Overall sentiment is strongly positive among players who enjoy huge, exploratory sandboxes, with many praising the vast world, freedom, and rewarding discoveries as reasons to spend dozens or hundreds of hours in Pywel. However, convoluted controls, opaque puzzles, and recurring technical issues are common obstacles, while the story, combat, and sheer volume of systems receive sharply divided reactions. It is best suited to players willing to learn its mechanics and spend time exploring rather than those seeking a tightly paced, story-led experience.

Overall, reviews are strongly favorable toward Age of Empires IV as a deep, replayable RTS, especially for its distinct civilizations, strategic matches, historical presentation, and fun with friends. The main reservations are crashes and multiplayer connection problems, expensive DLC and content gating, and a steep learning curve and uneven AI or balance. Fans are also divided over whether its modernized feel and campaigns improve on the older Age of Empires games.

Overall, players are enthusiastic about returning to a beloved pirate adventure, especially its beautiful Caribbean setting, naval combat and sailing, and story and atmosphere. However, bugs and crashes, Ubisoft Connect requirements, and removed combat options are recurring frustrations. The combat overhaul and added story content work well for some players but feel like downgrades or awkward additions to others, and many recommend buying at a discount.

Overall, players mostly describe CRACK as an inexpensive, distinctive game that is at its best with friends, thanks to co-op chaos and satisfying tool progression, plus goofy humor and eerie discoveries. The main reservation is a short campaign with limited replay value, alongside tedious or fiddly tasks that can make solo play frustrating. Opinions are divided on the repetitive work loop and post-launch difficulty changes, and many players hope future updates add more content.