[Update #2]: Age of Empires 4's free 25th anniversary update will be adding Ottomans and Malians on October 25th.

[Update]: Age of Empires 4's Season 1 update has brought in Modding Tools and a Ranked Mode.

A fair few years have gone by since the original announcement, but I'm very happy to say that Age of Empires 4 has now finally arrived. The launch version brings with it eight playable civilizations, four singleplayer campaigns, as well as whole bunch of gameplay improvements and quality of life features to help it stand out from Age of Empires 2 from which it draws a great deal of inspiration.

Since the moment-to-moment gameplay is the most important thing when it comes to these types of RTS games, allow me to share with you one of the full-length multiplayer matches Relic has posted over the past couple of weeks. This one features a battle between the Rus and the Holy Roman Empire and is a pretty fun one to watch:

While the graphics and animations are not as polished as I would've liked, the good news is that the actual gameplay is rock solid and very reminiscent of Age of Empires 2. The campaigns are also quite good, and even though they're not on the level of StarCraft 2, they're still worth a playthrough before diving into the multiplayer madness. So if you're in the mood for an oldschool style RTS, and especially if you're a fan of Age of Empires 2, then I'd say Age of Empires 4 is well worth looking into.

You can do so, as well as check out some of the user reviews, over at Steam. Have fun!