Old World

Best 4X game since Civilization IV. No great 3D cutscenes, but innovating machanics, amazing care for the game by the developers, even years after its release.

Fantastic game. The best I've played in years, and my favorite 4X by far.
I have no interest in playing a game that goes to a modern era, so this is perfect, and the amount of management is the perfect balance between too complex, and too simplistic.
Highly recommended.

Short:
A neat concept of melding family dynasties into a Civ-style 4x game. Unfortunately, some game design mechanics make the game feel off. Despite my issues, I can type with confidence Old World is a good game for most players.

Thoughts:
The user interface and menus need reworked or revamped. When playing I struggle to find some stuff I'm supposed to be monitoring. Seems there are even hidden stats: you gained [X], but I can't easily find the data/graph to show me [X]. What did the game just tell me..?
The micromanagement of my heirs and assorted 'inner' circle are cumbersome. I would prefer that I could have portions of that streamlined, mildly automated, and its own window to interact.

Then, I find myself thinking it is unfair to Old World. I have had decades to play Civ games but games like Endless Space pop into my mind. Jump and play. Sure I am no master but easy to get into and navigate. Old World is slower and deserves kudos for trying to meld good concepts. My hope is future usage of family dynasty style design gets integrated into Civ-like games into future 4x turned based games.

Despite my negatives, I still think this game is worth a look and a Yes vote.

This game is Like Civilization except more of a learning curve and more in depth. But it is time consuming and thats great for a building sim.

Game is similar to civ, but has some fascinating additions. I've only played it as multiplayer random map with 2 humans and 4 computer players. The orders system limits your moves somewhat and is a fascinating addition. The number of orders you get per turn can be increased by buildings and actions you take, so it becomes another resource to manage in addition to rock, ore, civics, culture, science, and food. The tech tree is limited to about the first third of a civ tech tree because the game doesn't cover gunpowder and beyond. The game also adds an extensive character system with a lot of possible interactions there assigning governors, generals, ambassadors, diplomats, and many other positions. The scripts for random events between nations and characters is quite well developed and well done. Victory can be achieved with completing 10 "ambitions" (i.e. quests) that get randomly assigned, though you usually can pick between 2 or 3. The 10th one will be big like eliminate another player. I think ambitions is easiest way to win, but you can also win by victory points (wonders, city count, culture development). The combat system is I would say a little more fun than civ combats with generals, troop upgrades, and terrain playing a larger role. The computer players are also much better at fighting wars (managing orders, terrain, etc.) than they are in civ or most other 4X games.
I strongly recommend this game if you are a 4X fan.

pro- there are a lot of legitimately interesting ideas in the game.

con- there are too many ideas cluttering up this game.

every unique and interesting mechanic has some rough edges, this is to be expected and is not bad by itself.
however unfortunately for old world, its ALL unique and interesting mechanics and the rough edges have a critical mass.

steak, ice cream, curry, and cheese might all be good foods, but you dont serve them all on the same plate at once.

I found it clumsy and I do not like the pre-set sites for founding cities. I wanted to like this, but I am disappointed and a bit bored already

The game play was difficult to grasp at first but it is rewarding in the end.

Fantastic game with tons of depth and realistic decisions, consequences and events.

Just a fantastic turn-based 4X game. It’s easy to get into, but then you can discover interesting ways to use characters and bonuses together for greater efficiency.

Feel of Civ, but then including heritage lines and more challenging warfare. At start a bit hard to understand and controls are not very intuitive, but once you get used to that it is a great game for lovers of grand strategy (read game of thrones conspiracy and ruthlessness)

I really enjoy this game as an alternative to Civ 5. The city planning is much more intense but way more rewarding, and i also enjoy the city sprawl that comes with it. The combat is very immersive and incentives more strategy. It is also nice that you actually are making use of each unique combat unit you research. The family lineage gives you the feeling that you are ruling the empire, not just a blank entity. I definitely recommend this game, the amount of updates and DLC they are releasing is constantly improving the game.

I hate to leave a negative review for a game that clearly represents an incredible effort by its developers. The concept was ambitious (maybe too ambitious...?) and the developers crafted an impressively deep strategy game, which basically combines two massive titles like Civilization and Crusader Kings.

So, why the negative review? Despite the admirable intentions, the execution is simply overwhelming. The UI is messy and far from intuitive, creating a significant barrier for new players. Also, in their attempt to merge two complex games, we’re left with an insane number of resources, stats and multipliers. As someone familiar with Paradox games, I’m no stranger to complexity, but this crosses a line.

The learning curve is exceptionally steep, requiring an enormous time investment just to grasp the basics. And the learning process isn’t particularly enjoyable, as the game feels dramatically slow.

If you’re seeking depth and are willing to invest hundreds of hours just to master the fundamentals, you might find this game rewarding in the (very) long run. However, if you prefer a game with some level of intuitiveness that doesn’t require a degree to start enjoying, you might want to steer clear. Yes, strategy games often involve complexity and delayed gratification, but the levels required here are simply unreasonable.

Definitely not for everyone.

A brilliant mix of CIV & CK3, the best of the both world.

I'm a fan of CIVs CK3 and enthusiast about strategy games.

Since the time I played CIV 5, no other strategy game had this much impact on me, not even HOI4, or CK3 (damn CK3, so beautifully unique)

Old World is a very beautiful mix between the best of CIV and CK3 improving on both, although lacking in complexity of personal characters builds available on CK3, it gives just enough to be interested in the stories of characters without being the main thing, whilst focusing on classic roles of a Strategy games, it improves upon everything CIV did bad.

Spent around 400H so far on this game (not all on steam), love every aspect of it, and Ooh the music <3

Slow. That is how I would describe this game. Everyone was saying it's the best game since blah blah blah. I found it a good concept, but didn't like it. Way too slow. Guess it's not for everyone.

A solid rival to Civilization. I like how things are spread out and some of the restrictions it imposes, but I would kind of like the civs to be a bit more different in this game. I'm not a fan of how it approaches religion, with monotheistic religions being the only real endgame options. I'm still enjoying it, but I'm also curious how much lasting replayability it will have.

Love the changing leaders and events, and the more focused time window, which add more complexity to this game than other historical 4X games.

A long time ago I played the Hannibal campaign in Civilization II. I managed to conquer Rome in the end. With heavy artillery.

It's nice to be playing a 4X game that starts in an age and stays there.

Civ-style strategy game for people that prefer paradox-style games.

You've got a hex-grid map that you move your little dudes around on, but oh no your king has been gifted a monkey's paw! Start making wishes what could go wrong??

(everything)

Old World is a fantastic strategy game that truly captures the essence of historical empire-building. The game's deep, intricate systems and stunning visuals bring history to life in a way that's both immersive and intellectually stimulating. It's a must-play for anyone who loves history, strategy, and challenging themselves

I rarely write game reviews but Old World is deserving of one. Never have I seen a 4x team love their game as much as this team. I literally can't pick up Civilization games again after experiencing the immersive story driven never the same experience that is Old World. Old World games start exciting, get more exciting, and you either win early if you're playing on too low of a difficulty to spare you from the typical late game drudgery of 4x games, or you experience truly epic finales that test your strategy - both macro and micro - in ways that should be setting the industry standard for this genre.

The DLCs are fantastic and affordable and flesh out the storytelling and meaningful decision making while not ruining the pacing. Politics and Diplomacy can matter and reverse a losing game (I was willingly became a vassal of another state in turn 75 and utilized my sovereign's power as a tool to rebuild, turn my vassalage into a permanent equal alliance, and win out the game in the end). Military units are expensive and feel meaningful to lose, and movement is balanced to keep players guessing and keep AI dangerous throughout.

Nothing you do in this game feels wasteful or meaningless. Every decision has weight and you'll feel attachment to your leaders and their families, learn to hate internal and external rivals, and get extreme "one more turn" syndrome as constant story events can turn your entire plans on their head in an instant. Bravo Hooded Horse and Mohawk Games on restoring the reasons I fell in love with the 4x genre as a kid in the modern age of gaming.

Overall I recommend the game. It has the satisfying city building/exploring I like from Civ. And the lineage/politics that makes Crusader Kings different every time. The events help break up the eras and give a feeling of story. It's fun to think about whether I care pissing off a ruler when they are probably going to die soon. To help understand the mechanics, I highly recommend watching a video explaining how to grow your city. Once I understood Growth, Military, and Civics work in a city things clicked together.

The game is often compared to Civilization and Crusader Kings, and that comparison does give a rough idea what the game is about. But it's definitely more on the Civilization side, so if you see Crusader Kings and that doesn't exactly thrill you because you're not really into the whole aspect of social simulation, don't let that turn you off.

The game is highly configurable, more than most games, and you can disable pretty much all of the CK-like features and play the game much like a Civ-like 4X strategy game. The major difference is that Old World doesn't span multiple eras, but for me this is actually a big plus. I find it much more immersive to play for that reason.

The game's AI is spectacular. It is perhaps the 4X game with the best, most interesting, non-cheating AI. It plays by the same rules as the player, has the same information as the player, and understands the game really well. That makes it highly effective at playing the game. Like everything else in Old World, the AI is customizable and there are many different difficulty levels for the AI, so if it's just too good (genuinely good), you can tone it down to a level where it gives you an enjoyable experience.

Old World also comes with a ton of content, numerous scenarios (and the developers keep adding more!), and extensive tutorials that actually work and teach you the game. These tutorials are among the best I've seen in strategy games. Really well done. There is also an actual manual, too!

The developers are active in the community, maintain and update the game even years after release (there are frequent patches), and they really listen to feedback too. You can tell that many of them have worked on Civilization and other games, really understand the genre, and they always seem happy to explain and reason their design decisions.

For me, Old World is basically a better, more complex, smarter Civilization made by more accessible developers that care about their game.

Fun 4x game in similar vein to Civ. 5 with a good soundtrack and art style/design. Fun family/character dynamics as well adding a little extra depth about having to raise heirs to keep the family line going while picking up traits (stat boosts) for characters somewhat similar to CK3. Also nice that it still regularly receives updates and occasionally extra content.

I have spent hours on this game, fun times! I appreciate the social aspect of the game because it allows for a different play through each game.

This game is awesome in so many ways. As many other people have said, it’s a sort of mashup between Crusader Kings and Civilization. That oversimplifies what this is quite a bit. In this game, you manage an empire that consists of numerous cities, armies, and resources. You also take care of your family, ensuring that you retain legitimacy and have solid people in line for the throne. The death of a legendary king can lead to instability and collapse; this simulates that exceptionally well.

Additionally, this game serves up mechanics not seen in other games. The order system is amazing and forces you to carefully consider each move. I also love the random events, which make every game different in some way. This is worth checking out and I look forward to playing it a lot more.

I bought this half off and am asking for a refund.

I like strategy and turn-based games and I wanted to like this one. I knew going in that it would be dense so I started with the tutorial. The game doesn't introduce complexity as you progress forward intuitively, so by the third tutorial chapter it was basically unplayable. It's frustrating when you actually want to learn the game but it expects you to survive endless text boxes chock full of important key words that are just never explained to you. I'm sure its cool if you can suffer through teaching yourself, but I'd rather just play a higher quality game.

civilization but with deeper strategic decision making and more engaging gameplay

This game would be good. However its performance is not optimised well. Will burn out your GPU. Did not matter how much I lowered my settings, the GPU ran super hot. Its a shame.

The middle and endgame are less tedious than in other 4x games.
There are a lot of events constantly happening and it's a bit annoying to choose options.
Has some components of games like crusaders kings, you must choose your succesor and keep playing as them.
The graphics are simple and lack some animations, the portraits are a static image, however, the art direction makes the game look good.
You can win without going to war, but this is a war game after all and there are a lot of units and the combat is complex and requires paying a lot of attention to the war aspect.
One of the best 4x games right now

I've enjoyed my time with this and might play more if there are any interesting updates in the future. Love the focus on ancient history and the rich events and storytelling.

The order system is a great idea and it works great. As a ruler you can give more orders as you gain legitimacy, skill, etc. and you can focus those orders on tutoring, appointments, moving units, etc. The brilliant part is you can focus everything on one or a handful of units or spread it out to a many units - reduces the tedious move or sentry/sleep all units that I've started finding tiresome in Civ and allows for some interesting tactics.

I enjoy how your ruler, wife, children and everyone in your court ages and changes in character and abilities and as they do the portrait ages. However, after a few games I started noticing the same faces and names coming up again. This makes it harder to keep track of who-is-who and some of the charm of the interesting personalities also diminishes as you encounter the same or similar characters and events.

Speaking of events these are really bring the game to life, and are very fitting to the era and affect the game in interesting ways, sometimes forcing you in unexpected directions. Sadly they do repeat and when they do they lose most of their charm and I stopped reading most and just looked at what I get for my choices. I get there must be a finite number, but a lot more is needed IMHO.

Finally a warning. The combat is well considered where terrain, training, unit types, flanking, etc. has a huge impact on outcomes. This sounded great to me, but I found that playing on a large map with many units it would be incredibly time consuming and tedious to try and position all my units in the best position to win in a war. The AI is very good at taking full advantage and using its units effectively, so I found myself avoiding war at any cost.

So there are things I dislike that prevents me from putting hundreds of hours into it, but I do think it is very well made and I've had a lot of fun playing it and would recommend.

PS! The game let's you choose the style of game you prefer with more, less or no events, how characters age, etc. This is a really nice bonus. I usually find it off-putting when there are too many difficulty options, but the ability to tweak the focus and type of gameplay is a really nice bonus.

Great 4X game. Easy to get into. The orders system is brilliant for reducing the drag of completing a game you know you have won already. The victory system also helps as you no longer have to bother with world domination (unless you want to),
Playing without any dlc at the minute and it still feels complete in a way Paradox games never really do.

This game is awesome, and is totally underrated!
I'm late to the release party by a few years, and maybe that's the difference. I'm sure there were many patches along the way and there's solid DLC... But WOW!... so much fun.
Its a fantastic combination of game concepts like Civilization and Crusader Kings. Its a 4x with a back story and family drama.
I really love the art style too. Top notch!
It feels very polished, and its got that 'one more turn' addiction factor to it as well.

At first I was concerned that it focused only on the Ancient times, but my mind was quickly changed after only a couple hours into the game. It feels more immersive this way, than zipping through several ages in an hour.
I only pray that this same developer is working on a Medieval Era version.

Highly recommended by me.

One of the best 4X games around. it's quite complex and doesn't hold your hand at all. You'll need to read the manual if you want to get the most out of it, but it's also very well written.

With that out of the way, the are a lot of novel ideas in it and that's saying something for a genre that's been stagnating for quite a long while. The orders system is just brilliant and brings that chess or puzzle like feeling to doing your turns right. It's a very combat oriented game, but the combat system is very well thought out and while it takes a bit of time to get used to how everything clicks together it's very enjoyable and satisfying once it does. The light sprinkling of characters and events is well balanced and doesn't get in the way while at the same time it adds a bit more variation to the gameplay. It's certainly not a mix of civilization and crusader kings, but more of a laser focused 4X with just the right amount of role playing elements added as seasoning.

The devs have been updating the game constantly since release and so far all the additional content that was added to the game, both free and paid, has been great.

In the end this game is certainly not for everyone. If you go in and expect to click around in a CK clone with some 4X elements bolted on top you will probably not enjoy it at all. On the other hand if you are into deep complex strategies that require tens or even hundreds of hours to really get into and like to dig through manuals and spend hours fretting and thinking about each turn your play or if you are a history fan and in particular enjoy reading up on the ancient world, I would definitely recommend this game to you.

Fantastic 4X. Great mix of empire building and role playing, all in a wonderful antiquity setting. It absolutely delivers that "one more turn" feeling, building up my empires feels extremely enjoyable and rewarding. The setting and the art are magnificent. Events are somehow designed in a way where they don't feel repetitive throughout a campaign. Incredible.

When it comes to role-playing and family/character management, it hits that sweet spot where it doesn't become overbearing and can even be ignored, yet still makes you feel attached to your characters and gives room to tell their stories if you so wish.

Heartily recommend.

Fun game that you can easily immerse yourself in and completely lose track of time. Great graphics, engaging events, and overall a solid game. Only complaint would be occasionally when you go to end your turn, it will get stuck with "turn ended" and requires a restart.

This game really is a cross between a CIV game and Crusader Kings. It has the hex development of a CIV 6 game and the family and faction management of Crusader Kings. The tech tree is managed by randomly drawn cards that are still age appropriate but may prevent exactly the tech you want at the moment. There are more moving parts than CIV and less than Crusader Kings. 80/100

Overly complex with unhelpful ui. not particularly enjoyable, although may be good to waste a few hours (tho in my experience so far i come away feeling like nothing was accomplished)

Meh. Imagine a 4x game where you have little to no control. Your characters start wars for you seemingly at random. The point of 4x games is to be in control of your strategy, here you have little to no control thanks to how absurd events are.

史上闪退最多的游戏，你点下的随机操作都有可能导致闪退，而且非常容易触发

I lost about 20 kings during one game and I will henceforth refer to them as fruit flies. Still a great game, especially in multiplayer with friends who have jobs and families. I can highly recommend it. Can be sped up if everyone has time one evening and then played more relaxed over the next days again. I love the random events.

Very good game. I used to play the original Civilization series but lost interest with Civ V and VI due to the cartoonish style. Old World is a fresh re-think of the Civilization genre that incorporates dynasties. Managing leaders and their extended families is a very large part.

its not very fun. the UI is bad compared to other games. the tech tree is awful and basic functions like being able to negotiate peace are locked behind techs that you might not roll until 100 years in.

While a bit confusing with how characters work, I love this compared to Civ 6. The events and randomness makes it so much less formulaic.

A pleasant mix of the narrative flavor you'd get with Crusader Kings and the empire management we love from Civ VI. I can see us burning through this in several plays, with Old World having comparatively limited content, but they'd be playthroughs that are worth every penny. One thing my wife and I really like in this game is the orders concept. It keeps "the amount of gameplay per turn, per player" about the same and limits the times when one of us has super long turns to complete and the other is thumb-twiddling. All in all very happy we found this game.

If I have a problem with this game, is that it makes it impossible for me to enjoy a 4x that doesn't include characters.

The best just keep improving. So much value.

The most innovative take on the 4X Turn Based Strategy genre I have seen. It's familiar to Civilization but with family character elements from games like Crusader Kings, it's an event based, narrative driven game and while it has similarities to other titles it's an entirely unique game where every playthrough feels different.

This game is like a weird hybrid of Civilization and Crusader Kings, yet lacks the polish and charm of either one. The thing is, I’d rather just play one or the other rather than this, simply because those games know what they want to be and have a clear identity. I think Old World fundamentally fails as a strategy game because it tries to have its feet in both doors yet fails at making a fun game in the process. The UI is probably the worst of I’ve ever seen in a strategy game. Menus and buttons are scattered all over the screen in a seemingly random way with no logical cohesion to the layout. Moreover, the inundation of constant popups and prompts just ruins the experience. Literally every time you move or click on something, a wall of text covers your screen. And the writing is insufferable, almost like it was written by AI. The game ultimately shoots itself in the foot with its over reliance on disembodied walls of text and plethora of menus. I would just suggest you buy civilization or literally any Paradox 4X game over this.

Old world is one of those games that once you learn you can't stop playing. There is quite a bit to manage in this game, but once you get the hang of it, the game becomes rather interesting and enjoyable. Highly recommend this game to those who enjoy ancient history.