Old World is a turn-based strategy 4X game from Mohawk Games, creators of Offworld Trading Company and led by Soren Johnson, lead designer on Civilization IV. Rulers must prove they are worthy of the throne through fulfilling their ambitions and gaining renown. More legitimate rulers have more orders they can give to their units and have increased standing with their people. Every turn represents a year, and as the empire advances, its leader grows old and dies. They must birth an heir to continue their line, an heir who will have their own ambitions.
Official description[]
Conquer the Old World in this historical, epic strategy game from Soren Johnson, Lead Designer of Civilization IV and Offworld Trading Company. Every year is a turn, and each leader is a mere mortal, so your lasting legacy will be the dynasty you leave behind.
- Orders
Orders are a resource used to issue commands across your nation. Instead of moving every unit every turn, as is traditional in 4X games, each unit can be moved as many times as desired, until the player runs out of Orders. There are many other ways to spend this resource: Combat, Construction, Events, Diplomacy, and so on.
- Legitimacy
Each ruler must prove that they are worthy of the throne. As you accomplish Ambitions, finish Wonders, and gain renown (as “the Wise” or “the Avenger” or “the Peacemaker”), your Legitimacy increases, granting additional Orders each year and improving your standing with the people.
- Succession
Every turn in Old World represents a year, and the rulers are mortals who won’t last forever. They will need to get married and produce an heir to continue their line. When a ruler dies, the heir who takes the throne chooses a new Ambition to make a new name for him/herself.
- Events
Old World has a powerful and deep dynamic event system that generates a procedural story for your nation based on your decisions, your accomplishments, and your characters. The game has over 1,000 unique events, many of which are inspired by historical events from the period. These events give characters Memories, Traits, and Relationships, which can then trigger later events, so be careful what you choose.
- Ambitions
Your dynasty achieves victory by fulfilling 10 Ambitions, each one more difficult than the last. These Ambitions are dynamically generated from the Events of your game and the desires of your Characters. No two games will ever play out the same way, and the wise ruler will know when to change direction.
- Territories
Cities form cohesive blocks of territory, with an urban center and rural hinterlands. Each improvement occupies a single tile, including Wonders and urban buildings, such as Shrines, Amphitheaters, and Garrisons. This territory grows based on where the player constructs improvements and trains specialists on the map.
- Resources
Resources in Old World, such as Food, Wood, Stone, and Iron, are stockpiled as they are produced, to be spent on units, improvements, Wonders, and so on. Borrowing some algorithms from Offworld Trading Company, a dynamic marketplace allows players to buy and sell the resources at any time, with the prices fluctuating based on supply-and-demand.
- Technology
The technology tree borrows mechanics from card-building games to add variety and create interesting decisions. Each technology available to research is added to the player’s deck, and when it is time to choose the next technology to research, the player draws four cards, chooses one, and then discards the others, which will not reappear until the deck is reshuffled. Thus, choosing between two desirable technologies is a difficult decision as the player knows they will not see the card they just passed over for many more turns.
Release history[]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April 14, 2020 | Old World is announced on the Mohawk Games site[1] |
| May 5, 2020 | Early Access begins on Epic Games Store |
| July 1, 2021 | Old World is released on Epic Games Store |
| May 19, 2022 | Old World is released on Steam and GOG.com, along with Heroes of the Aegean DLC |
| Jan 16, 2023 | The Sacred & The Profane DLC released |
| Oct 4, 2023 | Pharaohs of the Nile DLC released |
| Jan 11, 2024 | Wonders and Dynasties DLC released |
System requirements[]
- From Steam
Windows[]
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 (64-bit) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5-6400 2.7GHz or similar |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 770 / AMD R9 290 |
| DirectX | Version 11 |
| Storage | 10 GB |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5-8500 3GHz or similar |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 5500-XT |
| DirectX | Version 12 |
| Storage | 14 GB |
macOS[]
Requires an Intel-based 64-bit processor (not compatible with Apple M1)
| OS | macOS High Sierra 10.13 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5, 6th gen, 2.7GHz or similar |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | METAL capable GPUs, 2GB VRAM |
| Storage | 10 GB |
| OS | macOS Mojave 10.14 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5, 8th gen, 3GHz or similar |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | METAL capable GPUs, 4GB VRAM |
| Storage | 14 GB |
Linux and SteamOS[]
| OS | Ubuntu 18.04+ |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5-6400 2.7GHz or similar |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 770 / AMD R9 290. Vulkan drivers required. |
| Storage | 10 GB |
| OS | Ubuntu 20.04+ |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5-8500 3GHz or similar |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 5500-XT. Vulkan drivers required. |
| Storage | 14 GB |
Screenshots[]
