Age Of Empires 4: Every Campaign, Ranked

As the fourth installment within the Age of Empires franchise, gameplay in Age of Empires 4 is similar to its predecessors. Players take one civilization among multiple factions and try to outlast other civilizations across four Ages. Each Age gives players access to new units, buildings, and technologies provided players get to unlock them first. This transforms much of Age of Empires 4 gameplay into a race against time, where popular multiplayer strategies involving early strikes before enemies snowball into stronger factions in later Ages.

Players who want to enjoy Age of Empires 4 without the pressure of multiplayer can still delight in the game’s single-player modes. Known as Campaigns, this mode allows players to use a civilization and utilize the game’s mechanics as they try to achieve a certain milestone in their history. Among the game’s available Campaigns, which are the most entertaining for an Age of Empires 4 playthrough?

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7 The Rise Of A King

Integrating a history lesson with a tutorial is a welcome change in RTS mechanics.

Serving as primarily the game’s tutorial period, The Rise Of A King focuses on the French. The campaign teaches players the game’s basic mechanics against the backdrop of the ascent of William Rufus as ruler of England. The game’s most basic controls are taught during the Rebellion of 1088, which occurred after William the Conqueror’s death. Combat mechanics are taught through the Battles of Val-es-Dunes and the Battle of Dinan, which saw Norman forces fight various neighbors. The culminating Norman Invasion saw combined regions conquer England under the rulership of William the Conqueror.

While this Campaign doesn’t feature many opportunities to showcase tactical prowess, the game does a decent job teaching its mechanics with a history lesson on the side. Unfortunately, The Rise Of A King is available only on Xbox, while PC gamers get a more basic Intro Tutorial.

6 The Art Of War

Studying advanced mechanics prepares players for multiplayer matches.

Unlike other Campaigns in the Age of Empires title, The Art Of War doesn’t have a storyline. Instead, The Art Of War acts as an advanced challenge mode in which players must overcome short scenarios using specific strategies. Named after Sun Tzu’s iconic work, The Art Of War teaches players more advanced mechanics while they play as different nations. Scenarios range from mastering early and late economy strategies (English, Rus), basic and advanced combat (Holy Roman Empire), as well as early and late sieges (Mongols, Delhi Sultanate).

The advanced mechanics of this mode aren’t as complicated as franchise multiplayer staples such as Fast Castles and Tower Drops. However, the fundamentals taught here are available for freeform play in both multiplayer and other Campaigns.

5 The Normans

Castle defense makes anti-siege mechanics second nature.

Serving as “the other half” of the game’s tutorial campaign, The Normans covers two centuries’ worth of history as both the Normans and the English. After the ascent of William of Normandy as leader of the Normans, campaign will have players conquer England and witness both successes and struggles with the ruling family. The Campaign covers four arcs: William the Conqueror’s invasion of England, Henry I’s defense of England and Normandy, Empress Matilda’s victory for the English throne, and the crown’s defense in the First Barons’ War.

The Campaign gives players a decent refresher of the game’s mechanics. Criticisms towards this Age of Empires Campaign fall primarily on its emphasis on castle defense plays. However, gamers can also look at the Campaign as a challenge in mastering defensive plays. By the time they’re done with this Campaign, players will have a better grasp on when to counter siege mechanics and launch a counter-offensive.

4 The Hundred Years War

Unit exploration and specific missions add variety to traditional castle defense.

The rise of England also marked a tumultuous time for the French, reflected in Age of Empires 4 as an era rife with raid after raid from the English. In the Campaign of The Hundred Years War, France must amass its forces to defend its borders, while utilizing various strategies to circumvent its disadvantage in both power and numbers. The Campaign is spread across four acts: defending Paris against King Edward III and the Black Prince, bringing order to France by fighting English troops and mercenaries, using the combined forces of King Charles VII and Joan of Arc to reclaim France, and using gunpowder to finally remove England from the country and end the War.

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By  Ritwik Mitra

The Hundred Years War Campaign shines by putting units and special units into the game. Given that France is a weaker force compared to England at the onset of the Campaign, players need to maximize their available units to get the upper hand. In turn, players can encounter more challenging missions outside the traditional castle defense mechanics of previous Campaigns.

3 The Sultans Ascend

Naval battles with new mechanics diversify available gameplay.

Thanks to The Sultans Ascend DLC, players also get access to an exclusive campaign mode of the same name. In The Sultans Ascend, players use Muslim leaders from the Seljuk Empire, Saladin, and the Mamluk Sultanate to protect their territories during the height of the European Crusades.

The Campaign begins with the First Crusade, in which players mount a united defense among warring Muslim provinces. Throughout the Campaign, players fight European forces such as the Hospitalers, Teutons, and the Holy Orders of the Templars. They must even square off with the Mongols.

What makes The Sultans Ascend an interesting Campaign is its implementation of the DLC’s new mechanics. The Campaign is the first to make use of new naval mechanics, making it the perfect avenue for players to learn about naval warfare. While players still cite The Sultans Ascend’s short storyline as a drawback, its usage of new mechanics has made it very entertaining.

2 The Rise Of Moscow

Explore intricate mechanics with specific missions.

The rather wide timeframe of The Rise Of Moscow fits its story objective. In this Campaign, players need to control the Rus and ensure its ascension from a more fert into a global superpower. In Age of Empires 4, The Rise Of Moscow sets itself apart from other Campaigns by offering some of the most diverse mission sets across its four arcs.

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By  Rhenn Taguiam

What makes The Rise Of Moscow a must-play is how it forces players to think outside the box. Among its missions are defense challenges in which players need to accommodate combat across different chokepoints. There are also challenges where they need to defend trade points from a constant barrage of enemies.

1 The Mongol Empire

Hyper-aggression makes gameplay more interesting.

Among the Campaigns in the RTS, the offerings of The Mongol Empire are perhaps the most straightforward but also the most enjoyable in terms of mechanics. Documenting the explosive rise of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan, players need to use what they’ve learned from other Campaigns to mount aggressive plays against enemies.

Given its nature as a short Campaign, The Mongol Empire is divided across three arcs: fighting the Rus and defeating the Jin to take Zhongdu, establishing superiority against European powers, and conquering the Song Dynasty to create the world’s largest empire at the time. Fans of classic Age of Empires who enjoy AOE 4’s multiplayer offerings may want to test their mettle as the Mongols in some of the Campaign’s challenging missions, such as the Battle of Liegnitz.