I promise you I have tried very hard to find something deeper, beneath the surface of Age of Wonders: Planetfall, that shows its true brilliance. I really have. It screams "hidden gem", on the face of it: a generous glob of SyFy channel space-cheese, spread over a rich and hearty mix of genres. Civilization by way of XCOM, in the ideal setting. Perfect. By any conventional wisdom you'd think, if you scratch away long enough, that the schlock on top would give way to some buried treasure. That there'd be some B-movie, Starship Troopers gold lying in wait, reserved only for those patient and diligent enough to keep digging.

If only. Keep digging at Age of Wonders: Planetfall and you will find some impressive depth, for sure, from tech trees to unit modifications to character customisation - only it's depth, unfortunately, in the sense that a twelve-page restaurant menu has depth. It's depth that inspires a sense of dread and regret, maybe some resignation, and a sigh: there is an awful lot here, I will spend a very long time working my way through it, and there's a fair chance none of it will be as good as it could have been were it left to stand alone.

A lot of that feeling is made worse than it really ought to be, too, because Age of Wonders: Planetfall simply does not explain itself well. In fact it seems confused about what, exactly, it needs to explain at all. The premise of Age of Wonders: Planetfall is that it's a mix of two brilliant but also seriously complex genres. You manage unstacked cities on a hexagonal-tiled world map, acquiring resources, advancing through tech trees, moving armies and conquering your way to more territory as you go - all very Civilization (in fact all very Civilization 5, much like 2014's Age of Wonders 3 was too). When you engage in combat, meanwhile, it's down to the turn-based-tactics level. You control an army of up to six units and move them around their own tile-based map through full cover and half cover, expending action points and improving percentage-chance-to-hits - hence, Civ crossed with XCOM.

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What's this: giant space fish? Insectoids? A fully developed diplomacy system? The new Age of Wonders game is looking very different from its high fantasy predecessors, having taken to the stars to explore a brand new sci-fi setting.

Landing on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on 6th August, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is the latest game from Triumph Studios. As per any Age of Wonders, the focus is on tactical turn-based battles and empire-building, with its trademark role-playing elements in the form of characterful races thrown in.

This time, players are required to build their own empire from the ashes of the fallen Star Union - possibly a cautionary tale for what happens if you fail to manage your own resources correctly. The aim, as ever, is to meet a victory condition: either through conquest, diplomacy or doomsday techs.

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It seems Age of Wonders: Planetfall's release date is not so far far away, as the Microsoft Store has listed it for release this August.

As spotted by ResetEra user FairyEmpire, the pre-order store listings for Planetfall on Xbox One reveal a release date of midnight on 6th August. Major Nelson's blog displays a release date of 5th August, although this is likely for US-based players.

Originally announced back in May 2018, Planetfall is the latest instalment in Triumph Studios' Age of Wonders series. Like past titles, it's a tactical turn-based empire builder with both single player and multiplayer modes: but this one's swapping swords for dinosaur laser guns. Don't tell Universal, or they'll start getting ideas for the next Jurassic Park film.

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The next game in the Age of Wonders series is a science fiction version called Planetfall.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a turn-based empire building strategy game due out on PC and consoles in 2019. Triumph Studios, developer of the Age of Wonders games, is once again at the helm, with Paradox publishing.

Setting wise, you emerge from a fallen galactic empire to explore planetary ruins and meet surviving factions that have each evolved in their own way. The single-player campaign sees you discover the history of a civilisation. There are random maps and you can play multiplayer against friends.

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