Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 163 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 163
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 163
  3. Negative: 36 out of 163
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  1. brevno12
    Dec 15, 2020
    10
    For sure an improvement over original, low score due to r/convervative being snowflakes so freely add 1.5 points to current score
  2. gimus
    Oct 21, 2020
    10
    Very good remaster! I like it. Graphics is nice, sound, etc. Everything on its place.
  3. DEDE1973
    Oct 17, 2020
    10
    I wonder what people are expecting from a remaster. It has better graphics, better resolution and works better on new PCs. That is exactly what AOE3:DE is doing.
    If you didn't like the 2005 version or the enhanced one released a few years ago, don't bother buying this one, you won't like it either. But if, like me, you loved the previous versions with a passion and wants to play a version    I wonder what people are expecting from a remaster. It has better graphics, better resolution and works better on new PCs. That is exactly what AOE3:DE is doing.
    If you didn't like the 2005 version or the enhanced one released a few years ago, don't bother buying this one, you won't like it either. But if, like me, you loved the previous versions with a passion and wants to play a version enhanced for your 2019 rig, then pay 20$ and you won't regret it.    … Expand
  4. Lyvione
    Oct 20, 2020
    10
    The game is a blast and the negative reviews are just superficial whining. Yes it needs patches but remember aoe2de? Chill and enjoy some colonialism bois. See you all on the battlefield.
  5. TheReaper2033
    Oct 16, 2020
    10
    amazing new game, practically everything improved, 2 new civilizations and 8 new revolutions. Personally I loved that they respected the factions historically, in terms of uniforms and names, highly recommended
  6. i44arho
    Nov 12, 2020
    10
    To be honest, the only drawback is the lack of optimization and there are some bugs, but they are working on it, and patches are released every couple of days. Otherwise, there are some pluses. The interface has been improved for the better, it has become even more informative, the minimap has become a little larger, several of its variations are also available, the text size has also beenTo be honest, the only drawback is the lack of optimization and there are some bugs, but they are working on it, and patches are released every couple of days. Otherwise, there are some pluses. The interface has been improved for the better, it has become even more informative, the minimap has become a little larger, several of its variations are also available, the text size has also been slightly increased. The graphics were improved, although the old one was not bad. Added two new nations, modes. And also new cards. Improved balance. And a lot of small additions, a la the possibility of 3-4 teams of 2, a variant with a random civ, observer mode. Decks are available immediately and you don't need to bother with pumping anymore. The fact that the names of Indian civilizations have been changed is not a minus, what is the difference between Sioux and Lakota. Some narrow-minded people just make a problem out of nothing. As a true fan of the third part, I am completely satisfied with the remaster.… Expand
  7. Xavier99
    Oct 18, 2020
    10
    Excelente remasterización le doy un 10, me gusto mucho el trabajo de forgotten empires y tantalus, nada más me encantaría que aumenten batallas historicas y más revoluciones latinas como la de Bolivia, y pongan las campaña de la independencia de las colonias españolas, las guerras napoleónicas.
  8. serious339
    Oct 17, 2020
    10
    Вполне себе добротное обновление довольно старой стратегии, по приемлемой цене. Красивая и улучшенная графика, обновлённый и удобный интерфейс, новые режимы и уже включённые все DLC, а так же 2 абсолютно новые цивилизации.Вполне себе добротное обновление довольно старой стратегии, по приемлемой цене. Красивая и улучшенная графика, обновлённый и удобный интерфейс, новые режимы и уже включённые все DLC, а так же 2 абсолютно новые цивилизации.
  9. Aleksman
    Oct 18, 2020
    10
    The remaster is so good. So many new changes like new civilizations, maps, game modes, new campaign missions, awesome detailed graphics, the best age game I’ve played!!!
  10. info0game
    Oct 20, 2020
    10
    The game is really good , I love this game and the development team (Ensemble Studios)
  11. Shark3900
    Oct 22, 2020
    10
    The game is great, if you liked Age of Empires 3 you'll love this.

    Bugs are a YMMV type situation, I've played several games already and had 0 issues personally.

    Ironic, the people complaining about the "dev agenda" are just trying to enforce an agenda of their own.
  12. MikeAGE
    Jun 3, 2021
    10
    The simple AOE2 minds are here to hate on the game by writing untrue reviews of the game.

    The game is awesome and for Age of Empires 4, they need to look into the direction AoE3 went rather than the unstrategic dumb AoE2 game.
  13. heisenberg_88
    Dec 4, 2021
    10
    Good graphics but unnecessary game !
    AoE3 already looks good & there was no need of this game . AoE2 DE is acceptable as AoE2 was a very old game .
    They could've just postponed this DE game 2 -3 years later and added new things that would make players excited !
    I think they released this so that they can release AoE 4
  14. Midnight69
    Jun 14, 2023
    10
    This is one of the deepest RTS games I have played. There is always something new you are learning. From a casual perspective it is rewarding as well as you will always earn XP even when playing against the computer. The unit responsiveness is a bit clunky and the counters are really hard but I still think it is a visually beautiful game with rewarding mechanics and so so muchThis is one of the deepest RTS games I have played. There is always something new you are learning. From a casual perspective it is rewarding as well as you will always earn XP even when playing against the computer. The unit responsiveness is a bit clunky and the counters are really hard but I still think it is a visually beautiful game with rewarding mechanics and so so much replayabliity. It deviates so much from the other AOE but that is the reason I love it.… Expand
  15. dridri
    Oct 18, 2020
    9
    It's a good quality remaster.
    Finally, the 2 extensions are combined and it is very practical.
    The graphics are better, but lacking in clarity, the far view is a bit blurry compared to the zoomed view. The new game modes like historical battles are great, too bad there are only 6. A lot of negative opinions concern bugs and crashes (especially present in multiplayer), and it's true it's    It's a good quality remaster.
    Finally, the 2 extensions are combined and it is very practical.
    The graphics are better, but lacking in clarity, the far view is a bit blurry compared to the zoomed view. The new game modes like historical battles are great, too bad there are only 6.
    A lot of negative opinions concern bugs and crashes (especially present in multiplayer), and it's true it's annoying, but once corrected, this remaster will be a real improvement.    … Expand
  16. EarthRed
    Oct 26, 2020
    9
    An immense step up for what we thought would be a slight graphical update. With tons of new content and dedicated servers, and with a few more bug fix patches, this will be one of the best RTS re-releases to date.

    Pros: - Tons and tons of new content, for both European and Native civs. Also, the Chinese can now use more than one army type. This includes new politicians, a few new    An immense step up for what we thought would be a slight graphical update. With tons of new content and dedicated servers, and with a few more bug fix patches, this will be one of the best RTS re-releases to date.

    Pros:

    - Tons and tons of new content, for both European and Native civs. Also, the Chinese can now use more than one army type. This includes new politicians, a few new mechanics, and an expanded new revolution system.

    - Dedication to competitive multiplayer, in terms of both gameplay improvements as well as balance changes. One of the new civs is seen as a bit overpowered still and there are a few kinks left here and there, but if the devs development cycle is anything near to AoE2:DE (which everything seems to be pointing to), the game will be patched regularly. If you'd rather wait and see, that's completely understandable too.

    - If you're not one of the unlucky people that have game breaking bugs, the server infrastructure is actually really solid. Cross-continent play is (when not bugging) surprisingly lag free. For example, Europeans can play on the Korean server without practically any gamebreaking lag, which is really nice.

    - Fluid, competent and modern UI.

    Neutral:

    - No public ELO in casual games, so no easy way to filter through casual games based on ELO, but also no ELO sniping either. Some people are really pissed about this, but it also fixed a few large problems with the original release. If this is an issue for you, you'll need to wait and see if the devs implement something to let high-ELO people avoid low-ELO casual games and vice versa.

    - As stated earlier, some names have been changed here and there. If this bothers you, there is a mod that will revert the name changes back.

    Cons:

    - Some people are experiencing severe game breaking bugs, as well as other visual bugs. Be prepared to wait or refund if you're experiencing these. These include bugs that stop you from progressing in the campaign, connecting to people or seeing multiplayer lobbies.

    - No singleplayer skirmish progression, if you're interested in that.

    - If you didn't like AoE3 before, you'll most likely not like it now, except if the home city unlocking was your only gripe.

    - The game runs very poorly on some systems, so you'll have to try your luck with the games graphical performance quirks.

    - The clan and replay functionalities don't work properly all the time at the moment.

    - Chinese voicelines and localisation is bad, and in some cases buggy as well.

    - Several other localizations are buggy too.

    - We need a balance patch or two to even out some multiplayer quirks. [Link omitted per site policy]    … Expand
  17. superlugia94
    Mar 23, 2023
    9
    This is one my favorite games ever. And especially the remastered version of it because they managed to make a very good remastered based on the old game. One thing I would love to see from the developers is to add more civilizations. Civilizations from the Balkans or the eastern Europe would be great. And why not Polish Romanian. Maybe from the east Persians Arabs etc. Afterall perfectThis is one my favorite games ever. And especially the remastered version of it because they managed to make a very good remastered based on the old game. One thing I would love to see from the developers is to add more civilizations. Civilizations from the Balkans or the eastern Europe would be great. And why not Polish Romanian. Maybe from the east Persians Arabs etc. Afterall perfect game and it will be ever better if they add more civilization content to it.… Expand
  18. Chowjust
    Dec 4, 2022
    8
    Better than seggs. One of my favorite RTS games from my childhood and still holds up in 2022.
  19. BigBossManXXXX
    Oct 16, 2020
    8
    A quick review (personal experience):

    The game runs fine on my computer tbh, so i don't know why many others are complaining about their own negative experience with it so far? (if i do notice changes or whatever, i'll surely add them here down below in due time..) That being said, it looks rather nice and sounds great as well. (no problems with optimization as of yet?) My rig isn't    A quick review (personal experience):

    The game runs fine on my computer tbh, so i don't know why many others are complaining about their own negative experience with it so far? (if i do notice changes or whatever, i'll surely add them here down below in due time..)

    That being said, it looks rather nice and sounds great as well. (no problems with optimization as of yet?)
    My rig isn't the newest or best to say the least and the settings were auto set to High (didn't change a thing)..

    I'm currently enjoying myself playing AoE 3: Definitive Edition. (i do own previous disk copies from way back in the day)
    But as with all newly released titles, updates and patches need to be given early so everyone could enjoy it equally much.

    Let's hope there's more to this game than just a "unoptimized" cash grab for us oldtimers (like me) and newcomers alike.
    So, as said above, i'll add more to this review as the game progresses. (in either good or bad times..)

    As promised, a little update:

    Having noticed that the pathfinding has some issues and there are some minor graphical glitches to be seen at times, i know (or expect) most of them will likely get ironed out with the coming patches..

    I'm not entirely sure (i'm not a games developer etc) how deep this goes into the coding, but let's hope and see if the devs are indeed still actively seeking for any possible solutions to whatever issues this game might have.    … Expand
  20. Misterdiony
    May 18, 2021
    8
    The Definite edition remains on the same level as its previous editions. The graphic update looks amazing but there are still errors remaining in the game that have occured years ago. If it would work top-notch along with the graphics the score could be higher, but at this point it remains as it is.
  21. tututdyure
    Jan 2, 2022
    8
    This game is amazing, but I still like Age Of Empires 2 more than Age Of Empires 3. But good job for Xbox Game Studios.
  22. Talkys
    Sep 8, 2023
    8
    The game is way better than AOE III from the past, but some of the same bugs are still present, and the scenario editor is not that easy to use. It has a lot of issues on Proton when playing cut scenes.
  23. Bloodnes
    Oct 18, 2020
    7
    Неплохо, но вторая часть как-то смотрится поинтересней, тут графика показалась более мыльной, но битвы смотрятся эффектней, в целом не залетела, лучше поиграть во вторую часть. 7/10
  24. Mazma
    Dec 25, 2020
    7
    Una decente definitive, anche se col tempo spero migliori, molto pesante e con poche novita attualmente ma e' pure sempre il classico AGE 3.
  25. philipz484
    Jan 2, 2021
    7
    The base version from 2005 was my childhood favourite game It was pleasure to see it renewed with modern time texture resolution standards. I also enjoyed that we now have the Swedes and the Incas but they should be put into the game already in 2005 together with the Polish nation :)
    I would like to rank this game 8+ but the amount of bugs I experienced was to much, I lost all my saves    The base version from 2005 was my childhood favourite game It was pleasure to see it renewed with modern time texture resolution standards. I also enjoyed that we now have the Swedes and the Incas but they should be put into the game already in 2005 together with the Polish nation :)
    I would like to rank this game 8+ but the amount of bugs I experienced was to much, I lost all my saves after doing Steam integrity scan of the game and during the game play I had countless CTDs.    … Expand
  26. Avadon
    Oct 17, 2020
    6
    I haven't had any performance issues or crashes personally, but the game doesn't really look that much better than the original. There are also plenty of sound issues, especially volume and mixing related since there are several units whose responses are almost inaudible. There are also tons of bugs from the old version that haven't been fixed, like pathfinding and units gettingI haven't had any performance issues or crashes personally, but the game doesn't really look that much better than the original. There are also plenty of sound issues, especially volume and mixing related since there are several units whose responses are almost inaudible. There are also tons of bugs from the old version that haven't been fixed, like pathfinding and units getting permanently stuck on terrain. Multiplayer is also really buggy, with disappearing lobbies, unable to observe games, unable to invite friends etc.

    In general, this is an overall weak effort from the developers. This is not some awesome transformative remaster of the game, plus it needs a lot of patches to become acceptable. It is currently not an essential purchase. Wait a year.    … Expand
  27. hielrocker
    Sep 28, 2021
    6
    Not the greatest Age of empires. Actually it's the worst of them. Better graphics but go for AOE2, AOE2 or AOM
  28. Sagerronan
    Oct 18, 2020
    6
    A good upgrade for the most part, the changes to Native Americans is fine, if a little under implemented. It plays well so long as it doesn't crash, which it does. Often. On very good hardware, on average hardware, and on bad hardware. Doesn't matter, I've had maybe 4 crashes out of 12 or so multiplayer games played. It is buggy and crashes frequently. If you crash in a multiplayer game,A good upgrade for the most part, the changes to Native Americans is fine, if a little under implemented. It plays well so long as it doesn't crash, which it does. Often. On very good hardware, on average hardware, and on bad hardware. Doesn't matter, I've had maybe 4 crashes out of 12 or so multiplayer games played. It is buggy and crashes frequently. If you crash in a multiplayer game, you're out. You can't reconnect, if you time out of the game because you crash, you just resign. It's lame. Until then, you're lucky if you can get it to work properly on windows 10. Units gets stuck behind trade posts, unable to move. Until these bugs/crashes are fixed, the game is not really worth buying unless you're playing with friends. I've had zero crashed in the original AoE3, but crashes aplenty in definitive.… Expand
  29. raulraso
    Oct 24, 2020
    6
    the game closes suddenly on 1vs1 ranked matches, thats the mayor problem why i stopped playing. Also closes appear game doesnt respond" on windows when playing 4vs4
  30. Mpbpl
    May 3, 2021
    5
    Unfortunately I can't recommend this game. Starting where this version does good, it provides better representation to Native Americans than the old version.... that's it.
    It's a better version of the original but with that said, the original made this franchise have a huge hiatus until AoE2 HD/Definitive and competitive scene gave the franchise new light.
    Talking about the gameplay, it    Unfortunately I can't recommend this game. Starting where this version does good, it provides better representation to Native Americans than the old version.... that's it.
    It's a better version of the original but with that said, the original made this franchise have a huge hiatus until AoE2 HD/Definitive and competitive scene gave the franchise new light.
    Talking about the gameplay, it never really got me like AoE1 and 2, most basic units are ranged units, each spawn in a different number making it hard to keep track of what to create, the game feels a bit slower than previous entries, because of this they created a shipment mechanic, the more points you make you change them for villagers, warriors, fortresses, etc. but that is a bandaid for a problem they themselves created.
    With this I have to say that my biggest gripewith AoE3 is that it makes the franchise go from following historical characters in historical events to fictional characters on fictional events similar to historical ones or helping historical characters, and that sucks... going away from history makes the writing, dialogue, situations so stupid. There was one mission where you help General Washington in his first victory, and you even control him, but after that you go back to follow the fictional captain that is super important but does not exist and is not inspired by anyone.
    That was one of the most stupid decisions ever for the franchise, an Evil Company was created to avoid political problems, which sucks... feels like pandering history.
    All of that together makes this game overall subpar... it's not bad but wait for a discount.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 48
  3. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 8, 2021
    75
    The developers did a great job at ironing out imperfections of the original game and expanding it without messing with its core. There are some visual shortcomings and performance issues, and the AI needs more work, but I longed for a good strategy game and Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition filled that void for me. [13/2020, p.50]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 4, 2021
    60
    Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a decent addition to Age of Empires family. While not surprisingly good, it is still a good game, which unfortunately suffers from its technical state. [Issue#307]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Nov 13, 2020
    70
    This is surely the best way to experience a classic and beloved game. Age of Empires III Definitive Edition is a major upgrade to the original even though its gameplay shows its age.
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