Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator review - Painting the World in a Pixelated Bliss

Looking for a game that allows you to be a god in a constantly changing war-torn world without having to micromanage anything? Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator is here to say hello. Is it, however, worth your time and money? Let us take a look!

SETTINGS 404

The game doesn't have a lot of options, but it doesn't need to. There aren't many graphics or keybinds to fiddle with, so we're left with the resolution and audio settings, which work as they should.

LET THEM EAT M-CAKE

Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator has a great selection of nicely detailed maps, including the entire world, the United States, Europe, and more, on top of that you also have the option to create giving you a lot of leeway in what kind of scenario you can create.

SCENARIOS

The game only has four scenarios, which is a little on the low side. However, the Steam Workshop integration makes it simple to access and play community-created scenarios, so this isn't a big deal.

THANK GOD FOR THE WORKSHOP

It's amazing that the Steam Workshop is directly integrated with the game from the start. It's critical for a game like this to have a thriving modding community because the nearly infinite number of scenarios it'll provide will be a good reason to keep you coming back. 

NATION CREATION

The nation creation screen is tidy and straightforward. The RGB slider allows you to give your nation any color you want, as well as customize the name, allowing you to create a pink unicorn nation if you so desire.

However, more customization options, such as the ability to add cities, a flag, and AI parameters such as aggression and alliance preferences, would be welcome in the future.

WHERE ARE MY GLASSES

The game’s graphics are simple but appealing. They aren't overly detailed, but they don't have to be. The pixelated graphics enable smooth border movement and an enjoyable map painting experience.

PAINTER STUDY

The map painting is incredibly satisfying. It's a lot of fun to watch countries expand on a completely empty map. It's also satisfying to see countries absorb each other in wars, or to see countries peacefully unite after a long alliance of bullying smaller nations and filling up the treasury.

VROOM VROOM

While the game's four different speeds, ranging from 0.5x to 2.0x, work well for the game, it would be nice to have an even higher speed, such as 3.0x or even 4.0x.

TO WAR

Wars are both enjoyable and realistic. Borders move realistically, and there is no "border gore." As in some games... (Those of you who appreciate map games will understand what I mean.) You never know who will win a war, and larger nations do not always win. 

Borders can move quickly or slowly, and in both directions, allowing for real-life scenarios such as Operation Barbarossa, in which one nation pushes far into another only to reach a stalemate and be pushed back.

WHO'S GOD NOW?

Godmode is an excellent addition, allowing you to alter the world and manipulate events such as wars and alliances. The statistics are also useful, but it would be nice to see even more, such as which country won the most wars or the strongest alliances.

KICK BACK AND RELAX

Ages of Conflict does not require a lot of micromanagement. You'll be watching more than playing, but that's what makes it such a good stress reliever. You can change the world as you wish with Godmode and simply enjoy the show, letting your imagination run wild; hell, you could even use it to create lore for your book, etc.

SMOOTH AS BUTTER

It runs extremely smoothly, even at 2.0x speed, and with over 150 nations on the largest map, there will be no lag spikes, nor will your computer sound like a bitcoin miner. 

Same goes for bugs, which I didn't really encounter; it appears that one or two bugs are found at a time, based on Steam discussions and reviews, but the developer is quick to patch them.

IN THIS ECONOMY

The price of Ages of Conflict is great, especially for an early-access game that already works smoothly and has a supportive developer.

CONCLUSION

All in all, Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator is a charming and addictive map-painting simulator that is ideal for those who want to sit back, relax, and watch the world burn... or flourish. (Most likely burn though)

Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator earns a solid 8.4 out of 10 for its imagination-supporting gameplay, good map selection, and integrated Steam Workshop. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some countries to create and some wars to start.

We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn’t impact our review in any way.