Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings similar games & best alternatives

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_1.avif
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_2.avif
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_3.avif
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_4.avif
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_5.avif
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings_6.avif

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 • 1999

Should you play it?

What works

  • Deep and balanced strategic gameplay
  • Diverse civilizations with unique units and bonuses
  • Engaging historical campaigns with narrative context
  • Strong multiplayer and esports community
  • Quality of life improvements in definitive edition

Things to keep in mind

  • Occasional ai and pathfinding issues
  • Steep learning curve for new players
  • Some micromanagement can be tedious
  • Combat can become chaotic in large battles
  • Cutscene voice acting considered weak

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

  • Rise of Nations: Extended Edition

  • Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition

  • Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

  • Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

  • Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

More fantastical

Games that feels like Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings but with more imaginative fiction

Less intimate

Games that feels like Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings but with less focus on close relationships

  • Cossacks: European Wars

  • Hearts of Iron III

  • Rise of Nations

  • Civilization IV®: Warlords

  • Europa Universalis III Complete

  • Age of Empires

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

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).

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Cooperation. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Domination. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy.

Last update: 05/08/2026