Well, we both have different visions for the same game.
But I’ve been playing games for many years, since the 1990s.
These days, I play as a hobby.
I’ll explain how I see this situation.
Age of Empires IV is not a remake, even though it has the same ages, the same setting/theme, and the same basic gameplay.
I’ll give a very straightforward example, using another game:
Company of Heroes 1
Company of Heroes 2
Company of Heroes 3
Both games portray the same age (Contemporary Age), the same setting (World War II), and the same basic gameplay.
Ahhh, but each “Company of heroes” deals with a different “theater.” But so what? The rest is the same… We have Germans, Americans, and England in all three games, and they always use the same famous weapons and vehicles. There are new weapons and vehicles, but the classics are always repeated in all three games.
No Company of Heroes is a remake of the other.
The only thing that changes is the story/campaign, as it focuses on a different location of the war (which we can call a theater). However, even though it’s a different theater, it’s still exactly the same war, the same countries involved, and the same technologies belonging to the same period.
Age of Empires IV and Age of Empires II portray a vast period, encompassing not just a few years, but several centuries.
However, the two Age of Empires games don’t cover exactly the same gameplay period. But they do overlap at some point.
They portray the same medieval setting.
They end up “sharing” a certain period, but then they separate.
In Campaign mode, in Age of Empire II, there may be some stories from the 15th and 16th centuries, which were included because they were very famous and would give the game more prestige. But they’re not part of the actual gameplay! How so? Simply put, there are many weapons and technologies used in the 15th and 16th centuries that were never included in Age of Empires II… they simply don’t exist.
“The developers themselves had already said… Age of Empires IV will start further in the timeline and will also end further ahead in the timeline.”
We can say that Age of Empires IV appears to begin between the 8th century and end at the end of the 16th century.
While Age of Empires II begins in the final periods of the Ancient Age, and end sometime in the 14th or 15th century. (referring to the technology seen in the game).
Because of this, the two games behave quite differently, for example:
In Age of Empires IV, depending on your civilization, you can already build heavy cavalry, crossbowmen, and Fortresses or buildings resembling Castles at “stage 2.” All civilizations can also build Siege units. (*note: depending, even soldiers with swords in “stage 1”)
This isn’t possible in Age of Empire II, which is older in the period and only begins to do so in “stage 3”.
Furthermore, Age of Empires IV has many more gunpowder technologies/units (the 15th and 16th centuries are better represented).
Another significant difference between the two Ages of Empires is the nomenclature used.
Example:
In Age of Empires II, you can play as the Teutons.
In Age of Empires IV, to play as the Teutons, you must play as the Knights Templar.
The name has been changed, but it still reflects the same theme.
Now for the basic gameplay.
Thankfully, it’s the same basic gameplay.
This was a recurring theme when Age of Empires IV was announced.
The vast majority of players wanted the same basic gameplay.
And that’s the essence of Age of Empires. If you change that, you’ll fail.
Who remembers the “Command & Conquer” franchise? They wanted to innovate so much that with Command & Conquer IV, they managed to kill the franchise. It’s considered the worst game in the entire series. Although Red Alert 3, in my opinion, was already the beginning of the end, due to some changes that set it apart from Red Alert 2.
Another difference between the two is the significant difference in gameplay.
Despite maintaining the basic gameplay, we had great improvements that Age of Empires IV made, which was really cool.
Example:
Play as the Teutons in Age of Empires II… now play as the Knights Templar in Age of Empires IV.
They are quite different, while the basic gameplay has been maintained in both.