Age of Darkness: Final Stand Review

Age of Darkness: Final Stand is a hardcore survival RTS that will challenge even the most veteran players’ skills. The game throws up to 70,000 creatures at players during a death night; it’s one of the most brutal RTS games to have been released in years.

The game’s setting somewhat reminds me of Warcraft’s The Lich King era, with hordes of ghastly monsters viciously intent on ripping your town apart and wreaking havoc on those unfortunate enough to dwell in it. And all that stands in their way is the town defences and a handful of heroes wielding over-the-top weapons and abilities.

If you’ve ever played They are Billions, you will be familiar with the concept of thinking that your town is impenetrable, simply to watch it be sliced through like butter. Well, welcome to that familiar feeling again. Your day is about to get a whole lot worse.

I will be the first to admit that it takes me some time to get used to these types of games, but with each failure, I adapt and take my town a little further. Yet with Age of Darkness: Final Stand, it took me longer than most games to adapt. Not because the learning curve is too steep, no, but simply because I kept getting my ass handed to me by relentless hordes, who found ways around my ever-increasingly elaborate maze of defences.

While progression does feel a little slower than other RTS games, Age of Darkness: Final Stand never got boring. Instead of moaning about how hard it is or throwing a toddler-like tantrum as I normally would, I found myself just the right amount of pissed off to want to come back for more, but this time win.

The procedurally generated maps also help when it comes to the game’s longevity, with each time you play being different from the last, it helps keep the game fresh and makes you find new ways to set up your town and its defences.

Much like They are Billions, speed and careful planning are the key to success; every second counts. Thankfully, the game includes a pause button, giving you plenty of time to look around, plan your next move, and not waste a second of in-game time.

Surviving the Fog

As the death nights approach, the land surrounding your town becomes covered in a dense fog that hurts any units caught up in it. And with each night, more and more enemies descend upon your town, reducing your chances of survival, and putting pressure on you to improve your town’s defences to survive the night.

You can upgrade units and buildings, and even obtain blessings for each death night you defeat, but even with these upgrades, Age of Darkness never feels easy. As the enemies start hitting numbers in the thousands, it doesn’t take long before they are slicing through your walls and towers in a buttery-like fashion.

Is Age of Darkness: Final Stand Worth Buying?

Age of Darkness has provided me with a kind of challenge that you rarely see in modern games. Each time I watch my town fall into annihilation, I thinkit will be the last, but never is.

If you enjoy games that make you think fast and require players to think tactics before diving headfirst into battle, then Age of Darkness: Final Stand is definitely one for you. While it doesn’t do a huge amount to separate itself from similar games, such as They are Billions, the added challenge of having to deal with the fog does make it a great game if you really want to push yourself tactically.

But, if you’re easily annoyed, not very tactically minded, or simply enjoy a chilled-out, easy game, you might want to look for something else. Age of Darkness: Final Stand might not be for you.