Steam Free Game Is New Sequel To A Series That's Been Going Since 1997

Steam’s latest free game is a new sequel to a series that has been steadily enjoyed by fans since 1997.

The Age of Empires series has a legacy spanning nearly 30 years, and while it’s been nearly half a decade since the last major entry, World’s Edge has been keeping the series alive with new spin-offs and support for its legacy titles.

While we wait for the next DLCs to come for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires IV, one of the franchise’s many spin-offs has now hit Steam as a free game.

The rather awkwardly named Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition has now come to Steam as a free-to-play title after spending a hefty amount of time in pre-release beta.

Playing pretty similarly to the rest of the series, Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition promises “enhanced 4K visuals built for the big screen” with “detailed medieval environments, authentic civilization architecture, and lifelike unit animations”.

This includes real-time weather and dynamic terrain destruction, which can reshape the face of every battle you participate in. Seasonal shifts influence your strategy, with torrential rain and fog masking your vision, or snow hindering your movement.

It features a mix of different civilisations from across the medieval period, with a mixture of real and mythical heroes, including King Arthur, Hua Mulan, Sun Tzu, and Miyamoto Musashi being featured.

Despite originally being designed for mobile, developer TiMi Studio Group has confirmed it redesigned the game to suit keyboard and mouse controls, with “refined UI, full keyboard navigation, and command shortcuts built for the rhythm of PC strategy”.

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Age Of Empires Mobile: PC Edition Has A Lot Of Hurdles To Overcome If It Wants To Be Successful

However, it appears as though TiMi Studio may have its work cut out for it, as some users have reported difficulty with enjoying the game in its current form.

As seen in the Steam reviews for Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition, some users have expressed discontent with the content on offer, particularly with some features that feel built for mobile experiences that don’t necessarily translate well to the desktop.

While one review said the game “is not as horrible as I expected it to be”, they also expressed that it’s “a combination of every browser game you played in the mid- to late 2000s with every hero collector mobile game you played since the rise of smartphones.”

Another review added that Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition has “beautiful and high-quality graphics for a strategy experience,” but also suffers from “Ruthlessly expensive” pay-to-win mechanics and “Huge power imbalance between players,” which they say makes it impossible to have fun.

However, a more positive review for the game said that “What keeps me playing isn't the individual power race—it's the kingdom-wide strategy, diplomacy, and teamwork. A well-organised alliance can accomplish far more than a collection of random high-spending players. The seasonal kingdom format, territory warfare, rallies, and large-scale battles create some genuinely fun moments that few mobile strategy games can match.”

Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition is out now on Steam and the Microsoft Store.