Age of Empires: Definitive Edition similar games & best alternatives

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition - Trailer
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Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2019

Should you play it?

Age of Empires, the pivotal real-time strategy game that launched a 20-year legacy returns with modernized gameplay, all-new 4K visuals, 8-person multiplayer battles and a host of other new features. Welcome back to history.

What works

  • Faithful remaster with updated graphics and sound
  • Challenging and engaging campaigns
  • Multiplayer with ranked modes
  • High replay value and nostalgia
  • Quality-of-life improvements

Things to keep in mind

  • Poor unit pathfinding
  • Some campaign missions overly difficult
  • Limited new content compared to sequels
  • Ai can be frustrating
  • Lack of certain modern rts features

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Cossacks: Back to War

  • Cossacks 3

  • Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

  • Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

  • Rise of Nations: Extended Edition

  • Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition

More fantastical

Games that feels like Age of Empires: Definitive Edition but with more imaginative fiction

  • Age of Mythology: Extended Edition

  • Songs of Conquest

  • Command & Conquer™ Tiberian Sun™ and Firestorm™

  • STAR WARS™ Galactic Battlegrounds Saga

  • Age of Mythology: Retold

  • 8-Bit Hordes

Less dominating

Games that feels like Age of Empires: Definitive Edition but with less domination over others

  • Field of Glory II

  • Stronghold: Definitive Edition

  • 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far

  • Sudden Strike 2 Gold

  • TFC: The Fertile Crescent

  • Cossacks II: Battle for Europe

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. These titles are not in What to play next.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Leadership. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy.

Last update: 21/08/2026