MicrosoftI’ve long said that Age of Mythology is one of the greatest real-time strategy games ever made. It was crucial in advancing the idea of asymmetric faction design, and it made an entire generation, myself included, fascinated by history and myth. World’s Edge’s remake, Age of Mythology: Retold, showed a thoughtful understanding of what made the game special and what needed to be fixed. Now, with Retold’s latest expansion, Heavenly Spear, I’m more confident than ever that the series is in good hands, as it adds an inventive civilization and phenomenal new campaign to an already engrossing game. Heavenly Spear is the second new expansion for Retold, following Immortal Pillars earlier this year. It adds a 12-mission campaign for the new Japanese pantheon, which is now among my favorites, as a handful of units and mechanics make them a joy to play when everything goes just right.While the Japanese are fairly standard when it comes to resource gathering, unlike Immortal Pillars’ Chinese, they introduce a unique Bushido mechanic. There’s a tremendous emphasis on unit management, as military units like the samurai gain increased stats for every enemy defeated. All of your units also passively generate XP for your five-level Bushido gauge, while more specialized units like shinobi generate more experience in combat. Each Bushido level grants perks like free upgrades for soldiers, reduced technology costs, or power-ups to your god blessings. It’s a fascinatingly complex system that runs in the background; you can ignore it if you want, but there’s a tremendous amount of depth if you really want to fine-tune your army. The Japanese units offer a lot of complexity as well, with several subtle touches that I absolutely love. Shrine maidens can be used as healers, but also gather favor for myth units and god powers. Onmyoji, in a unique combination, function as both healers and powerful building busters. Like with other civilizations, even basic units have specific roles you need to be mindful of — shinobi are great at guerilla strikes but struggle in straightforward combat, while daimyo are powerful cavalry heroes that can be the centerpiece of an army.The Japanese bring a novel focus on unit micromanagement. | MicrosoftMyth units are even more varied. Shinigami are shambling corpses that can summon ghosts to fight enemies, while asura are hulking fire demons that shoot fireballs at any nearby foe. But my favorite, by far, is the umibozu, which feels almost Ghibli-esque in its design. They look like gentle giants, but they pack a punch, and their ability to seamlessly transition between land and sea gives you a wealth of strategic options. Like with Immortal Pillars, World’s Edge has done a phenomenal job of adapting Japanese mythology in a way that feels vibrant and unique. But I enjoyed Heavenly Spear’s campaign far more than Immortal Pillars’ thanks to its characters and mission design. It follows a young girl named Yasuko, who’s given a mythical spear by a mysterious warrior right as a horde of tengu attacks her village. Yasuko ends up recruiting a ragtag band of heroes to fight off a vengeful god, and while the story isn’t complex, it’s filled with fun writing, a snappy pace, and a fun callback to prior campaigns. The umibozu are an alarmingly cute addition to a combat game. | MicrosoftThere’s a fun array of diverse maps here, from one that has you destroy a bunch of corrupted kapa shrines to one that sees you sneak through a mountain cave system with a limited army that needs to dodge enemy patrols. One or two missions feel a bit overdesigned, but Heavenly Spear is a consistently enjoyable experience that really leans into the unique feel of the Japanese pantheon. What I find most impressive about Heavenly Spear is how effortlessly it slots into the overall game. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe the Japanese were part of Age of Mythology from the beginning, as both its campaign and civilization flow together impeccably well. Retold has become a remake that doesn’t just honor the original’s impact, but fully realizes the ambitious vision of a game created 23 years ago.Age of Mythology: Retold is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.