History goes cheap in the Age of Empires franchise sale, with up to 75% off the classic RTS series
It's a little odd that Age of Empires is one of the liveliest RTS series of the 2020s. Perhaps that speaks to the sorry state of the genre in general. But a genuinely great fourth game from Relic and several well-judged remasters have undeniably helped the series defy the tide of history. In any case, if you haven't been paying attention to AoE's surprisingly strong twilight years, you've got a fleeting chance to catch up on the cheap, as the entire series is on sale until next week.
All four Age of Empires games are on varying discounts for the next few days, while the series' overhauled spinoff Age of Mythology: Retold has also had its price chopped down. Unsurprisingly, the remastered original comes in at the (joint) lowest price, down 75% to just $5 (£3.74). Frankly, I found Age of Empires: Definitive Edition a bit too timeworn when I played it on launch. It looks lovely, but I don't think its design has aged anywhere near as well as its slightly younger sequel.
On that subject, Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition has the best deal pound-for-pound. Although not the cheapest game in the deal, at 65% off it's still very affordable, down to $12.24 (£7.24). For that, you get an enormous amount of game, with 42 civilizations to play as and 229 campaign missions to march through, as well as all the multiplayer gubbins on top.
Meanwhile, Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition is 75% off at $5 (£3.74). I must admit I've never played AoE 3, mainly because it arrived to a bit of a shrug on release. But its reputation seems to have improved over the years, so it may be worth a look at that price. I have played Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition, though, and thought Relic did a great job reviving the series. $16 (£12) is more than a fair price for it, though I still reckon AoE 2 is the game to shoot for if you're playing the series for the first time.
If you prefer your history with a bit of sugar on top (and by "sugar", I mean living gods smashing up the joint) then Age of Mythology: Retold is the RTS to pick up. As with all myths, Retold has changed with time, but Phil Iwaniuk found these differences to his liking in his Age of Mythology: Retold review.
"Retold is brave enough to play with the balance and the stat values of its source material, and that makes for some knotty, tactically fascinating skirmishes," he wrote earlier this year. Retold is half price at $15 (£11.24), which seems very reasonable for this heavily reworked affair.
You can get all four AoE games, plus Mythology Retold and couple of DLC packs, in the Age of Empires 25th anniversary collection for $53 (£40), which apparently is 64% cheaper than usual. The sale runs until Monday.