Age of Empires V: New Horizons arrives with the weight of tremendous expectations. The franchise that defined real-time strategy gaming for an entire generation returns with a bold vision: honor the classic gameplay that millions love while introducing innovations that justify a new mainline entry. After extensive time with campaigns, skirmishes, and competitive multiplayer, it's clear that developer World's Edge has largely succeeded in this delicate balancing act.
Core Gameplay Philosophy
At its heart, Age of Empires V retains the formula that made the series legendary. You start with a town center and handful of villagers, gather resources, advance through ages, and ultimately overwhelm opponents through military might, economic superiority, or wonder construction. This core loop remains as addictive as ever, refined by decades of iteration and community feedback.
What's new is how the game presents choices. Every decision carries more weight than in previous entries. Age advancement timing affects available strategies more dramatically. Economic choices between booming or rushing feel more impactful. Military composition requires careful consideration of counter-units and terrain advantages. The game respects player intelligence, offering depth without overwhelming complexity.
Civilizations and Asymmetry
Age of Empires V launches with eighteen civilizations spanning from medieval Europe to feudal Japan, with plans for post-launch additions. Each civilization feels genuinely distinct, moving beyond simple stat bonuses to meaningful gameplay differences. The English excel at defensive play with stronger castles and longbowmen, while the Mongols maintain their nomadic rushing playstyle with mobile bases and cavalry advantages.
The standout additions are civilizations with unique mechanics that challenge conventional Age of Empires wisdom. The Khmer don't require houses for population space, allowing faster expansion. The Japanese feature a complex honor system where units become more powerful based on recent victories. These asymmetries create varied matchups where understanding your opponent's civilization is crucial to victory.
Campaign Mode
The single-player campaigns showcase impressive production values with fully voiced cinematics and historical narration. Four campaigns at launch cover different eras and regions: the Norman Conquest, the Mongol Expansion, the Hundred Years' War, and the Sengoku Period. Each campaign contains eight to ten missions with varied objectives that go beyond simple base destruction.
Mission design shows real creativity. You'll conduct night raids requiring stealth, defend against overwhelming sieges, and navigate political intrigue where choosing allies matters. The campaigns balance historical education with entertainment, teaching about medieval warfare and diplomacy while providing exciting gameplay scenarios. Difficulty options ensure accessibility for newcomers and challenge for veterans.
Economic Systems
Resource gathering retains the classic four-resource system: food, wood, gold, and stone. However, New Horizons adds depth through specialization. Villagers gain efficiency bonuses by continuously working the same resource type, encouraging focused economic strategies rather than constant task-switching. Trade routes between markets generate passive gold income, creating strategic map control objectives.
The addition of seasonal weather affects resource gathering rates. Winter slows farming but makes forests more accessible as snow covers undergrowth. Summer increases farm output but raises the risk of fires from military engagements. These environmental factors add another layer of strategic planning, especially in longer matches where multiple seasonal cycles occur.
Military Strategy and Combat
Military units follow familiar archetypes: infantry, archers, cavalry, and siege weapons, with each civilization adding unique variants. The combat itself has been refined with improved pathfinding and formation control. Units intelligently position themselves, with melee troops forming protective lines in front of ranged units without constant micromanagement.
The introduction of elevation mechanics significantly impacts battles. Units on high ground receive damage and range bonuses, making terrain control essential. Hills and forests now provide tactical advantages beyond just movement obstacles. Cavalry charges are devastating on flat terrain but struggle uphill. These considerations add strategic depth to both offensive operations and defensive positioning.
Siege warfare has been expanded with destructible walls and multi-stage fortifications. Rather than walls simply having hit points, they degrade visually and functionally, creating breaches that can be exploited or repaired. Defenders can sally out through gates or collapse tunnels under attacking forces. Siege battles feel dynamic and cinematic, with both sides actively engaged rather than siege weapons passively wearing down defenses.
Technological Advancement
The age advancement system progresses through five distinct eras: Dark Age, Feudal Age, Castle Age, Imperial Age, and the new Renaissance Age. Each transition offers meaningful choices through landmark buildings that provide unique bonuses. Want economic focus? Choose the Market landmark for improved trade. Planning military aggression? The Barracks landmark provides cheaper unit production.
Technology trees have been streamlined to reduce overwhelming options while maintaining strategic diversity. Technologies now unlock in groups, with players choosing which group to prioritize. This creates more readable power spikes and counterplay opportunities, as opponents can anticipate technology timings and prepare accordingly.
Multiplayer and Competitive Scene
Multiplayer features robust matchmaking with leagues and seasonal rankings. The game supports 1v1 through 4v4 team games, with dedicated servers ensuring smooth gameplay. Map generation creates fair yet varied battlefields, with tournament map pools for serious competitive play.
Spectator features have received significant attention, with observer mode providing statistics, resource counts, and unit production information. The developers clearly designed New Horizons with esports in mind, incorporating feedback from professional players about clarity, balance, and spectator experience. Regular balance patches maintain competitive integrity while avoiding radical changes that alienate casual players.
The ranked mode uses a transparent ELO system with visible MMR. Players can see exactly what's required for advancement, reducing frustration about ranking systems. Seasonal rewards provide cosmetic incentives without creating pay-to-win concerns. The overall competitive ecosystem feels professionally designed with long-term sustainability in mind.
Visuals and Audio
Graphically, Age of Empires V impresses with detailed unit models and gorgeous environmental effects. Buildings show architectural authenticity with civilization-specific styles. Zooming reveals impressive detail in unit equipment and animations, from blacksmiths hammering at forges to monks carrying religious texts.
The dynamic lighting system creates atmosphere across different times of day. Dawn battles cast long shadows across fields, while sunset engagements glow orange and red. Weather effects beyond gameplay implications add visual variety, with rainstorms reducing visibility and snowy landscapes transforming familiar maps.
Audio design deserves special mention. The soundtrack features period-appropriate instruments playing motifs that change with your civilization and current age. Battle sounds convey the chaos of medieval warfare without becoming overwhelming. The voice acting in campaigns reaches AAA quality, with convincing accents and emotional performances bringing historical figures to life.
Accessibility and Tutorial Systems
Recognizing that RTS games can intimidate newcomers, New Horizons includes comprehensive tutorial systems. The Art of War mode presents specific challenges teaching fundamental skills: efficient economy building, military micro, defensive strategies, and build orders. Completing these challenges with medals provides clear progression markers and unlocks helpful AI advisors for custom games.
Accessibility options are extensive. Colorblind modes ensure unit distinction for all players. UI scaling accommodates different resolutions and visual preferences. Control groups can be customized extensively, and multiple control schemes support different playstyle preferences from grid hotkeys to fully customized bindings.
Modding and Community Tools
The scenario editor provides powerful tools for custom content creation. Players can design campaigns, create unique game modes, and modify existing civilizations. The Steam Workshop integration makes sharing and downloading community content seamless. Successful mods can be officially endorsed, providing visibility and encouraging quality contributions.
Performance and Technical Aspects
On the technical front, Age of Empires V runs surprisingly well across various hardware configurations. The scalable graphics ensure playability on modest systems while taking advantage of high-end GPUs for maximum visual fidelity. Loading times are reasonable, and the game maintains stable framerates even during massive late-game battles with hundreds of units.
Minor bugs exist, primarily related to pathfinding in specific edge cases and occasional multiplayer desynchronization issues. However, these are relatively rare and the developers have shown commitment to rapid patching. The overall technical execution is solid, especially for a launch-window RTS title.
Value Proposition
With substantial single-player content, deep multiplayer gameplay, and promised ongoing support, Age of Empires V offers excellent value. The base game provides dozens of hours of campaign content and effectively unlimited multiplayer replayability. Planned expansions will add civilizations and campaigns, following a fair post-launch content model without fragmenting the player base.
Conclusion
Age of Empires V: New Horizons successfully modernizes the RTS formula without sacrificing what made the series great. It respects its heritage while confidently introducing innovations that enhance rather than complicate the experience. The gameplay feels immediately familiar to series veterans yet fresh enough to justify the new entry.
This is a game that will appeal to multiple audiences: nostalgic fans seeking a return to classic RTS gameplay, competitive players wanting a balanced esports-ready title, and strategy newcomers looking for an accessible entry point to the genre. It stands as proof that real-time strategy remains vital and compelling in modern gaming.
Age of Empires V doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it doesn't need to. Instead, it perfects the formula, creating what might be the definitive Age of Empires experience. For strategy gaming enthusiasts, this is essential. The legacy has been honored, and the future looks bright for one of gaming's most beloved franchises.