Best Age Of Empires Clones, Ranked

The Age Of Empires franchise is one of the definitive RTS series that fans have been loving for decades. The games are fairly timeless, and though new games still get made, many fans love returning to great games in the franchise like Age Of Empires 2 despite their age, rather than trying newer games in the franchise or other games that have pitched themselves as similar.

Related:Best Post-Apocalyptic Strategy Games

However, with such an infamous franchise, and with the modern accessibility of the gaming industry, many indie developers and competitors have given their shot at making something very similar to Age Of Empires. Whether they do this to try and make money off the concept or as an homage to a franchise that is much-loved and has a number of great entries, there are still plenty of these clones of Age Of Empires available for fans who’d like to try something a little different.

6 Minecraft Legends

One of the most recent RTS games released that has similarities to Age Of Empires, Minecraft Legends is an RTS take on the most popular and best-selling video game of all time. Minecraft has expanded outward in different directions with other games in the franchise, including Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Earth. But the recently released Minecraft Legends could open this block-filled universe to a whole new set of fans.

Minecraft Legends contains a great story surrounding the Minecraft world being invaded from the Nether by armies of Piglins. The player takes control of a character who is called upon by three figures to lead the armies of the Overworld as different creatures come together, including creepers and zombies, to fight against the invading forces. The player has to strategically build armies and defenses at different times to stop advancing piglin hordes and fight back, destroying their bases and portals that go between the Overworld and Nether. This leads to a final confrontation, making for an exciting story alongside fun, strategically-built gameplay that is a great introduction for younger players in particular to the world of RTS and Age of Empires-like games.

5 Frostpunk

Another recent addition to the RTS genre, Frostpunk is a great game similar to Age of Empires for players who are looking for a much bigger challenge than is generally provided by Age of Empires. More than trying to survive against enemies, Frostpunk is focused on simply trying to survive in a freezing landscape where resources are scarce and every bit of heat is an invaluable commodity in a mature-rated world.

Set during a worldwide volcanic winter in the late 19th century, Frostpunk has become a successful franchise itself, based on initial principles that are similar in many ways to the building up of a settlement in Age Of Empires. The one major talking point about Frostpunk in comparison to other similar RTS games is definitely the difficulty, which is a significant upgrade for most players from what they expect to see in a city-building survival game.

4 Rise Of Nations

Rise of Nations is one of the strangest RTS games that took a lot of inspiration from the Age of Empires franchise. It also took inspiration from turn-based strategy games, adding features never before seen in an RTS such as influence over certain areas of the map affecting gameplay. Rise of Nations, unlike many other RTS games, did not turn into a franchise after its release in 2003, which is somewhat surprising given the innovative nature of many of the game’s ideas.

For instance, Rise of Nations attempted instead of focusing on one historical period to let players experience all the different periods in human history. Players evolved their civilization over the course of eight separate ages of history while giving players eighteen different options for which of the civilizations they could take control of. There were some definite balancing issues on release, but this didn’t stop Rise of Nations from gaining a cult status that it has retained within the RTS genre to this day.

3 Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War: Dark Crusade

The Dawn of War franchise has been a very successful offshoot of the Warhammer 40K Universe, providing fans of the chance with the opportunity to experience the way wars are really waged in this futuristic setting. It has also been an opportunity to tell some amazing stories over the course of different games, but Dark Crusade took some cues from Age of Empires to give players an even broader view of the Universe. An expansion of the first Dawn of War game, but one that is completely standalone in nature, this entry was a huge standout for Warhammer 40K RTS games.

Related:Best Coop RTS Games, Ranked

In Dark Crusade, players aren’t just able to play as the Space Marines. The game is set on the planet Kronus, the homeworld of the Necrons, and it pits seven different factions on the planet against each other as each looks to rule. Players have their choice of seven playable races, a first for the Warhammer 40K Universe which usually picked the Space Marines for players or only gave them as many as two choices. This larger war provided a great opportunity for RTS and an overarching strategy about where to go and which races to take on first. Players had to fight battles against another race to take control of an area, and then possibly defend the area on enemy turns in order to keep it. Fans of Age of Empires will love the challenge of this futuristic take on many familiar RTS tropes.

2 Total War: Empire

The Total War series is a huge and wildly varying set of RTS games that began releasing in 2000, around the time when RTS games were one of the most popular genres of video gaming, particularly on PC. Out of all the games in that particular franchise, Total War: Empire is one that undeniably took cues from the Age of Empires franchise in particular.

Total War: Empire is one of the most intense historically accurate battle simulators available. Set during the early 18th century, players have to deal with historically significant challenges as they try to take one of the available factions to world domination. There are a lot of fun ways to play this game, which includes much more strategic focus and action than most RTS games. Flanking maneuvers and out-thinking opponents is a much bigger deal than it may turn out to be in other games. Fans of the Age of Empires series will absolutely love the challenges and replayability that come with Total War: Empire. There is also a huge variety of other Total War games, encompassing everything from Feudal Japan to distantly futuristic Warhammer 40k games.

1 Age Of Mythology

The very best “clone” of the Age of Empires franchise is, of course, the spin-off game made by the very same company. Whether players love the idea of a more mythologically based RTS game or not, they should definitely try out this fantastic game. Filled with a great online multiplayer community that is still active today, and a campaign that told a surprisingly excellent original story, Age of Mythology is an absolute must-play for all fans of the original franchise.

With two expansion campaigns containing new races added to the edition of the game currently available on Steam, Age of Mythology is a game that deserves more attention and is filled with a great strategic style while involving units like Centaurs and Fire Giants that players normally wouldn’t get a chance to use in other RTS games, all dependent on which God players choose to follow. The bold mixing of fantasy elements into a genre that normally remains quite historically based made for a hugely fun game that remains an all-time classic for the RTS genre today.

More:Games To Play If You Like Age Of Empires