Every Age of Wonders game, ranked
All 2 Age of Wonders games we hold, spanning 2014 to 2023: 2 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 35,787 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Age of Wonders III (GamingPickz Score 7.2), the highest-rated entry we can score.
The Age of Wonders games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 2 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
2 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 2 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
2 best Age of Wonders games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
Age of Wonders III at a glance Released 2014 Studio Triumph Studios Player sentiment 80% positive of 12,811 Critics 80/100 Price $29.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 10 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 80% shrinks to 80.1 on 12,811 reviews, then blends with the 80 critic aggregate, giving 7.2.
What the data supports- Cloud saves and cross-platform play, so progress follows you between machines.
- Small install at 10 GB.
- 2
Age of Wonders 4
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
7.1GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceAge of Wonders 4 at a glance Released 2023 Studio Triumph Studios Player sentiment 81% positive of 22,976 Critics No aggregate Price $49.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 35 GB Accessibility 8 declared features Raw 81% shrinks to 81.0 on 22,976 reviews, giving 7.1. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Declares 8 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
- Cloud saves and cross-platform play, so progress follows you between machines.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Age of Wonders game we can score is Age of Wonders III at 7.2. The lowest is Age of Wonders 4 at 7.1, a 0.1-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Age of Wonders III at $29.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Age of Wonders III, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Age of Wonders entries on Steam:
- Playable: Age of Wonders III, Age of Wonders 4
Platforms across the series
Where the 2 Age of Wonders games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 2 of 2 |
The Age of Wonders series, game by game
Every Age of Wonders game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2014
Age of Wonders III is the long anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy series. Delivering a unique mix of Empire Building, Role Playing and Warfare, Age of Wonders III offers the ultimate in turn-based fantasy strategy for veterans of the series and new players alike! (Steam)
Plot
Before the events of the first game , the elven court was decimated by humans, an invasive race new to the Blessed Continent at the time. The elves split into two factions. The son of the slain king Inioch, Meandor, led the dark elves and the Cult of Storms, a group that intended to wipe out the humans. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Age of Wonders III received a positive reception on release. Adam Smith reviewing for Rock, Paper, Shotgun called Age of Wonders III "solidly constructed", praising the customization options and map generator for being able to "create interesting and attractive worlds", along with the battle system, calling it "cleverly... integrated". (Wikipedia)
- 2023
Rule a fantasy realm of your own design! Explore new magical realms in Age of Wonders’ signature blend of 4X strategy and turn-based tactical combat. Control a faction that grows and changes as you expand your empire with each turn! (Steam)
Plot
Plot 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. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Critical reception Age of Wonders 4 received a "generally favorable" reception from video game publications on release, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . PCGamesN said: "This is undoubtedly the best 4X game I've played in years, delivering top-notch exploration, combat, and diplomacy alongside a rewarding and dynamic customisation system. " Polygon said: "Age of Wonders 4 is good fun as a solidly entertaining amalgamation… (Wikipedia)
Age of Wonders, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Age of Wonders vs other series
How Age of Wonders stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Age of Wonders vs Divinity, Age of Wonders vs Dungeons, Age of Wonders vs Kingdom Rush, Age of Wonders vs Might & Magic, Age of Wonders vs Pathfinder, Age of Wonders vs Shadowrun, Age of Wonders vs Soda Dungeon, Age of Wonders vs Town of Salem, Age of Wonders vs Wasteland, Age of Wonders vs XCOM
Common questions
How many Age of Wonders games are there?
We hold 2 Age of Wonders games in the catalogue, released between 2014 and 2023. 2 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Age of Wonders game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Age of Wonders III rates highest at 7.2. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Age of Wonders games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2014 to 2023. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
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