Age of Mythology, the much-loved Age of Empires spin-off which first released in 2002, is getting a remaster. Announced during yesterday’s Age of Empires 25th anniversary event (opens in new tab), Age of Mythology Retold will gussy up the original game’s graphics, tweak its gameplay, and in general do for Age of Mythology what the Definitive Edition did for Age of Empires.
Microsoft has been making noises about doing something with the Age of Mythology series (opens in new tab) for the past few years, but until now it’s been the only Age of Empires game that didn’t have some kind of definitive edition announced. The original game got a Steam release back in 2014, and even got a (not well-liked) new expansion in 2016 (opens in new tab), but it’s taken this long for Microsoft’s much-discussed “possibility” of an Age of Mythology return to turn into a reality.
It’s a good thing, too, because Age of Mythology is a unique entry in the Age of Empires catalogue. Rather than taking (loose) inspiration from the real-life conflicts and civilisations that inspire Age of Empires, the game situates its battles in the spheres of Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology. Players select a cabal of major and minor gods to worship, granting them unique technologies, units, and abilities, and even special powers that can either help your faction or smite your enemies. It’s a breath of fresh air if you’re used to the more grounded nature of Age of Empires.
That’s pretty much all the info we have about Age of Mythology Retold, and you might have noticed that most of it is actually info about regular old Age of Mythology. Besides an announcement that the project is happening and a cinematic trailer promising that “heroes will rise” and “legends will battle,” information about the new definitive edition is remarkably scant.
That’s probably because development is still in very early stages, so we shouldn’t expect to hear much more about the game for a while yet. Still, even if we have to stay patient before we can hear more, it’s nice to know that Age of Mythology hasn’t receded into legend itself.
