The performance issues aren't overblown. I can run it at 4k on high settings with a 7900 XTX, albeit at an average of 30 fps. For reference, the same parts can run FF7 Rebirth on max settings at 4k for 120 fps. And the memory leak issues are real, because after an hour or so, the performance will inevitable dip slightly, especially among mobs.

Gameplay is a massive improvement over 2 and 3, but it doesn't have the same... qualities that kept you wanting to continue playing as the previous entries did. It's still fun though, and much moreso if you have a partner or group of friends to play along with.

Definitely a worthy successor to Age of Empires 2. As I review this, the devs are still pushing big changes to the overall meta, with siege units being massively nerfed, cavalry being buffed too much and subsequently nerfed, etc. with long-reaching implications for match-ups between civs. Fortunately, the devs are very quick to release things like mid-season patches to institute much-needed changes, and while it can be frustrating to see things shaken up so much lately, I quite like the direction the game is heading in.

Honestly didn't notice any bugs during my playthrough, and I didn't have any issues upon release because I pretty much had 24gb of VRAM. Great story regardless.

Some of my earliest formative memories as a 5-year old were navigating through DOS to the Tiberian Dawn .exe and trying to git gud so that I wouldn't have to stare at Seth's ugly face every mission briefing. This game made me feel like a 5-year old again, in the best way possible.

Also, Frank Klepacki remastered some absolute BANGERS