Age of Empires II: HD Edition Review (Mereoleona)
10/10 from someone with no nostalgia for Age of Empires II.
I bought AoE 2 HD when it released thinking it was AoE 1, which I had a little nostalgia for (Nutri-Grain box!).
Initially I was annoyed thinking I had wasted my money, but as time went on, I realised the only thing I wasted was the years I spent ignoring the game in my library. I've played over 500 hours across HD and DE and I'm still loving it. I mostly play through the campaigns, or with a friend in 2v2 ranked or AI matches. No two matches are the same, there are always many areas to improve at and analyse after each game.
I can't think of a single negative to say about AoE2 DE. Forgotten Empires put a lot of love into their game and spoil their community. It is easily one of the cleanest and most faithful remasters of a popular game. The gameplay, music, sound effects, voice lines, campaigns, UI, AI, matchmaking, stability, connection, graphics, art, animations, are all either perfect or extremely close to. The game is continuously updated and supported. Every update to the balance is top quality, Forgotten Empires really understand the meta and how to keep it interesting. There are also constant events with fun rewards.
Pricing is more than fair as well at $23 AUD for the base game. Even the DLC is cheap, $12 AUD for 4 new civs in the Dynasties of India DLC! I kind of feel bad even buying it at that price.
The player base is also fairly mature and there's little toxicity which makes for a nice change compared to other multiplayer games.
I just can't think of a negative. If you like RTS games and you like medieval time periods, then you really can't go wrong with AoE2 DE.