Age of Empires IV is one of the more successful RTS games released over the past few years. With a dedicated player base of both casual and competitive RTS fans and ongoing support for the game, it has cemented its place as one of the most popular modern titles in the genre.
Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose, developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios, is the latest DLC released for the game, with new single-player battles, multiplayer maps, and civilization variations that aim to shake up the multiplayer meta and offer new experiences. While there are some interesting additions in this DLC, the amount of content is especially low compared to the previous DLC.
The first thing I was looking forward to in the new DLC was the single-player content. The last DLC, The Sultans Ascend, had a decent campaign that offered a few hours of new single-player content and interesting historical stories to experience. Knights of Cross and Rose, however, only introduces four new historical battles. These are short scenarios involving the new civilization variants, and while they can be a great way of playing with these new additions to the game, all of these historical battles combined barely take one hour to finish. Maybe a couple of hours if you want to get the achievements and a high score. This was a very disappointing realization. I’m a fan of Age of Empires IV and, after playing through the base game’s campaign, I was looking forward to more content added through this update. But comparing the two released DLCs when it comes to single-player content, Knights of Cross and Rose falls devastatingly short.
Unfortunately, these shortcomings are apparent in the multiplayer-focused additions of Knights of Cross and Rose as well. There are two new civilization variants: Knights Templar for the French and the House of Lancaster for the English. These both offer new and interesting play styles, with Knights Templar focusing on mid game, controlling sacred sites, and powerful heavy cavalry, and House of Lancaster focusing on booming economy and late game power with archers and light cavalry. I liked both new variants, especially the Knights Templar, and I imagine it would be one of my favorite civilizations going forward.
But in comparison to two completely new civilizations and four variants in the The Sultans Ascend DLC, Knights of Cross and Rose feels less worthy of the cost. One of the best features of Age of Empires IV is the sound design, voice acting, and the 3D models of the game, but civilization variants reuse most of the voice lines and models from the original with minimal changes, making them feel like lazy additions compared to unique civilizations of the base game or the two added in the previous DLC.
The only redeeming part of Knights of Cross and Rose for me is the new maps. Unique and interesting terrain and layouts, and new bonus objectives and landmarks that can shift the focus of a game and add a fresh experience to multiplayer matches. There are 10 new maps added with the DLC and, while I haven’t tried any of the water maps yet, I believe they at least reach the expectations I have for a paid DLC.
When done right, I do prefer the DLC business model to the rampant battlepasses and microtransactions of most live service games, and Age of Empires IV did set a high standard with The Sultans Ascend. But after two years of waiting, Knights of Cross and Rose just feels a lot worse for the same $15 price tag. For dedicated players who play competitively, they might feel like they have no choice but to have access to the new civilizations and maps in case they become part of the meta in future updates, but for more casual players, I think you can safely skip this DLC or, if you don’t already have it, purchase The Sultans Ascend instead to improve your Age of Empire IV experience.
Nima played Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose on PC with a provided review copy.
