Just a crazy great game if you like complicated strategy. Zillions of units and spells and factions. Much of the fun is learning what works and what doesn't, what's useful, what isn't. A valid criticism is that 80% of the units and items could be dropped and you wouldn't care because they're not terrible useful, but even using the 20% that are useful leaves a ton of stuff to explore.

The battle scripting is fiddly. The AI can't handle late game strategies. There are some clearly broken or over powered options in single player. Yea...so what :), it's still lots of fun. You'll need to set challenges for yourself, like purposefully using underpowered races or less than optimal pretenders.

Many folks will say it's really only a multi player game due to those limitations, but I put 600+ hours into it only in single player so there's plenty of bang for the buck without multiplayer.

About 100 hours before I could say "Ok, I understand everything I'm doing in this game" and 50 more hours before being able to say "Ok, I've beaten this game" (single player). I had never experienced this in a 4X game before and I LOVED the challenge !

And this is just the game mechanics experience. Despite the (very) low quality graphics, the huge diversity of nations, units, and the various associated gameplays was a lot of fun. I kept on playing just to see what kind of units I had not seen, just to FEEL the spirit behind each specific nation.

I also loved creating various gods, with different approaches (fighters, spell-casters, buffers, ...), as well as exploiting the game mechanics to create almost unbeatable gods in battle. And I really liked the fact that it is always a "almost", because there's always a way to kill a unit even if buffed up like hell.

I can imagine that multiplayer must be incredible, but 150 hours in single player is rare enough for me to be praised.

600 hours in almost 3 years :-)
Before I have tried multiplayer I have never even read the tutorial or visited the forums. Basically that meant that I have played it using only the most obvious magic ( e.g. fireballs, summon elementals and such ) and concentrated on learning troop strengths + weaknesses and developing battlefield tactics. I've propably spend 200 hours playing one nation in one age: Machaka in middle age. Why? It was one of the first I have tried and it had Zulu like warriors riding giant, no sorry GIANT Tarantulas. I've read many reviews and nobody writes about the terrifing noice those tarrantuals make, when they chomp their victims...Or how almost every spell has its own sound so the battle is like a strange symphony :-)
Other things people don't mention:
1.The developers are commited to make the game even more deep and complex, BUT they are also commited to cut on micromanagement where only possible, for example: to reaserch magic, to buy a new mage (this with a castle 90% of the time), to perform a magic ritual ( e.g. send winged monkeys to enemy province and capture a comander; summon bunch of ogres or dragons ), to send a magic item from one end of a map to another, to access the gem treasury (gems are needed for summoning monsters, crafting magical gear and using more powerfull battlespells), to send blood virgins to the central dungeon (you'll find out yourself what THEY are for, you rascals, you), to make the magic gear and maybe for few other things as well,
you need ONLY ONE BUILDING in that province! In other games you would need to buy 7 different buildings because thats the way other games try to achive complexity.
Another example: those troops that have lost their armor during a battle (there are spells with that effect like Rust or Acid Rain) get it back automatically afterwords providing there is enough resources in the province - its so automated that most players have no idea it even takes place!
Another example: in Dominions 3 there was an craftable artifact called Burning pearl(?). It had the efect that the commander wearing it would lose one point of life a turn but you would gain one fire gem. You could give those Burning pearls to all your commanders( after 20 turns maybe 40 of them? ) and then try to keep an eye on them so that you take the magic amulet from them after 9 turns, so they do not die because of it. Imagine the level of micro if you had 150 commanders :-) In Dominions 4 this amulet got scraped, we got Fire in a Jar amulet, that provides the mage with one fire gem during a battle. Nice, elegant solution.

2.The diversity of the game is greatly increased by the aviable mods, especially NationGen. I am currently passionately playing a Hoburg ( essencially warrior hobbits) nation. The blessed, sacred unit is a boar cavalery.They have swords and throw Tomahowks; I gave them fire bless so the Tomahawks are on fire when they whirl towards the enemy! I am sure the Boar's gore attack has a fire element to it as well, but the grafic does not show it :-(
This nation has also a deer cavalery unit, Heavy Infantry with clockwork armour ( there is game mechanic connected with the properties of the armor), a scout that is an assasin as well, flying cavalery with giant hawks and bunch of mages, commanders and infantry which seem vanilla in comparison but would be crazy interesting in other games.
NationGen mod can give you unlimited amount of new, unique nations, including the one where Velicoraptors ride to battle on crocodiles!

3.There is a certain beauty in the way a battle progresses in the game, especially in multiplayer. Before battle you decide how big the units should be (one soldier minimum, I don't know if there is maximum - the biggest I remmeber was 250 soldiers), how many of them and what their behaviour during the battle should be e.g. attack closest enemy or wait 2 turns and attack the archers and so on >> about 20 possible combinations. Making those decisions, you will face tradeoffs like: do I make one extra small unit and order it to guard my precious commander but this will result in small morale penalty for all the soldiers this general has under him.
When battle replay starts (you have no control over the battle during the battle) you see how different units move on the battlefield, how when they touch some of them melt under the assault like snow on lava, others stand the groung like a stonewall. Units get mixed with each other; some catch fire others get paralyzed; buffing spells change their color or opaqueness; they get covered and traped by nets, vines or the earth itself. You see how a line of tough, armored, veteran infantry sloughters the cheap militia before them but there is 4 militiamen for every veteran. In the center there is 1v1 fighting but militia gradualy envelops the flank of veterans. The last warrior in line faces suddenly 5,6 militiamen- he fights and dies, then another, and another. You see how the flank of the falange is crumbling, you see how the militia is about to anihilate the veterans (while losing 50 % of their number) when suddenly 5 tarrantula riders charge the militia. Their god pretender blessed them with weapons that are on fire and they make use of it. The giant tarantulas cover the enemy in spider webs, inject them with poison and terrify you with otherwordly screeching. The militia breaks, runs away only to get massacred by the pursuing spider cavalery. The veterans break and flee to - from a 30 man unit there is only 6 left and every one has a battle affliction: missing eye, crippled leg or unhealable chest wound. One of them has 7 afflictions and his stats are worse than a blind militiaman's. If only there was a way to kill him it would be a mercy. But there isn't so in next battle he is going to be part of the Archer Bait Unit...

Played early age forest barbarian nation "Marverni"
They apparently have "sacred" boars that can be blessed.
Gave them Regeneration and Blood Vengeance.
Spammed boars.
Spammed more boars.
MOAR BOARS.

Enemy player cries in chat when his chaff get trampled, his mages kill themselves attacking my boars, while everything else dies to falling space rocks.

10/10. Only in Dominions.

This is probably one of the best strategy games of all time. It takes a long time to master though.

I'm no Dominions veteran. I learned about Dom3 just a week before Dom4 came out but what I learned about it in that time was enough to buy this game for 30 euros on bloody Desura. And that was 1st time in years when I bought a game outside of Steam.

Are you getting bored by your 10th Crusader Kings' world conquest?
Have you conquered whole Europe as Palatinate in EU4 ironmode?
You wish Rome 2 was less graphic and actually some content?

Then Dominions 4 is clearly a game for you.

You can tell it's 10 years of constant development. With 70 different factions, thousands creatures and spells ou guys are in for a treat!

Single player and AI leave much to be desired but they are just a training ground for great multiplayer experience. There are few more gratifying things than fighting seasoned veterans of this title. Especially since community is very helpful and welcoming allowing you to survive learning curve with just a few broken limbs.

Dominions 4 multiplayer is like a chess. If chess had 3.000 diferent units instead of 7 and could be played with few dozens people.
And was cool.
And had dragons.
And ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s of spells.

If you are into all that just buy it. It has best $/content ratio you can find.

Possibly the only turn-based strategy game in existence in which you can appoint mages as mind slaves to a giant flying undead octopus whose primary combat strategy involves sacrificing dozens of virgins to power spells that explode entire opposing armies into clouds of gore.

This game is too close to perfect 4x of my dreams, so I hardly will be objective in this case. I think, I will stick to "good/bad" parts instead, to show what is there.

So, my pros:

- Game is complex. Scalable complex. You can blindly research everything, and throw masses of your troops to win; or you can tinker with initial placement and orders; or you can plan anything - from right artifacts equipped to expert armies assembled - everything will work in single player... for some extent, of course. (Multiplayer requires good knowledge of game, so it will be complex by default).

- Game is vast and diverse. I cannot remember another strategy with at least 4 significantly different races to play (and no, 3 units and 2 advancements doesn't count as "significant"). Dominions 4 have dozens of races, and most of them requires different approach. Sometimes vastly different. There are hundreds of researcheable spells - and it's real, significant spells, not another "Fireball III" type of things. There are dozens of craftable artifacts too - from simple helmets and boots to unique Holy Arc or Staff of Mages that can be only one per game. And there are whole lot of magic sites! And random events too! You got the picture.

- It have planned orders, and what more important - turn-based AI-controlled battles with initial order queue! I think, it's most realistic turn-based scenario: in real battles it's local commanders who matters, not warlord - after initial plan developed, of course.

And now contras:

- Graphics. Poor pixellated graphics from 90s. I still believe that good pixel artist could vastly improve visuals here - but, well, I am not the author, and forums thinks that graphics not matters. Oh, well.

- Interface. It greatly improved since first installation, but still can be very unintuitive here and there. And many commands accessible only via hotkeys. And no filters and sorting for statistics. And not very elaborating reports for everything that are not battles... Oh, well, it definitely could be much better.

- No diplomacy. No pacts, trades, unions or anything. Last part have "minions" system, but it not matters much for single-player, given you AI-controlled armies - and that's all. I think, MP-games more affected by that, but I am not a big fan of multiplayer.

- Limited exploration. You can see whole map right from the beginning. Of course, you cannot see province details, enemy armies, and all magic sites still must be searched individually - but still, in my dreams it could be better!

- Realms-based gameplay. I like to be free, with vast territories, journeys to foreign places and founding cities where I need them. Well, not that game, obviously.

But regardless of described flaws, game remains one of most big, and complex, and elaborate 4X-strategy on market. I love it. Strongly recommended.

This is, no kidding, the deepest strategy game you may ever buy on Steam. The manual - and yes, you will absolutely need to read the manual old school style - is 295 pages, with the tutorial being about 24 pages of text and images. It's a complex, fiddly game, with a very dedicated community of players. If you can get a good group together, multiplayer is fantastic.

I will warn you that the game's UI is obtuse as Hell and the graphics will really put your dedication to "gameplay over graphics" to the test. If you've never played a Dominions game, then be prepared to go down the rabbit hole of strategy.

I love strategy games. LOVE THEM. My favourites from the last twenty years include (in order) Age of Wonders III, Zeus: Master of Olympus, Crusader Kings II, Seven Kingdoms II, and Warlords III. Strategy fans will know that that's a fairly ecclectic mix of strategy sub-genres. Well, three days after purchasing Dominions 4 I can safely say that it has a place somewhere near the top of my list. I can't stop playing this game.

I'd heard whispers about the Dominions series down through the years. Legend had it that it was the most hardcore of the hardcore. In all honesty its reputation was rather intimidating. The ancient sages were right: I was baffled for my first three games. However, don't think that it's a project to merely get into Dominions 4. It really isn't. The appropriate phrase is, "easy to learn, difficult to master." That's Dominions 4.

The supreme god who brought order to the universe has disappeared, leaving it to a bunch of pretender gods to fight it out for His former position. You are one of those pretenders. Your first decisions will include what faction you want to control, which age of time you wish to play in, what physical form you'll take in the world, and how your influence will impact the lands under your dominion. The depth behind these choices alone is awesome.

Once you've chosen one of the many pre-made maps (or generated a random one) and have customised the scenario settings to your liking, it's time to conquer the world one province at a time until you've claimed the required number of Thrones of Ascension. Though even the victory condition is customisable.

In the process of doing this you'll command mighty armies, raise glorious heroes, spread the truth of your holy word, cast powerful spells, quell uprisings, contend with the fickle hand of fate in the form of random events, forge magic items, manage the economics of your realm, and a whole load more. This truly is one of those games that makes it impossible for you to keep track of time while you're playing. You may think that the graphics are simplistic (and they are), but trust me, after five minutes I don't see pixels anymore. All I see are my Atlanteans (or "Atlantians" as these developers have it) emerging from the ocean to crush all before them. I can't remember the last game I played that was so immersive. Your expectations would be better adjusted by considering Dominions 4 a board game with animated battles.

One thing that made me hesitate to buy the game were the number of reviews (positive ones) that cast a negative light on the single-player. This concerned me since I never have any interest in multiplayer whatsoever and only buy games for solo play. I'm very glad I decided to take a risk because the AI is a worthy opponent even on "Normal" difficulty. Looking through the updates I can see that a lot of work has been done on the AI since the time of release which probably accounts for the earliest reviews complaining about it and my experience towards the end of 2015 being totally different.

By this point in my review you'll probably already know whether or not this is the game for you, but let me share some of the cool elements in Dominions 4. You can rename not only your pretender god, but also any of your commanders. The factions in the game (there's loads of them) are all totally unique and change depending on the age you choose to play in. Those factions are all based on mythology from around our world, meaning you can live out your Arthurian or Atlantean fantasies (you have them too, right?) Your heroes can get wounded, which may involve losing one or more limbs. Characters will age and can weaken as they get older before finally dying, however some species live longer than others. The combat is detailed to the point that each unit not only has specified methods of attack, but does particular types of damage too. You can fight on the ocean floor, and some factions are aquatic. The music is wonderful.

In conclusion, Dominions 4 is one of those games that you come away from with a thousand hilarious and tragic tales to tell. It's perfect for emergent storytelling. In terms of being a strategy game, yes it's highly complicated and very deep, but it doesn't put a brick wall in front of you. With each game you play you'll utilise the latest thing you've learned until at last you understand the dynamics in play. This discovery process doesn't make you groan at the prospect of facing it; it excites you and makes you want to learn more. You'll be thinking about potential strategies as you lie in bed at night. The fact that the entire Dominions series is created by just two guys (under the company name "Illwinter Game Design") makes all the great aspects of the game even more amazing.

On a final note: I've ordered the physical manual available from the game's website. Doing such a thing is unheard of for me, but Dominions 4 is so good it's worth it.