Age of Wonders 4
Ascend to Godirhood and shape the fate of realms in the Astral Sea.
Age of Wonders 4, released in 2023, is a 4X turn-based strategy title from Triumph Studios and Paradox Interactive. It marks the sixth installment in the series, arriving after *Age of Wonders: Planetfall*.
The story picks up after the events of *Shadow Magic*, when warring Wizard Kings and Shadow Demons were cast out of the world of Athla. This led to a low-magic Third Age, during which the Human Commonwealth’s empire expanded. When wizards like Yaka, Karissa, and Nimue ventured into the Shadow Realm seeking riches, Merlin sealed their return, trapping them in the void between realms. Centuries of torment in Eldritch domains warped their minds, though some carved out new domains and followers elsewhere. The scheming Shadowborn eventually helped these Wizard Kings escape their otherworldly prisons and return to Athla, where they set themselves up as gods over mortals.
The Fourth Age begins with magic flowing freely again. The returning Wizard Kings, no longer bound to their original mortal forms, prey on harmonic realms to regain their strength. A new mortal ruler rises to protect the Fields of Rebirth from invasion. This champion ascends to Godirhood on Athla, challenged by old Wizard Kings reclaiming their banished realms. To save their people from dangers beyond the World Gates, the mortal must master forbidden arts and rally the population. Conflicts unfold on Athla and other worlds within the Astral Sea, and the fate of all Godir is threatened by a grand plot brewing in Magehaven.
Athla is one of the oldest worlds in the Astral Sea, rich in natural beauty and magical potency from converging Astral Flows. It has played a pivotal role in cosmic history, with many Godir originating there. The Elven Court of House Inioch was sacked by early Athlan humans. In the Fourth Age, the Ascended Champion begins in the Valley of Wonders on the Blessed Continent, building a new home for their tribe while clashing with returning Wizard Kings. All worlds beyond Athla are linked by the Astral Sea, an ethereal ocean. Mortal champions can explore and claim distant worlds, ascending to become godlike Godir who travel between realms and create followers. The Godir gather at Magehaven, a world protected by an unbreakable spell, forming the Pantheon. Key alliances include the lawful Covenant, which upholds peace and stability, and the chaotic Shad’rai, who believe no power should remain hidden and invade worthy realms for domination. World Gates, magic portals, allow near-instant travel to new realms.
Gameplay is turn-based, set in a high fantasy universe. It retains the core 4X mechanics of its predecessors but adds deep customization and new systems. Players can choose between Classic Turns (sequential play) or Simultaneous Turns (all players act at once), though battles always use the classic turn-based order.
Factions are built from a race and a Ruler. The base game includes 20 official factions—11 led by mortal Champions and 9 by Wizard Kings—but players can create their own. Factions are defined by their starting race’s physical form, culture, traits, and first magical Tome. There are 10 physical forms (Human, Dwarfkin, Elfkin, Feline, Goblinoid, Halfling, Molekin, Orcoid, Ratkin, Toadkin) and 36 traits. Rulers are either Champions or Wizard Kings, with Wizard Kings having slightly more customization options. New faction creation and evolution systems, plus an enhanced avatar creator, let players shape their faction’s research, build, and evolution paths.
The game features multiple official realms, each with distinct portal visions and difficulty tiers: Fields of Rebirth, Valley of Wonders, The Crystalized Sands, Paradise Plains, The Infinite Forest, The Vacant Throne, The Husklands, and The Frostbreeze Valleys. The Valley of Wonders is the first story realm, focusing on the Rise of the Godir. Realm creation options let players customize geography, climate, inhabitants, environmental effects, rule modifiers, and free city or unit modifiers, though there is no map editor for shaping continents or islands.
The narrative engine introduces encounters, diplomacy, and event reactions. Story missions and narrative events exist, but there is no linear story campaign with missions. Players can set Bounties—optional quests with rewards for other Rulers.
City domains expand based on population growth, with each province offering optional improvements.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Age of Wonders 4
- Developer
- Triumph Studios
- Publisher
- Paradox Interactive
- Director
- Lennart Sas, Arno van Wingerden, Richard Burgess, Tom Bird
- Producer
- Djurre van Dijk, Frederick Milders, Davey Grotendorst
- Designer
- Thomas Schuiten, Bas Staffhorst, Luis Ferreira
- Writer
- Jakob Matthes, Michelle Kusters
- Composer
- Michiel van den Bos
- Engine
- Creator Engine
- Series
- Age of Wonders
- Platforms
- PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- May 2, 2023
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
At the end of Shadow Magic the warring Wizard Kings and Shadow Demons were banished from Athla. Thus the Third Age of AoW III was a lower-magic era. The Human Commonwealth's renaissance empire filled the power vacuum of the banished archmages. When wizards such as Yaka, Karissa, and Nimue left Athla in search of riches in the Shadow Realm, Merlin sealed their return path. They became stuck in the void between realms. The Torment of Shadows left them scarred and mentally warped. They were corrupted for centuries in the Eldritch domains. Yet some claimed new domains and followers in faraway realms. The scheming Shadowborn helped the Wizard Kings escape their otherworldly prisons and return to Athla to establish themselves as gods over mortals. The Fourth Age heralds a new beginning where magical forces flow freely again. The returning Wizard Kings first preyed on bountiful and harmonic realms to hone their skills. They are no longer limited to their original mortal form and can create vastly different followers. A new mortal ruler rises to protect the Fields of Rebirth from the invasion. The mortal champion is ascending to Godirhood on Athla and challenged by old Wizard Kings who reclaim the realms from which they were banished. The mortal champion must prepare by mastering forbidden arts and rallying the population for an unparalleled confrontation in the universe. The conflicts occur on Athla and other worlds within the Astral Sea. Only by ascending to Godir can the mortal champion save the people from the dangers beyond the World Gates. The fate of all Godir in the Astral Sea is threatened by an unfolding grand plot in Magehaven.
Reader's Guide
AoW 4 is a turn-based strategy game set within a high fantasy universe. The core 4X-based gameplay is similar to the prequels with a plethora of improvements, new systems and deep customization. There are 2 turn systems options: Classic Turns and Simultaneous Turns. In Classic Turns mode, each player plays their turn in order. In Simultaneous Turns mode, all players play their turns simultaneously. However, battles have the classic 'wait for your turn' style. Each faction consists of a race and a Ruler. There are 20 official factions in the base game -- eleven led by mortal Champions of their faction, and nine led by Wizard Kings from abroad -- but you can build one yourself. Factions are defined by their starting race's physical form, culture, and traits, and by their first magical Tome. There are 10 physical forms in the base game -- Human, Dwarfkin, Elfkin, Feline, Goblinoid, Halfling, Molekin, Orcoid, Ratkin, and Toadkin -- and 36 traits. Rulers are defined by their origin (either Champion or Wizard King in the base game), with Wizard Kings being slightly freer in their customization than Champions. There are new faction creation and evolution systems, and an enhanced avatar character creator. The player's faction embodies their traits. Players can determine the research, build and evolution paths of their factions. There are multiple official realms with distinct portal visions; The Fields of Rebirth, Valley of Wonders, The Crystalized Sands, Paradise Plains, The Infinite Forest, The Vacant Throne, The Husklands, The Frostbreeze Valleys. The Tiers indicate the difficulty level. The Valley of Wonders is the first story realm about the Rise of the Godir. The new realm creation options enable the player to customize and create new realms. There are a variety of traits such as geography, climate, inhabitants, environmental effects, rule modifiers, free city and unit modifiers. However, there is no map editor to design the shape of continents or islands. The new narrative engine adds encounters, diplomacy and events reactions to players. There are also story missions and narrative events. However, there is no linear story campaign with missions. The player can set Bounties which are optional quests with rewards for other Rulers. The city domain expands based on population growth. Each province has optional improvements.
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