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Game
Game2015
The Age of Decadence
Developer Iron Tower Studio
The Age of Decadence is a role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows developed by Iron Tower Studio, led by the pseudonymous "Vince D. Weller". Set in a low-magic, post-apocalyptic world inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire, the game aims to return to the 'golden era' of role-playing games by emphasizing choices and consequences and providing multiple solutions to quests. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
194 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
82
LovedLoved
154 positive · 34 negative
95% range 76–87%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 154 | 34 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
6 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
3,349 of 4,068 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 194 · most liked firstDungeon rats is a strategy game spin-off in the Age of Decadence universe. (On the thumbnail): “Sometimes my family ask me to show them the kind of art i make. not gonna lie i'd rather show them the furry porn instead of this.” — Alex Video link: youtu.be/eERKCXB0wec?...
unlabelledView post →The Deus Ex series often have pacificist playthroughs (3rd one definitely does, you can play a pacificist playthrough of the OG game with a few exceptions). The Age of Decadence has a mostly skill check and conversation playthrough. I forget if it's fully pacifict though.
unlabelledView post →Age of Decadence presents itself as a game about internal judgment, realism, and consequence, but its difficulty and progression are driven primarily by external, meta-level knowledge. Combat does not teach situational reasoning; it tests whether the player already knows the solution. As a result, failure feels arbitrary rather than instructive, and “avoid combat” becomes a design slogan rather than a supported play principle. Community advice unintentionally highlights the problem: players…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The main issue with this game is that despite offering numerous ways to overcome something, you're completely railroaded by your starting build. What this essentially means is that you often do not have a choice with how to overcome a quest, but you're forced to reload until you choose the only option that successfully works for your starting build, which exists even deeper into the story. I gave this game a chance throwing 9 hours into a run because I'm a fan of the genre, but when you're…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This MF* game gives you an easy and early achievement (out of 109 total), for a whooping 0% achievement count that will just mess-up your overall completion score, and then becomes utterly complicated and boring, and just wants to make you quit! WAAAY too much reading. And WAAAY to much guessing...Like how the f* do you get into Feng's house, whom you need to talk to and who conviently opened-up his front door for you when you arrived...but you still can't figure-out how to get in the darn…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is not interesting or hardcore RPG, it is just bad RPG because of very stupid design choices. Do not listen to rapturous serenades here in the reviews, these "hardcore fans of hardcore RPGs" just confuse sadomasochism with challenging but rewarding gameplay. - there is no free open world exploration at all - you are constantly locked in a city, in location, in dialogue, in mission, etc. with very limited options - you are pushed by force from one major location to another with permanent…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Age of Decadence is a weird game that I played through many times since early access. TLDR: it devolves into a puzzle game where you have to complete quests in a certain order to accumulate enough skill points to complete quests further down the line. The fact that you have to assign stat points in a certain way at character creation to be able to pass some content-locking stat checks only reinforces this notion. the "illusion of choice' is what brings down the game experience - you have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Maybe this game isn't for you? Did this ever happen to you? You post some valuable criticism about bad game design for, let's say, Underrail, and some dweeb comes along with: "MaYbE tHiS GaMe iSn'T fOr yOu?" Begone, stupid little creature! And for the first time ever, I would actually agree with this statement — about The Age Of Decadence. I wouldn’t call it bad game design, but perhaps a wrong one? The devs even try to warn you before you buy, and they clearly state it in the tutorial. It’s…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I started playing "The Age of Decadence" and two battles in, this game is brutally, unfairly difficult. The devs *do* warn you on the store page about this, but the difficulty spike is still quite shocking.
unlabelledView post →I've bought 5 copies of this game to gift to friends since it came out and I always try to make sure I buy it at full price because I know how much of a gamble this game was to make. I'm still holding out hope for a true sequel or even a spiritual successor in the same world. I don't think this game is for everyone, but I don't mind footing the cost for someone to give it a try and find out they really like it. For people who can appreciate it, I think there are very few games like it. As for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In some aspects this game is perfect. Usually your background matters only for first 10 minutes and give you something like a couple of dialogue options. That's not the case: here your background provides you different quests. You'll see the same general events but from different points of view. It also unlinear and definitely role-playing: as merchant I finished the game with literally only one fight in the beginning and only just to get an extra skill point. In some aspects this game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just not my kind of "difficult". Relies heavily on save scumming and often I feel like I was supposed to check the wiki to be prepared for the next encounter. Shame, because everything else seems pretty fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Relies too heaviy on metagaming. Colony ship is much better
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is an absolute gem but definitely not for everyone. Besides it feeling like 90's RPGs it's very difficult (especially the combat) and not beginner friendly. The game is set in a roman inspired, "post apocalyptic" world with only a few surviving communities, scarce resources and lost knowledge and technology. The game's combat is incredibly difficult and relies heavily on RNG (hit and dodge chances) but the choices both in character and on the character sheet have a huge impact on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most limiting gameplay and character build choices of any RPG I've ever played. The devs say this is "realistic", but that's nonsense. If you want to be good at talking, you need to be terrible at literally everything else. If you want to be good at fighting, then you have to be socially retarded and dumb as a rock. This is extremely unrealistic. This is not how humans work. Calling this "realism" just makes me think that the devs have never met a human in their lives.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →操作很老辐射，背景很老辐射，通关条件也很老辐射，机巧精炼的一部。没有可招募同伴，没有升级系统，建卡后全程属性固定，只有随着完成任务与开地图所奖励的技能点增长，不同出身对应不同开场任务，可以说开卡时的决策就决定了本周目的画风走向。 一周目博学者，非战斗路线——也真的全程没进战。此游作战部分难度极高假使没规划好一旦开战必死无疑。PC巧舌如簧、诡计多端，小到街头坑蒙拐骗，大到军前步步为营简直苏秦再世！知识就是力量.jpg 尤其是，新手村学徒在向领主进献（推销）的路上被守卫长拦在宫殿门口，被打发去做侦查敌营的累活，潜入后却因成功帮助敌方鉴定仪器、启动仪式，显露才干，于是意外受到对方引荐与赏识，一步登天似的改换门庭，而后委以重任（本来迟疑过要不还是自由人，但想了想这世道朝不保夕、机不可失，PC为了接近更多知识与秘密有自己的路……或许也能从这个细节看出两方阵营治军、政策的差别。各方组织门下成员也有不同的任务线，可以想见每周目故事发展的路数会是多么不同。文本写得很细节场景很有跑团味。。玩家全程截屏学习rp技巧。喜欢在市场那段和农夫关于耕作的对话，点了炼金的话还能给对方改善土壤酸碱度的方案。…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A tedious and unfun affair that boasts about how clever it is for not letting you win fights easily while throwing fights at you. Even trying to do things alternative ways seems to just throw you in combats you cannot win anyway, and the combats are really uninteresting and consist of just standing still and trading blows for 5 minutes. The combat system is unforgiving enough to seem to require savescumming to progress. And no, there's no partial progress for fights, if you die, you lose the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a good RPG but ive had so many technical issues due to the utter ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game engine i gave up. i would usually refund this. but i will not because vince needs money and i want him to keep making games. go play colony ship instead its great
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm on the fence here, but ultimately I think it's more of a no. Liked it initially, It's got that old Fallout 1 and 2 feel to it. And a lot of text, low morals, unforgiving combat, and high replayability. And when you finally beat the crap out of those three thugs that killed you like twenty times before, that feels quite good. I like that it's unforgiving. What I don't like is how linear it gets, and how it starts limiting one's options by literally taking me from one dialog to the next…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be aware the main requirement for being able to play and also enjoy this game is possessing a triple-digit IQ score (alas, I didn't pass the test).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are dozens upon dozens of ways for the story of this game to play out. Its systems are complex, but not inscrutable. It has some tongue in cheek humor that helps compliment the serious story it tells. Be advised, it's a lot of reading--but it is amazing writing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Age of Decadence — A brutal lesson in cosmic humility Developer Iron Tower Studio Release 2015 The Age of Decadence is a strange beast that blends elements I have honestly never seen together in any other setting. It released back in 2015 and clearly shows its indie roots for better or worse. Let’s be honest about the visuals because this game isn't winning any beauty pageants and it certainly wasn't state of the art even a decade ago. While the graphics might scare away anyone used to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An excellent RPG with many highly distinct parallel trajectories and significant differences on gameplay based on starting career and narrative decisions; the writing avoids trite moral dilemmas and tired tropes and deals refreshingly honestly with the stark realities of the dynamics of premodern civilizations, zero sum struggles, and marginal desperation. Combat is challenging and consistently tests your build; you're gated by build in combat as well as in skill checks, both of which tend to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really good writing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For the weirdos who liked Fallout 1 & 2 gameplay/quest design and want a stupidly hard experience, this mid-2010's game can fill the void for quite some time. While it lacks voice acting and the graphics looks like Age of Mythology, it has the same unforgiving energy the old dark souls games have and that's quite cool. Definitely worth on a sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It can't be overstated how frustrating the RNG mechanics in this game are, even worse than XCOM. You can have high defense and health but one bad roll kills you, forcing you to reload, as there is neither healing in combat nor any kind of resurrection. I just spent half a day reloading the same fights and redoing builds and reloading fights again. I can't say it was a enjoyable experience. However, you can play the game without combat.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An unkown gem for everyone who enjoys hardcore CRPGs. The game has replayability, you can choose many backgrounds to start with and end up with a lot of different endings. The setting is very interesting and keeps you hooked. The combat system is engaging and fun but if you want you can decide to create a non-combatant character and completely ignored it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Age of Decadence competes with both Divinity and Pillars of Eternity as the greatest RPG of the 2010s. This game is the prime example of artistic direction beating out over-bloated budgets. This game knows exactly what it is, and expands upon that, to allow branching and unique possibilities. This is a vision that is perfectly realized with surgical precision Age of Decadence an RPG made for RPG fans by a developer/writer that knows, exactly, what makes an RPG great.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a fantastic game! But it is so unforgiving its ridiculous. You have to plan out everything that you do and even then it can go sideways in a second. There are a lot of different options that each lead to a different path and outcome. Its an absolute gem of a game that makes you think harder then most games out there. If you like being a masochist and experiencing the pure torture of failing 9/10 attempts (which I do) I highly recommend this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great RPG in a unique setting with lots of branching quests and zero filler content. I'd recommend first playing a combat focused character with maybe one or two civil skills then later branching out and trying hybrid characters after getting a feel for the game. It's not particularly long but dense with all sorts of variations on outcomes and you'll find yourself reloading just to see what happens when you go down a certain path. I haven't had any technical issues with Torque engine (other…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning this game isn't for everyone. I recommend trying out the demo before you buy this game. What is The Age of Decadence? It's a turn-based CRPG from Iron Tower Studio, set in a low fantasy post-apocalyptic world inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire. Deep character building, no hand-holding. This game is the king of choices and consequences. You can go full pacifist and talk and scheme your way through most situations, join one of the factions, play as a assassin, mercenary or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The combat rolls aren't balanced Torque 3D is a bad engine It's easy to soft-lock yourself with poor skill point allocation Writing is 11/10 But the rest of the game is such a gem I don't care and intend to 100% it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alright here's the thing: the game is amazing but I literally had to pull my old display from the attic to play this on because you can't enlarge the interface (only the text 25%) and the game is too small to read on a high res display. If you're on 4k don't even try
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is the RPG equivalent of a QTE
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In terms of game length and complexity (also older top-down gameplay style), I can recommend: UnderRail - Inspired by Fallout 1/2 in more ways than one. Nice post-apocalyptic setting, but one where everyone is living underground. While the world building and lore is well developed, the writing on the other hand (quests, characters) could use some improvement. Very complex combat and nuanced and in-depth skill system. An argument can be made that the combat is too hard; I would recommend…
unlabelledView post →I Have Decided to Play every game I own in Alphabetical order and Review them all (about 700 games).. will I give up? Probably - but lets See how Far I get GameNo:4 of (716) Game: The Age of Decadence Time Played: 15 Status: Finished First Impressions I Have played and Finished this game back in feb 2025, I don't remember a huge amount about the story but I do remember I thought the end was kinda out of nowhere. I played a Merc last time and fought my way through the game, I remember the main…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best CRPG since Fallout 2, Arcanum and Planescape.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AoD took a classic RPG formula (Fallout 1, Arcanum, Planescape: Torment) and cranked parts of it to the max. It's a game that hits many nails on the head, but with that it takes some risks and adds novelty to the RPG genre, experimenting with RPG-design. I seldom finish games. This one I've finished several times. The result is a game that lives the tag line "choices have consequences". With multiple "origin" stories, multiple endings, multiple branching events throughout the game, this game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Scratched an itch I never knew I had. Age of Decadence boasts it's CRPG roots with heavy roleplaying aspects and grounded gameplay. Low-magic fantasy that focuses on politics rather than flashy spells and jaw-dropping action. You're not the chosen one, no destiny or glory, and certainly not a hero. Just a tiny cog in a wheel. Wanna fight 3 or more men? Die on the spot or walk away extremely wounded. Diplomacy and persuasion works, being a con-artist is actually viable. You can either slit a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very much a "take it or leave it" kind of RPG. People who enjoy ballbusting combat will get the most out of it. The good: -Many builds and branching paths. VERY replayable. -The setting is quite good. -Great atmosphere. It feels very bleak and the music is nice. -The combat is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ great and lots of fun, each weapon type feels distinct. There's a lot of tools at your disposal and the game expects you to use them if you want to so much as finish the prologue. This game is spearman approved.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 11,5 years of hard development, a former RPG Codex admin/NMA user Vince D. Weller and his team, known as Iron Tower Studio, released their magnum opus. And have they succeeded in doing that? YES! Good Qualities 1) Original and non-generic setting with really good writing. I still praise Vince for that dialogue between MC and Erebus! 2) Very high reactivity. This game features 6 mutually exculsive main ways to beat this game with own questlines and different classes and factions give…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Age of Decadence is not a crowd-pleaser—it’s a niche, old-school RPG for players who crave consequences, complexity, and challenge. It’s like Fallout 1 on Ironman mode, plus everyone hates you and most quests end in betrayal. If that sounds awful stay far away, otherwise give it a try. Some of the reasons why you might like it: It has a deeply reactive narrative. Nearly every choice you make changes something, often in irreversible ways. Fail a persuasion check? That option might be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Accept the weakness of your flesh and save scum. This game will put you in situations in which your character can do nothing but fail. That's a sign for you to look for an alternate path and there ALWAYS is one. An unbelievable amount of story variations can occur because of this and each of your characters will feel different. A must play for any RPG lover, the writing and the world building is very good and makes you immersed in the story.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So awesome- I CHEATED as a LOREMASTER I was SPOILED in my QUEST for KNOWING the FORBIDDEN I went TOO FAR and everyone died 10/10 story, world, cool one. Post apocalypse roman empire with some crazy awesome prehistory.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even after having played this years ago now I still think about this game on occasion its just that good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I respect Iron Tower sticking to their ideas, I almost still recommend it but that would be weird considering the negative tone of my review. If I played this about 10 years ago when it released, my opinion might be different but right now, especially after playing their latest game, Colony Ship, it make this game's flaws more obvious. First of all, the engine is dated, (re)loading is slow even on a SSD and I doubt it's hardware related. It's a problem when in the 3 hours I played I probably…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2/10 waste of my time, controls suck, colors and graphics suck, no voiceover and way too much reading, also they don't want you to engage in combat? this is not a turn based rpg beware!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The main problem with this game is that it has ruined so many other games for me. The simple ability to have a stat that allows you to actually assasinate enemies in dialogues alone is something that i have not seen many RPGS do. All of your skills have uses, you can do an entire playthrough without any combat if you so wish, do you want to be a thief, a trader? You are allowed to be one. Its a rarity to find an RPG so refreshing. And strange that such things aren't as common in RPGS any…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is sadic and unfair and game dev communicate about it. But saying that the game is unfair doesn't make it good nor fix it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i got it its hardcore and all but 10 dodges in a row when an enemy has 1 hp is too much for me
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →based and boomer-pilled Among the greats of the genre alongside Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Arcanum... etc
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🟩 The Good: [✓] Proper stat and skill-based RPG system — think Disco Elysium with tactical combat. Of course, it’s not as deep as DE. [✓] Isometric RPG focused on roleplay without an open world (I prefer isometric RPGs over open-world ones). [✓] The game setting is quite dark and depressing — not a place for heroes or good guys. If you can't tolerate morally grey characters, I highly suggest skipping this one. [✓] Great satisfaction when combat or stat/skill checks succeed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game by great developer. An actual RPG where you are constantly making meanful decisions. Your character build matters greatly and completely changes how the game plays.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can say a lot of good things about this game, but the most important one is that when the developers say you can play the game in different ways, they absolutely mean that. I'm a big RPG fan, but sometimes we have to be honest with ourselves: picking between classes is sometimes just a mechanical choice. It only changes combat or a few scenes. When it comes to the narrative, your character creation choices don't truly matter - I can beat Oblivion as any class and have a pretty similar…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The background keeps flashing on and off between bright and dark, as though there is a lightning storm (without the rain). I could get past 20 mins into the game. The flashing just gets to me that much. Tried to fiddle with the settings, but nothing works. Furthermore, the game doesn't really explain well the concept of the different mechanisms. It's clunky, and annoying to play. Not a fan.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This ♥♥♥♥'s fire bro, be a legionnaire, train smithing, and just wreck everyone you come across, there's literally no downside. You can even play a pacifist and be a coward if you want, its a viable, if not dishonorable, playstyle that can carry you to the end.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing and brave game, unique. I truly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a challenging and immersive adventure in an ancient late roman style world.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Trash game where it is impossible to win combat. They have 100 ap and attack 12 times and you have 6-8 ap and each attack glances off and then you die after 2-3 -16 point crits. Worst game I have ever played. Shame on these ♥♥♥♥♥ devs.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When i found this game as a demo before it came to steam, it was the first RPG that i really liked since fallout 2. It got a deep story and choices matter a lot. The combat can be tough but it's hard to find a game that makes you feel so proud after winning a hard fight. T he story and the challenge kept me coming back for more until i got all the 109 Achievements, i enjoyed every hour of gameplay when i was trying to get them. I love this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story & lore + character progession + factions + multiple outcomes & replayability makes this game so unique.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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