for you.

nice old friend that you remember with a little better graphics

I just love AoE2. Seriously. The historical detail is incredible – seeing those civilizations come to life is so cool. The building and resource management? It's so satisfying to get your empire booming! I spend hours perfecting my defenses and building up my armies. I especially like how different each civilization is and the unique strategies you can use. It's a game that just keeps on giving. I've played it for years and still find new things to do and discover. If you're looking for a game with tons of depth and a really rewarding experience, you need to get this. Seriously, just go play it!

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☑ Workable ☐ Big ☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☑ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☐ Worth the price ☑ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☑ 9 ☐ 10 ---{ Author }--- ☑ https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template

Nothing I can ever say could possibly contribute to AoE 2's incredible legacy. Good game.

Hey there! If you are like me, which most of you are, you grew up with this master piece. Recently I started to really get into it competitively and now have it on steam. So, I decided to make a very nicely summarized list of my top five(Or more, who knows) pros and cons so that hopefully we see more of you joining us more swiftly! {PROS} -Very persistent community, always pushing for what they want in the game and very inviting to new players. -To pair up with that, you have Devs who actually dedicate time to enhance not only the ancient graphics from the 2000's, but the mechanics too! Also, always adding new content. -Almost limitless historic campaigns and scenarios that are very well thought out, most campaigns have been reworked to work with the modern graphics and mechanics of the game. -Cross-play, yes, for not only an RTS, but one that's this old. PC/XBOX/PLAY STATION only for now... I assume there will be more. -Amazing, one of a kind map editor, you can piratically make your own story/game in here. Even share and play it with friends and online players. -Community, I told you how strong and courageous we are already, but they do a lot more things together as-well. For example; host Community games for entertainment online for others to enjoy and prizes involved for the players. -Plenty of ways to communicate to team mates/enemies. Including Taunts, Voice chat, and in game messaging in private/team/all variations. -Workshop compatible/Mods enabled. Even in ranked, all legal mods are available. -Comprehensive list of gamemodes/community made gamemodes. Even community made maps/campaigns/scenarios. {CONS} -Easy to get the hang of in singleplayer/CO-OP but a pretty complex learning curve in casual/ranked ladders. (Its a given for most games now and days, but I had to come up with some sort of cons for you guys.) -Due to the overwhelming volume of content, it can be intimidating for most new comers. (But I promise its not that bad) -There are some issues present with every big update, but within the next few patches, these problems usual resolve including balance changes. -I wasn't expecting this to be a comprehensive list by all means, so I will return if I find any annoying cons. Hop in, gather those resources, build an army and dominate your enemies. Make some allies along the way though, because this way, the chaos ensues. P.S. You can only do so much with pathing in a game like this, it would lose its feel and its main veteran player bases interest. Or else, remove that nostalgic rush we look for from time to time. Most games have their issues, but what matters is not only what the devs do about it, but the games community.

I am playing this game for now a decade, so once I saw definitive edition of it, it was no-brainer for me. I am still enjoying playing this game and the support of it is great. So hopefully even in my retirement I will be able to play this game still. Damn nostalgia lol.

A Classic Game from my youth. Still plays like it always did but better with civilization specific accents.

Absolutely love the game and recommend it to anyone, I can play this non-stop and will never forget how captivated I was when it first came out. The soundtrack is iconic, the mechanics are great, the graphics are not taxing on the average computer. And it's awesome how there is such a cult following for this game, still going strong!

Sometimes I would like to play the OG AoK and AoC but that's not easily available anymore so this will do...

Great revamp on the graphics plus so much more!

Ultimate strategy game. I personally enjoy a lot. I am in contact with AOE community since 2008 but still it makes me feel special and encourage to play with full excitement and enjoy.

This game is better than fortnite because its for bitches and AOE still rules in 2025. LOL

As someone who's logged nearly 300 hours of playing AOE II HD, the Definitive Edition is truly an excellent (dare I say flawless?) remastering. There's a noticable amount of quality of life improvements, (such as the new auto farm reseed and the ability to stack researching technologies) but the gameplay is still totally luck-free and gimmick-free. Some new units like the Fire Lancers add a lot of new tactics. For anyone who likes RTS games, this is the pinnacle of greatness in the genre. One suggestion for new players: play on Turbo mode once you are comfortable with the game mechanics, as the default speed is a bit slow. 10/10 game, great price now that it's been out a while, and quite honestly the only game I will play for 7+ hours and think it's only been 45 minutes.

This is the only rts I enjoy playing I've tried starcraft, command and conquer and likewise and nothing really stuck to me until I stumbled upon this amazing franchise truly one of my favourite games now

used to play this game a lot as a kidd (200+ hours) , definitive edition keeps it just as fresh and refreshing !

been playing this game on and off for 25 years still plays superbly - what a classic

One of the best games ever made. Great when I played it as a kid, fantastic as an adult. The competitive scene is my favorite Esport. 10/10

Absolutely love it. If you are a fan of the series or just RTS in general this is a must buy. Some of the DLC isn't the best (sternly looking at you 3 Kingdoms -.-), but the fact we are still getting new DLCs for a game that's 25 years old is testament to it's quality & popularity. The design, the soundtrack, the huge variety of civilisations to play as, the modern take on a blast of nostalgia - it's the full package. Simply put this game has been my favourite game since I first discovered it on it's release as a 10 year old, It's awesome!

This will go down as the greatest game pre-singularity. Everyone should experience the majesty of AoE2!

Exactly the old version but runs more smoothly and less crashes. A lot of variable settings make for a lot of quality of life improvements regardless of playing campaigns, skirmish or online. Still awesome.

Best empire based game. with great stratagy and team game play mechanics.

Great game. Build your colony and dominate the map. The unique units for each different civilization are cool.

I've played this game since my childhood, many years ago. I have always recommended this to anyone who would be interested.

You already know what this is. You've likely already spent over a thousand hours on it in your lifetime. But there is one thing you don't know yet. The Chronicles of Greece DLC campaign is an absolute masterpiece. The level design for each of these missions is lightyears ahead of the original campaigns. Everything outside of this DLC is pretty much the same, but this one is different. You get 21 missions and each and every one of them is legendary. Now I'm done. Deleting this game and putting Age of Empires behind me for good. Sayonara.

I've been playing this game since I was about 12 years old. Call me nostalgic, but I keep coming back to it. It's so fun and relaxing to play. There's so many options for single or cooperative play. This was (and probably still is) the classic LAN Party game, and is in my humble opinion the best RTS every made. The upgraded graphics and new civs are both fun and true to the original game. Is it bad I can hear the sound effects in my sleep lol? So many good memories playing this game. It's a classic I think every RTS lover should have in their collection. I've probably clocked well over a 1000 hrs over the years between my different accounts.

A good RTS classic that have proved to be really entertaining and balanced so the pleasure is always there

amazing game, I had been playing this for the past 10 years and never felt bored

I haven't played much of it kinda pushed it away to play other stuff but I really like it the gameplay is pretty good and the graphics are not that bad. The only problem is that I suck at rts games lol

Still one of the best. Ladder and tournament scene is still popping, even at lower MMR. Always a good game to get into imo, even if you are new to the genre!

Loads of fun especially if you have the nostalgia of the original. Love the new Greek DLC, especially. I hope they add more Ancient Civs like the Egyptians and the Carthaginians like from the first game.

I never thought I would one day play an RTS game. It was difficult and painful for me when I first started, but no pain, no gain. I've learned many things from this game, patience, strategic planning, tactics, and even how to read the psychological state of other players. It's a must-play game.

Its AoE2, its good. Its great. Get it. Endless fun and if you like history, its a no-brainer