As an ordinary Age of Empires II player, I don’t usually keep a close eye on every update or DLC announcement. But when I heard that a new DLC would be centered around Chinese history, I was genuinely intrigued. As a Chinese player, I naturally looked forward to seeing more ethnic groups and civilizations from within the Chinese region represented in the game, hoping this would enrich the cultural diversity and historical depth of the existing civilizations.
Unfortunately, I must say that I was quite disappointed by what was ultimately delivered.
First of all, the choice of civilizations in this DLC—Wei, Shu, and Wu—raises some concerns. In Chinese history, these were not distinct ethnic groups or culturally divergent entities, but three rival political regimes from the same cultural background during a brief period in the 3rd century known as the Three Kingdoms era. Historically, this period falls well outside the medieval timeframe that Age of Empires II is known for. The 3rd century is more closely aligned with the classical era, a time when the Roman Empire was still united and polytheistic. From a historical perspective, placing these Three Kingdoms civilizations in a game that is fundamentally set in the medieval period feels anachronistic.
Moreover, having these three short-lived regimes treated as fully fledged civilizations that can participate in ranked multiplayer matches seems inconsistent with how civilizations have traditionally been selected in AoE2. The game has always emphasized ethnic or cultural groups—Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and so on—rather than regional political divisions from the same culture and timeframe. Presenting Wei, Shu, and Wu as separate civilizations on equal footing seems, at least to me, to conflict with the logic that has guided civilization design in the past.
Another aspect that felt somewhat off was the distribution of new generic units. The two new units—the Rocket Cart and the Lihua spear—were both given to the Koreans. I understand that firework and rocket technology originated in China and historically did spread to Korea, so assigning the Rocket Cart to Korea could be justifiable. However, I’m not sure whether the Lihua spear (or a similar weapon) was ever truly used in Korean warfare. To be honest, I don’t know for certain, but it feels odd for a DLC based on Chinese history to have Korea as the civilization that seemingly benefits the most from new generic units.
This brings me to a broader confusion: what exactly is the theme of this DLC? Is it focused on the Three Kingdoms? On China as a cultural region? On East Asia in general? If the game is now stretching to include civilizations from the 3rd century, which predates the medieval era by hundreds of years, then it opens the door to just about anything. Where is the line?
On a more technical and aesthetic note, I also feel a loss of immersion when playing these new civilizations. Although some regional architectural sets have been improved over time, the generic unit appearances are still heavily Western European in style. Seeing units that visually resemble European knights and foot soldiers within a Chinese Three Kingdoms context creates a disconnect for me that breaks the immersion.
Personally, I would have much preferred to see truly distinct Chinese-region ethnic groups being introduced—such as the Qiang, the Di, or the Xianbei—peoples who had significant roles in China’s northern and western frontier regions during the actual medieval period. Even if they were included in a smaller capacity, it would have felt more authentic and in line with AoE2’s general design philosophy.
Of course, this is only my personal perspective as a Chinese player. I do appreciate the developers’ effort to bring Chinese history to a broader audience, and I understand the difficulty of balancing historical accuracy, gameplay mechanics, and commercial appeal. Still, this DLC didn’t make me feel seen or represented in the way I had hoped. Instead, it left me feeling like a complex and rich period of history was simplified into a theme, rather than deeply explored as part of a broader narrative within the game.
I apologize for the length of this post, but this disappointment comes from a place of genuine affection for the game. I hope that future content might take a more thoughtful approach to representing Chinese or East Asian civilizations, with a stronger emphasis on historical accuracy and cultural diversity.
