The map has both a surface and an underground dimension, so it's in fact two-tiered. Most of the game is spent looking at the strategic game map, where you manage your cities, expand into new provinces, recruit military units and set out on a conquest with your heroes and armies. It means the game takes place in many different environments, from snowy worlds to barren and abandoned realms, which are randomly generated with each new game.

As a player, you can choose to either be a champion of one of the races, or play as one of the wizard kings who want to take over as many worlds as possible. They're not just after one world though, because a so-called Astral Sea magically interconnects many different worlds inhabited by different races.

Continuing a storyline from Age of Wonders 3, the story driving Age of Wonders 4 is as follows: previously banished wizard kings have returned, more powerful than ever, to reign as gods (called Godirs) among mortals. In a nutshell, Age of Wonders 4 is a 4X, turn-based strategy game in a fantasy setting.

Age wonders 4