Oriental Empires is a fantastic option for seasoned RTS fans that are looking for something new and a little different. While this might not appeal to those that are either not excited about Asian culture or those not as familiar with strategy games due to the confusing menus and somewhat unclear “hints”, this certainly has its place in an RTS fans library especially at virtually half the price of other games of a similar nature.

Oriental Empires is a confusing game. There’s a lot to enjoy about it: the interface, the campaign map and the general style of the game are very appealing and perfectly on point with its theme. As a historical game, it’s great, but as a strategy game, it’s not sure entirely what it is. To put it plainly, the battle system isn’t good, and that would be fine if it felt like it wasn’t a necessary component of the game. There isn’t enough settlement management to cut battles out completely and go for victory via an alternate route. Without the Civilisation-esque buildable tile improvements and without the trade, there isn’t actually much to do other than to settle, accrue income, queue buildings and diplomatize. I’m sure like most 4Xes, time and technology bring greater depth, but I can’t see them improving the battle system. So if you’re a Civilization player and combat feels secondary to you, then I would recommend maybe looking this up, as it is a beautiful game and feels historically accurate. If you’re a Total War player, however, and battles are a must to you (like me) I would say stay away, or at least wait for a rainy day and a Steam sale.

Oriental Empires shall surely frustrate some players, though that really boils down to his or her shortcomings, not the any of the title. You shouldn’t be upset about historical accuracy: plagues happened, bandits are terrible, and — who would have thought — peasants hate building things for their oppressive overlords because they’d rather be with their families. Sitting down and learning how to be a sovereign to the people and not just field marshal to armies will open players up to a superb experience in the genre. The foundations of other efforts in the genre may show, but ultimately, Oriental Empires builds upon them anew, just like real life.

Oriental Empires is a very well made strategy game that allows you to get through a campaign in a few hours instead of having saves that span days, though that is an option as well if you wish. Despite its smaller scope focusing on Ancient China instead of the globe, the stakes actually feel higher due to the limited resources and high number of factions fighting for them. While some of the systems require a lot of getting used to Oriental Empires is well worth persevering with.

Attacking a recently settled city near my borders and settling for peace immediately afterwards, instead of being embroiled in an eternal war against a drastically inferior enemy due to imbecilic AI diplomacy.

Quotation forthcoming.

Oriental Empires is an impressive debut from Shining Pixel Studios. It is apparent that a great deal of work was put into it, especially on aspects like the trade system. It manages to convey a immersive portrayal of centuries long Chinese conflict. The combat system though feels somewhat raw and counter-intuitive for a hex-based TBS, making combat more troublesome than fun on the long run.

A perfectly good 4X game with an innovative combat system that feels a bit bland when framed against the richness of its setting.

Oriental Empires is a title that is worthy of being called 4X. Yes, it has a good amount of flaws that pushes it away from the greatness, but it still can give to the fans of strategic adventures a great experience.

Oriental Empires is a solid 4X, but with a lack of innovations.

The game does have strengths. The visuals are quite pleasing. The historical elements are interesting and the overall setting is quite refreshing. There’s a lot of depth here for people willing to put in the work to understand the controls and the dynamics. Hero units can help inspire your troops and if they die their heir can take up their cause (at a slight cost to status quo). For the casual gamer I would probably give it a miss though as it’s not interested in holding your hand while you find your feet.

Oriental Empires is a solid, detailed first effort from Shining Pixel Studios that fans of the 4X strategy genre will enjoy. Unfortunately, newcomers and veterans alike might be disappointed by the unwieldy UI, unpredictable systems and lack of in-game tutorials or explanations.

Oriental Empires offers more than enough to keep long time strategy fans happy. It looks great and does try one or two new things that don't turn out as well as they could, lacking the depth and variety to push it into being a great game.

Oriental Empires combines the ideas from Civilization, Europa Universalis and Total War, making a very interesting game based on Chinese history. Unfortunately, its balance is not great, but the game definitely has some potential.

A solid 4X strategy for fans of Chinese history, which, despite the decent craftsmanship, sometimes its mechanics and content stay behind the competition. However, the poor combat system is what drags the game down – and you can´t avoid it.

We've played games like this before, many of them really excellent and with depth and character. Oriental Empires certainly looks nice and has a classical Chinese feel that helps it along its way, but once you're through the surface, it's a lacklustre 4X without a great deal to set it apart from the pack. Much of the time, Oriental Empires feels like playing a game of Total War where you auto-conclude all of the battles, but with a penchant for very slightly unfair and unavoidable disasters.