Age of Mythology: Retold Preview – More Than Just a Shiny Coat of Paint

I have only really started getting into strategy games recently. I was given the opportunity to cover Age of Mythology: Retold at Summer Game Fest 2024 and was excited to see just a little bit of what so many players have been waiting for since the original’s 2002 release.

Age of Mythology: Retold is not exactly a remake or a remaster but a “reimagining” of the original game. Obviously, there has been quite a graphical overhaul since 2002, with every small detail completely recreated to bring new life to the 22-year-old title. What’s more, new content and features were added to this version. Because I only saw a very small portion of the game, I can’t speak to all the new additions, but I can say the game looks worlds above the original.

Enemies and armies also got a huge upgrade. During the preview, we were shown examples of these character models from the 2002 version compared to those in Age of Mythology: Retold. It’s safe to say anyone who loved the original will be over the moon with how much detail has been added over two decades later.

“ Age of Mythology: Retold is not exactly a remake or a remaster but a “reimagining” of the original game.”

The section we played was a mission to get to and defeat Kronos. I played as the Greek faction, having to take out the Egyptian, Norse, and Atlantian factions en route to Kronos and destroy everything in my path in a limited time. Happy to say I was successful, but Age of Mythology: Retold encourages players to replay and find other ways to complete these missions, opting for higher scores each time. Faster is not always better.

We saw a few different ways to do this. Some players went North and skipped South, while others did the opposite. A very small number of players split their army to take on North and South simultaneously to do as much damage as fast as possible. Others barreled to the end, only worried about completing the mission but not about the final score. There will be plenty of paths to the end of each mission, and the replayability will be high with Age of Mythology: Retold.

“ Age of Mythology: Retold encourages players to replay and find other ways to complete these missions, opting for higher scores each time. Faster is not always better.”

There were four God powers available that would unlock and recharge as you destroyed certain buildings…I believe temples specifically. These powers varied. Bronze turns your army to metal, making them stronger. Restore would heal your army. Lightning Storm electrocutes your enemies as it crashes from the sky. And if lightning wasn’t enough, Meteor Shower barrels down on enemies and buildings but also stuns your own army, so you have to be strategic with that one!

The last couple of Age of Empires titles have been ported to console. Age of Mythology: Retold will be the first title coming directly to consoles and PC on the day of release. I personally played on PC and can see the menu systems being tedious with a controller, but as someone who usually plays exclusively on Xbox or Nintendo Switch, I understand the appeal. I’m curious to see if it is refined at all as a day-one console release.

Age of Mythology: Retold will no doubt please former fans of the title, but I think it will also be something that anyone can jump into and get the hang of, especially with a tutorial. Age of Empires is a massive franchise, and there is no reason to believe that Age of Mythology: Retold will go above and beyond past titles. Between past players coming back, new players jumping in and a complete graphical overhaul, this game is absolutely going to have a full player base when it comes to consoles and PC on September 4th, 2024 .