Everyone knows about Genghis Khan, who put the Mongol Empire on the map (literally!) and conquered a huge portion of the world with the power of his people’s horsemanship. However, there’s a great deal more to the Mongols than most know, and Age of Empires 4 offers players a chance to see how much more there is, according to game director Quinn Duffy in PC Gamer Magazine:
“I think that idea of ‘humanized histories’ is about illustrating that these people–despite living 800 years ago–still have a pretty significant impact on our day-to-day life and were more sophisticated than we give them credit for.”
The Mongol Empire, despite rising out of nomadic steppe tribes, quickly grew into one of the world’s greatest and most powerful empires, reaching from China to Eastern Europe, possessing a huge and diverse population, and incorporating the skills and specialties of many of their annexed peoples into their armies. This is what helps to make Age of Empires 4 into one of the most asymmetrical Age of Empires games yet, according to Quinn.
“It’d have been very easy to just revert to RTS archetypes and really simple balancing, but it’s been our remit to keep the civs as asymmetrical as possible, to preserve the history.”
The Mongols, for instance, were known for their nomadic ways, carrying all of their possessions on horseback and rarely settling down. While they did conquer cities, they weren’t the type to hide behind stone walls. In-game, the Mongols can pack up all of their buildings and move them to another part of the map. They also have a building called the Ovoo, a religious building that can be built on stone deposits to give surrounding buildings a boost. According to Philippe Boulle, the game’s narrative lead,
“We had to think, ‘What’s the biggest manifestation of a mountaintop in our game?’ And we realized it’s those giant stone deposits that have always been so central to the gameplay, so taking a cultural element like that and making it a central point of play is really rewarding.”
You’ll be able to track the Mongol Empire’s progress through the ages of history when Age of Empires 4 comes out on October 28, exclusively on PC.