On paper, Age of Wonders 4's Giant Kings expansion seems like it does less than the last big DLC, Eldritch Realms. Developer Triumph Studios added one new realm, instead of two. Giant Kings includes two new tomes, where Eldritch Realms had three, and there's just one new realm trait, as opposed to Eldritch's two. In practice, developer Triumph uses the expansion in a much more exciting way, expanding playstyle options and adding new ways not just to win the game, but to interact with almost every part of it, even down to the earth itself.
Go big
The (literally) biggest addition in Giant Kings are the eponymous new heroes, massive leaders who tower over the map and come with a selection of useful skills in and out of combat. The flashiest is a spell that lets giants terraform aboveground and below by placing an item that, every turn, creates mountains or stalagmites. You can place it on almost any hex, and it's a brilliant way to create a defensive perimeter around vulnerable sites or just block enemies from moving about too freely, if you're concerned they might explore or settle somewhere you'd rather keep for yourself. They have other methods of interacting with the land as well, including a skill that shapes lava, but making mountains is easily the most useful.
Giants loom over the battlefield as well, though despite their bulk, they seem about as vulnerable as any other hero or leader unit. They aren't immediately singled out as a target, either, as the enemy AI will still try to flank your weakest units first. Where their size comes in handy is in how they fight. Giants prefer physical attacks, leading to a more up-front and aggressive playstyle. They can hurl giant boulders across the battlefield or take a massive swipe at several enemies nearby. Most of their special attacks cover multiple hex tiles, so even if they aren't remarkably stronger than other heroes, they can make a noteworthy dent in enemy forces.
Giants can access the forge system immediately as well. Earning materials to craft weapons with still takes time, but the option to augment your favorite hero with a more powerful weapon earlier fits with the Giant Kings' emphasis on more aggressive strategies.
Giant Kings also introduces merchant units who might turn up for a while and offer services, most of which have little to do with actual mercantile things. The one who showed up most often in my time with Giant Kings had options for spells and other effects, and he offered to "train" some of my heroes, essentially respeccing them for a gold fee, instead of the usual cost in Imperium. Other, more interesting shopkeepers exist as well, though you're likely to just see one in any given playthrough. One round that lasted more than 70 turns saw just one shopkeeper arrive, though their scarcity keeps the feature feeling like an interesting opportunity instead of an easy route.
And go deep
Giant Kings' new tomes are helpful, especially for underground play, but in a way that makes me wish they were available for the base game as well. Tome of the Dungeon Depths, for example, bolsters your productivity and gold-making capabilities in your underground settlements, especially if you have dungeons. In most non-Giant Kings runs, the underground is just where you safely stick your primary city and build a bunch of quarries. There's no associated playstyle or room to really develop one. The Tome of the Dungeon Depths pushes you a bit more toward a specific kind of play – the biggest bonuses come from provinces with dungeons and dungeon improvements – and give the underground more of a reason to warrant developing. It's just a shame that only applies to the expansion.
You'll also run into new stories and events underground and on the surface, including one that's tied to a new Crystal Dwelling, Sialdinn. The dwelling's leader makes contact with you early in a round, and you have a range of options for treating with them – cooperation, taking on quests, taking on quests and then stealing the results for yourself, outright hostility – and while the rewards for fostering good relations with the dwelling are fine in themselves, what's even better is the shape it helps give each round. The dwelling leader will offer quests of different difficulties that push you to find certain locations or monsters and then decide how you want to deal with them. Age of Wonders 4's narrative system is usually adept at keeping each game interesting in general, but this extra layer of planning and the branching outcomes adds a welcome extra layer of opportunities.
The realm's unique stories are implemented a little more haphazardly. One on the surface map has you challenge manifestations of chaos and then defeat their leader, a rogue spirit. All the units involved are at a high level and pose major risks to challenge in battle, though you can make other sacrifices, such as city growth, to appease them. They leave you to your devices until you make a choice, and it's just a little odd that incredibly dangerous manifestations of evil would wait politely on your behalf. A better one that unfolds underground involves haunted gold that spawns armies of evil spirits until you deal with the source of the curse. This storyline spans most of a round, even after you resolve the initial incident, and it's just a bit disappointing that some of the others aren't as robust.
Age of Wonders 4: Giant Kings might not seem like the flashiest expansion. However, the way it integrates its additions into every aspect of a round makes it one of the better ones so far, even if it has less overall to offer.
The publisher provided the copy of Age of Wonders 4: Giant Kings used for this review. Giant Kings is available now for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
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replyJosh Broadwell posted a new article, Age of Wonders 4 Giant Kings' DLC is a mighty refreshing expansion
