This is hands down the best RTS game to date (was the game that got me hooked into gaming as a kid). It has aged beautifully (with the help of some refreshes) and stands as the steadfast bastion for modern day RTS games to emulate.

9.5/10 as no game is flawless there are some minor bugs, but everything gets fixed in a timely manner

Edit: This game is worth every cent and the developers care about balance and the community

This game needs to be in everyone's library, period.


Update: With the addition of Lords of the West, it is an amazing expansion. I have always wanted an Edward Longshanks campaign given that he is your enemy in the tutorial campaign. After literal decades it finally happened and it's an amazing campaign!!! Balance changes for multiplayer are being worked for the Burgundians and Sicilians, but overall the expansion is worth the money if you love this franchise or if you just want to add two solid factions to your mix.

Update: Dynasties of India was added, all 3 campaigns were extremely fun and presented some of their own challenges. I can say as of writing that I have completed every single campaign that the game has to offer and quite a few of them I'd play again. Highly recommend all the DLCs, if you don't have the money for it upfront just wait for a sale. They are all worth the full asking price though.

Update: Completed the Return of Rome campaign. I believe it is well worth the money despite some disliking because it is basically an excuse to port over AoE1DE. You basically get both games rolled into the same, but it does add 3 new campaigns with the AoE2 storytelling style and after beating the original AoE1 campaigns again you realize just how much better AoE2's take on storytelling is. With the completion of this DLC, I have completed all DLC currently available as of 01/31/2024. Every DLC outside of the cosmetic DLC is very worth it imo, it adds hours upon hours of campaign gameplay and new civs/refreshes.

This game continues to receive love and support from the developers and they do listen to community input. Of any RTS I have ever played it is absolutely insane how well balanced each of the civilizations are with just how many there are. Some are stronger against certain civs than others, but player skill is the biggest defining factor in whether or not you will lose your matches. There really aren't any civs that "hard" counter another civ, they can all be played and as long as you understand your civs strengths and weaknesses it truly does come down to player skill. This game is and will continue to be a staple in the RTS genre of what every RTS game should aspire to be like. In my opinion there is no other RTS game that even comes close to the overall experience AoE2 gives you both in the single player aspect and multiplayer. The community is also pretty awesome as well!

DLC ranking imho (best to worst):
Lords of the West
Dynasties of India
Dawn of the Dukes
The Mountain Royals
Return of Rome

Awesome job with all of the actual campaign related DLC. Couldn't care for the cosmetic DLC, but if you play a lot of community games/PvP it might be worth getting just to have some cool avatars and other useless cosmetics. Neat, but by no means necessary and there are challenges, events, etc that come around that offer stuff just as cool.

This is hands down the best RTS game to date (was the game that got me hooked into gaming as a kid). It has aged beautifully (with the help of some refreshes) and stands as the steadfast bastion for modern day RTS games to emulate. 9.5/10 as no game is flawless there are some minor bugs, but everything gets fixed in a timely manner Edit: This game is worth every cent and the developers care about balance and the community This game needs to be in everyone's library, period. Update: With the addition of Lords of the West, it is an amazing expansion. I have always wanted an Edward Longshanks campaign given that he is your enemy in the tutorial campaign. After literal decades it finally happened and it's an amazing campaign!!! Balance changes for multiplayer are being worked for the Burgundians and Sicilians, but overall the expansion is worth the money if you love this franchise or if you just want to add two solid factions to your mix. Update: Dynasties of India was added, all 3 campaigns were extremely fun and presented some of their own challenges. I can say as of writing that I have completed every single campaign that the game has to offer and quite a few of them I'd play again. Highly recommend all the DLCs, if you don't have the money for it upfront just wait for a sale. They are all worth the full asking price though. Update: Completed the Return of Rome campaign. I believe it is well worth the money despite some disliking because it is basically an excuse to port over AoE1DE. You basically get both games rolled into the same, but it does add 3 new campaigns with the AoE2 storytelling style and after beating the original AoE1 campaigns again you realize just how much better AoE2's take on storytelling is. With the completion of this DLC, I have completed all DLC currently available as of 01/31/2024. Every DLC outside of the cosmetic DLC is very worth it imo, it adds hours upon hours of campaign gameplay and new civs/refreshes. This game continues to receive love and support from the developers and they do listen to community input. Of any RTS I have ever played it is absolutely insane how well balanced each of the civilizations are with just how many there are. Some are stronger against certain civs than others, but player skill is the biggest defining factor in whether or not you will lose your matches. There really aren't any civs that "hard" counter another civ, they can all be played and as long as you understand your civs strengths and weaknesses it truly does come down to player skill. This game is and will continue to be a staple in the RTS genre of what every RTS game should aspire to be like. In my opinion there is no other RTS game that even comes close to the overall experience AoE2 gives you both in the single player aspect and multiplayer. The community is also pretty awesome as well! DLC ranking imho (best to worst): Lords of the West Dynasties of India Dawn of the Dukes The Mountain Royals Return of Rome Awesome job with all of the actual campaign related DLC. Couldn't care for the cosmetic DLC, but if you play a lot of community games/PvP it might be worth getting just to have some cool avatars and other useless cosmetics. Neat, but by no means necessary and there are challenges, events, etc that come around that offer stuff just as cool.