Age Of Mythology: Retold Review (PS5) – For the first time ever in the franchise history Age Of Mythology comes to PlayStation with Age Of Mythology: Retold, a faithful remaster of the original title with some modern bells and whistles.
Bringing with it a raft of content, modes and stories from different periods in history, this is one of the latest releases from Xbox to land on the doorstep of PlayStation players. It is an exciting new era for gaming that brings a host of new and varied gaming experiences to a wider audience, some which some players may never have tried previously.
If, like me, it has been a while since you’ve ventured into the huge world of real-time Strategy games (Command & Conquer Red Alert being my last), then it’s time to dust off the old strategic brain cells and get lost in some epic conquests.
Age Of Mythology: Retold (PS5) – Gods, Beasts And Battles
Controlling Empires
Real-time Strategy games are best paired with a mouse and keyboard, hence why the RTS genre of games are synonymous with PC players. While Age Of Mythology Retold on PS5 does support mouse and keyboard as a control option, the vast majority of players on PlayStation will be favouring their trusty DualSense controllers.
Thankfully there are very helpful tutorial guides to get you up to speed with everything but there is a steep learning curve with a lot to take in and remember. So time invested in mastering the controls will reap big rewards.
Once you’ve gotten to grips with the controls there are a plethora of settings to tweak and customise to enhance the experience for your own personal preferences. Also included in the gameplay are some automation options which can greatly assist, especially when you are trying to find your feet.
Exploring what’s on offer here can give a leg-up when you might be feeling slightly overwhelmed. Likewise little control shortcuts will aid your progress and enjoyment. It is all just about having the knowhow.
Campaigns Of Conquest
The campaigns are nicely broken into bite size story chunks giving an easily manageable task to begin with and progressing into more involved goals that require more strategic planning. With stories from Greek, Norse, Atlantean, Egyptian and Chinese (included Immortal Pillars expansion) mythology there is great variety in not only the narrative but also in the gameplay.
If you are into history at all or even just remember some of the lore from school lessons then you will definitely spot some familiar names and battles.
Each differing pantheon comes with its own slew of warriors, gods, beats and buildings but the goals remain the same. Gather resources, expand your towns, amass well trained armies and conquer all that stand in your way – calling on the help of your worshipped Gods aid your path to victory. Progression and challenge feels suitably balanced.
One minor gripe are the load screens that kind of take you out of the experience where really you should be kept immersed in the ongoing story. A more clever approach to hiding these would greatly benefit the enjoyment with a nice seamless flow between gameplay and cutscenes.
Highly Detailed
The look and sounds of the environments, characters, buildings, monsters etc have been crafted with a high level of detail. While this might not be immediately evident to the eye the ability to rotate and zoom your view at free will shows the level of care and attention that has been put into each element. Everything is brought to life with well designed animations. One of my favourites being when the big brutes take a swipe at your legion of soldiers sending them hurtling into the air like rag dolls.
Nice too are the voiced characters with solid performances throughout. For someone who has tried and failed numerous times to read The Iliad, the delivery of the lore was very much appreciated. The graphical presentation of the cutscenes can come across somewhat whimsical at times but overall it does serve its purpose.
With bags of ways to play across different modes including online multiplayer (PS+ subscription required) there is plenty of value here. Whether this genre is new to you or you are an experienced RTS player then Age Of Mythology Retold is worth your time, especially with the range of customisation options available. The battlefield awaits!
Age Of Mythology: Retold is now available on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by publisher.
