I could never look at cute bunnies the same way after watching Watership Down, but I feel more prepared for Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin. Now I know how hard these fluffy critters have it, and how hard they’ll fight to survive. And that’s very much what the new expansion is all about.
The expansion’s new species is the harefolk—anthropomorphic hares who survived the apocalypse. They’re all about speed and endurance, though like all the forms you pick for your empire’s primary species, they can be customised with any traits that you’ve already unlocked.
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Appropriately, they’re joined by an unforgiving new map type, the Astral Barrens. This wasteland was created by a magical calamity, leaving behind a brutal land where mana is drained from the living and spellcasters must deal with unstable spells that can backfire.
To survive this inhospitable realm, you’ll be able to use three new magical tomes. The Tome of the Warband will help you raise stronger armies; the Tome of the Sandwalkers will spread sand across your territory, blind your foes and let you summon desert guardians; and the Tome of the Warlord will give you access to mighty warriors and infernal allies.
On top of this, you’ll get a pair of new mounts, five new realm traits, new music, more narrative content, new critters and units, and of course there’s the accompanying free update, Scorpion, introducing quality of life updates, bug fixes, a combat balance overhaul, new customisation options and more stuff to unlock in the pantheon.
This is all coming on March 9.
I’m still digging through the last vampire-themed expansion, corrupting worlds and drinking blood, but I’ll never say no to more maps, species and spells. While Paradox often gets a lot of flak for its DLC-focused philosophy, Age of Wonders 4 seems to have been given a pass—I only ever see folk getting excited about its expansions. That’s likely down to the fact that they’re not very divisive—they tend to just bring with them lots of cool new features.
And post-apocalyptic, nomadic bunnies are a feature I think we can all get behind.
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