Each faction has their own unique set of units and offers their own twist on the action. Once I had built up a sizeable army, I had the most fun getting my hands dirty, issuing orders on the battlefield. The early turn-based battles are slow, but you can always auto-resolve a combat, which is a great way to skip low-risk encounters that don’t deserve your attention.

This makes these interactions feel more like you’re only delaying the inevitable conflict, rather than engaging in political negotiations.Ĭombat is where Planetfall shines. No matter how many favors I ran for other nations or how often I traded with my neighbors, my relations always deteriorated, and I was forced to call in my army. However, your diplomatic options are limited, and I found it hard to keep the peace.

Sadly, this top-level strategy is a bit stale in Planetfall, and I was rarely faced with interesting choices for what to build or research.Īs you explore your world, you meet other races who send you on missions, which keeps you busy while your citizens churn through your production queue. As with other 4X games (like Civilization), this involves researching advanced technologies, constructing new buildings, and managing your population’s happiness. No matter which faction you choose, you must plant your nation’s flag in the dirt and slowly push your boundary markers across the planet. Planetfall’s factions are so interesting that I almost had trouble settling on one at the start of the game. And, the genetically engineered Amazons are stealthy warriors who ride dinosaurs into battle. The Assembly is an army of nearly undead cyborgs who see every planet as an organ bank ready for harvesting. The Syndicate is a purple-skinned race of intergalactic traders and merchants who possess powerful psionic attacks. I was impressed by the creativity expressed in every alien faction. The setting might be different, but the future remains full of colorful characters. Planetfall warps you into the future you awaken from cryogenic sleep to build a new empire on a variety of alien landscapes. Previously, the Age of Wonders series dropped players into epic wars set within fantasy worlds full of elven courts and warring dragons. This new Age of Wonders isn’t perfect, but its unique strategy-driven battles were worth the wait. Fortunately, these long gestations give Triumph Studios plenty of time to refine the strategy and pack a lot of tiny features into its robust combat system, and that is evident in Planetfall. Before that, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic dropped in 2003. Age of Wonders is a long-running strategy franchise, but new entries only release every other blue moon.

Age of wonders planetfall pc review