Last weekend, Age of Mythology: Retold made an appearance at Xbox Games Showcase 2024, revealing gameplay footage for the first time, as well as a release date of September 4, 2024. As part of the Official Xbox Podcast's deep dive series, hosts Malik Prince and Jenn Panattoni sat down with World's Edge's Emma Bridle and Earnest Yuen to share some insights into this exciting, modern reimagining of the 2002 strategy classic.
Watch the full podcast below: The Age of Mythology: Retold section begins at 25:40:
For those who are not familiar, Age of Mythology: Retold is a faithful version of the original title, a real-time strategy game where humans live and fight alongside monsters and gods. “It's a fantastical, magical, chaotic world that you can control,” Bridle says.
During the trailer, we got our first look at one of the campaign missions, set in the Egyptian Pantheon (the name of the playable factions). Playing as Amanra, your main objective is to destroy the Migdol Fortress and, to do this, you will need to gather an army. Here, we see Amanra collecting units from the temples scattered around, but they are not your typical sword-and-bow soldiers. We see units of monsters that are directly inspired by Egyptian mythology: Petsuchos (or 'laser crocodiles, as Bridle jovially calls them), large, jeweled crocodiles that shoot devastating long-range rays of sunlight at their enemies, as well as what Yuen calls “Kaiju Scarabs”, which cause close range damage to structures.
In theory, one would expect a huge crocodile with a radiant sniper to outwit any small human who attacked him with a sword, but age of mythology It is finely balanced to ensure that humans, monsters, and gods share the same chances of victory. According to Yuen, there is a triangle of abilities: mythological units are usually very good against human units, but then there are hero units, which are especially good against mythological enemies.
“As a player, it really makes you think about where to place your units as you progress through the levels,” Yuen adds.
The backdrop of this action is also wrapped in gorgeous environmental design that matches the setting. Bridle explains that each Pantheon (the name given to the playable factions) has its own distinct biome and architecture: golden sands and light, angular buildings adorn the Egyptian campaign, while a blanket of snow settles over the mountains and roofed huts. straw from the Nordic environment. This is a game that weaves in magical elements, but everything looks and feels authentic to the era in which your Pantheon plays.
Bridle adds that all of the art from the original game has been completely redone, in keeping with the creation of this modern, fantastic-looking recreation of the original title. During the podcast, this was shown with images and animations comparing the year 2002. age of mythology to the next retold. A screenshot of one of the campaign missions comes to life in incredible detail, and Bridle adds that “the entire world has been redone.” This included seeing original models of two heroes, Arkantos and Athena, both now super refined and realistic, and the Atlantean Titan, now with fiery veins of lava woven between scorching rock, literally a “glow” for the creature, Bridle adds. .
“When we compare these units, they show more definition, you can see the effects of the particles, they really come to life more,” says Bridle.
A central objective for Age of Mythology: Retold is that it goes beyond the already impressive blueprint set by the recent Age of Empires 'Definitive Edition' titles. “The goal of Definitive Editions is to create an amazing game that people remember in their heads, but not necessarily what it actually was,” explains Yuen.
“With Age of Mythology: Retold, we go further to add new features and mechanics to the game. “It's not just about preservation, we now also have the technology to do this concept the justice it deserves.”
Yuen details a new feature coming to the game, which is that the God Powers are now rechargeable, meaning they can be used multiple times during a game. in the original age of mythologyMost Divine Powers could only be used once, but Yuen shares an idea as to why that might not have been the optimal approach for retold.
“Because you can only use that Divine Power once, people would try to save it for the right time, but what really ends up happening is that the game would end before they could use it,” Yuen explains. “Divine powers are the best thing you can do in the game, so we're making it so they can be used multiple times and you can think about how to do it strategically.”
Even better, Age of Mythology: Retold includes an additional age at the end of the game: the Wonder Age. Here, divine powers are cheaper to use, so the option to use them even more is available during this period of the game. “It's just chaos,” Bridle adds. “You can unleash everything you've got and it's a lot of fun.”
The pair delved into many more topics on the podcast, including where to start in Retold as a new player and how the long-standing fanbases of Age of Mythology and Age of Empires have been instrumental in the development of new entries. Be sure to check it out!
Age of Mythology: Retold launches on September 4 and is available day one on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass.
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