I went behind the scenes at Gamescom to see Age of Empires Mobile in person, getting a hands-on preview of the game’s latest build ahead of launch later this year. TiMi Studio’s iOS and Android iteration of the beloved strategy game franchise is already shaping up to be a winner, but it was the game’s awesome extraction mode that has me beyond excited to revisit Age of Empires Mobile at release.
Bringing a massive experience like Age of Empires to mobile is no easy feat. Although there are heaps of mobile strategy games to get my mitts on these days, the Age of Empires franchise has that special something. During my Gamescom exclusive preview, I’m shown Age of Empires Mobile‘s take on the extraction genre in an expansive presentation, and while on paper this idea shouldn’t work, TiMi Studio appears to have pulled it off.
You’ll be able to drop into the battlefield with your mighty army, conquer enemies acquire desirable items, and then choose to extract at any time. It’s a mode that I never expected to see woven into the Age of Empires formula. However, just because it riffs off the intense formula that FPS game juggernaut Escape from Tarkov has popularized, don’t worry about it feeling alienating.
To make such a predominantly painstaking and calculated mode approachable for iOS and Android players, the mode’s magic comes by embracing the nature of getting your fix of the best mobile games in bite-size bursts. I’m told by the TiMi Studio team onsite that by focusing on player habits, like getting in nice ten-minute chunks of gameplay on public transport or while relaxing on the couch, the mode is notably easy to dip into whenever you feel like it.
That sentiment echoes across Age of Empires Mobile as a whole, too. While I didn’t get to try out the extraction mode in my hands-on preview as the game isn’t live yet, I did get stuck into the core of any good Age of Empires experience: taking a civilization into greatness.
It all feels wonderfully streamlined, whether I’m upgrading different POIs in my city, or diving into the game’s comprehensive skill trees, or roster of historical figures. If you happen to be a fan of Arthurian lore like me, then you’ll get a massive kick out of how Age of Empires Mobile blends together factual figures of history with mythical heroes like King Arthur.
When we previously spoke to TiMi Studios about the game earlier this year, producer Robin Xin and general manager Brayden Fan promised a “very different” experience for newcomers and AoE pros alike. That’s certainly the big takeaway from my time with Age of Empires Mobile. But even in its new handheld home, that unique Age of Empires brand of spectacle is still spectacular.
You’ll be able to get in on the action too when the Age of Empires Mobile release date arrives on October 17, 2024. In the meantime, you can pre-register to play the game on your iPhone and Android devices.