Age of Empires 4 is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time, which is saying something considering it's actually a real-time strategy game. It's a game that elegantly builds on the fluid base building and frenetic unit management of its predecessors to create a polished tactical experience more accessible to modern audiences.
At least, that's what I've been told. I wouldn't know. I spent more time watching cutscenes from Age of Empires 4 than thinking too much about its game. Even now that I've been through a good chunk of its third single-player campaign, it's not the battlefield that has impressed me the most, it's the pre-game cutscenes.
These aren't your average gameplay scenes, but cut-down documentaries. Take part in a battle and you will discover who the main players are, what political machinations brought about the conflict, and how it served as a pivotal moment in the history of that country or continent. They're short history lessons that dive into the timeline and mythos behind the skirmish you're about to take part in.
cinematographic atmosphere
They are also absolutely brilliant. Produced with all the hallmarks of TV documentaries you might have seen on the History Channel 15 years ago, and with significantly better production quality, the shorts give some modern TV documentaries a hard time. Panoramic aerial shots show you historic locations as they exist today, as layered CGI armies clash in fields and castles. A narrator explains the causes of the conflict, as well as the ramifications of the battle you are about to wage.
And that's just the required viewing. After completing each mission, you will unlock additional videos that explore the details of each historical period. These go into great detail, with expert presenters and academic historians guiding you through the basics of life and warfare in the Middle Ages.
Age of Empires 4 shorts give some modern TV documentaries a hard time
I can confidently say that I now know a thing or two about how medieval paint was created using iron oxide, eggs, and tree sap. I can list a few ways the Mongol heavy cavalry came to dominate the battlefield. Ask me what I know about crossbows, armor, or the Chateau de Guédelon (an architectural history project currently under construction in France), and I can probably think of something intelligent to say about them, too.
The quality of the videos is impressive, but so is their educational value. Like any English schoolboy, I learned a great deal about the Norman Conquest, but did I retain much of this information? Just a bit about motte and bailey castles. Ask me what I've learned about The Anarchy by playing Age of Empires 4, and I could put together an essay that would make any high school student cringe at the breadth of my historical knowledge (admittedly, not a particularly impressive achievement).
(*4*)historic hit
I can not get enough. After just a few hours into Age of Empires 4, my love of documentaries reignited. I caught the learning bug and sank my teeth into all the historical documents I can get my hands on. The Roman Empire, the Russian Revolution, the seemingly endless mountain of World War II documentaries that come out year after year, no matter the time period; I've been through all of them.
And I'm still in love with Age of Empires 4. The game gives you as many history lessons as you can. If you're like me, you'll watch all the bonus videos as soon as they're unlocked and keep coming back for more. I've watched several shorts twice, eagerly awaiting what deep historical dive I'll unlock next. But if you'd rather skip the pedagogy, there's nothing stopping you from skipping the optional shorts and jumping straight into a skirmish.
Documentaries are a clever way to bring the story into the game while separating it from the core design of Age of Empires 4.
This means that it is unlikely to suffer from history fatigue. The mini-documentaries, which are usually a few minutes long, are sent to you by drip, punctuated by each main mission. They are less a means of exposure than a reward for your military conquests: did you just defeat the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Mohi? Check out this explainer on the unparalleled firepower of the Multibow Crossbow for a treat.
But they're also a clever way to bring the story into the game while separating it from the core design of Age of Empires 4. I love learning about the battles of yesteryear as much as the next person, but I don't care as much. with historical accuracy that I want to dictate the core mechanics and functionality of a game Age of Empires 4 is not a simulator and only recreates battles in an abstract sense. By providing these videos for you to enjoy outside of the main game, the game conveys its reverence for history while letting you command colorful, cartoonish knights on highly stylized battlefields.
Leave unshakeable historical authenticity to the likes of Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis; Age of Empires takes a game-centric approach.
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This isn't the first time a studio has tried to bridge the gap between documentaries and video games. The strategy genre is no stranger to implicitly and explicitly teaching gamers the story behind the games they play. Even Age of Empires 2, which was released in 1999, included a detailed timeline of each of its civilizations, giving you an encyclopedia of the factions and characters under your command.
It is an integral part of the genre's mission to share its enthusiasm for the story that inspires its games, not only to recreate giant battles of yesteryear, but to pique players' interest in them.
And Age of Empires 4 does that to amazing effect. I could say that its well-balanced gameplay, varied quest types, or my desire for a sense of completion kept me coming back for more. That would be missing the big picture. I keep coming back for the game's brilliant documentary-style cutscenes, which is no small feat for a strategy game.