If you grew up in the golden age of real-time strategy games, you likely spent copious hours playing the Age of Empires series after school and on weekends. One of the best in the series was Age of Mythology, which brought all the great mechanics of Age of Empires and added mystical and supernatural elements from various world mythologies. In October 2002, players were introduced to a near-perfect recipe for a large-scale (for its time), epic battle of mythic proportions.
Fast-forward to September 2024, and the fan favourite Age of Mythology has seen a re-release as Age of Mythology: Retold. This version brings back all the elements that made the original great, now ready for modern systems. Brendan Frye of CGMagazine gave the release a score of 9.5 out of 10 in his review, citing the impressive balance of nostalgia and innovation.
While some developers may simply bask in the glory of a job well done, World’s Edge has instead doubled down on its commitment to Age of Mythology with the release of a new free game mode called Arena of the Gods. Spanning 35 new skirmishes, Arena of the Gods takes players on either a solo or co-op choose-your-own-adventure experience through a series of maps, each with its own unique conditions and settings to contend with.
While Arena of the Gods is, at its core, a series of skirmish maps, World’s Edge has worked hard to make the experience feel unique from the standard skirmish fare. This is demonstrated in a few distinct ways.
The first of these is found in the maps themselves. Each offers special conditions that challenge players to engage the battlefield with new, out-of-the-box strategies. In playing through these arenas, I frequently had to adapt my strategy on each map to accommodate the unique conditions. It was fun, fresh and engaging throughout my playtime.
Another new and interesting feature that comes with the Arena of the Gods game mode is the blessings’ system. As you progress through the arena, you earn blessings that can be equipped—up to a maximum of three—before beginning a mission. They impact everything from your units to the world around you, once again helping you shape a unique strategy every time you enter the fray. The blessings offer a wide range of benefits and modifications to the gameplay experience, allowing players to develop their own unique strategy.
“Arena of the Gods has been an excellent addition to Age of Mythology: Retold.”
Finally, Arena of the Gods also introduces the concept of world twists. These modifiers can completely change the battlefield experience mid-game and happen at random, leaving you constantly adapting to whatever the enemy or the gods throw your way. This last modifier adds new depth to the skirmish experience.
Arena of the Gods has been an excellent addition to Age of Mythology: Retold. In my approximately 12 hours with the new mode, I found each map offered a variety of challenges to the standard AOM experience. I have been a huge fan of AOM since its release and agree wholeheartedly with Brendan’s review of Age of Mythology: Retold. Arena of the Gods takes everything I love about AOM and adds another layer of goodness.
Arena of the Gods is an excellent addition to an already excellent remake. It is also a testament to World’s Edge’s care and commitment to the AOM title. Arena of the Gods is an amazing new addition to Age of Mythology: Retold, and one I would highly recommend spending time with if you’re an AOM fan.
