# Age of Empires I Definitive Edition

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Age of Empires I Definitive Edition and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for fun replayable strategy, the history it teaches, and nostalgia; the most common caveat is its stiff presentation.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun and replayable strategy (4 comments): "I'm having a blast with AoE I on Linux, in this case the Definitive Edition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50157578)) "I played the hell out of the various isotopes of that game back in the 90s." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299428)) "I enjoy 1 a ton (my partner and I regularly play it)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48702206))
- Teaches history along the way (3 comments): "the best "educational" application made in the entire history of computing is Age of Empires." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46282951)) "playing games like Age of Empires which taught me history on the side" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48504266)) "as a young nerd I did appreciate the history section of the game" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48995110))
- Nostalgic favorite for longtime players (2 comments): "I played the hell out of the various isotopes of that game back in the 90s." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299428)) "replaying it now feels weirdly nostalgic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292734))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Battle for Wesnoth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/battle-for-wesnoth.md): 39 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization.md): 25 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization-iii.md): 20 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alpha-centauri.md): 16 recommend
- [Heroes of Might and Magic III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/heroes-of-might-and-magic-iii.md): 16 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.ageofempires.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Age of Empires I Definitive Edition", https://hackerapproved.com/p/age-of-empires/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).