Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Remaster vs. Age of Empires 2 HD Graphics Comparison

Age of Empires 2 HD vs. Definitive Edition Remaster Graphics Comparison

Music:

[NomanJohan]

Where the definitive addition lacks is the voice acting and some sound effects. The original was iconic.
AoE DE is quite a feat. They've managed to modernize the game without ruining it. Bravo.

[yourneighbour]

Right side: How you remembered it
Left side: How it actually was

[goldencrisp]

1:19 watching that building collapse has shown how far AOE2 has gone, phenomenal!!

[bigmak]

I kinda prefer the HD edition buildings color scheme over definitive. But the character/unit detail in definitive is better.

[barbarameza]

Those building fallinganimations give me such satisfaction.

[antnauman]

I didn't like the Bloomy effects of DE. But I tried tweaking them in settings like turning off haze etc, and it turns out to be almost similar and better than HD.
The only caviat is that HD uses 2-3gb, whereas DE uses around 35gb of space.

[josephhellrung]

The most drastic improvement for me has got to be the building collapse animations. But I prefer the way that the old farms look.

[personperson]

HD was oversharpened but at times that really played into it's favor, the new remaster looks too soft, and the boats/water look worse in this comparison, and a few other scenes. The Definitive looks better and has new animations as a whole, but they still did a pretty damn good job on the HD remaster several years back.

[MandeepSingh-bvzw]

Dont know how to put it... but to me.. the DE graphics seem to be a bit "washed out", compared to the HD one. No doubt there are more details in characters/buildings etc that you can see in DE and it looks great on the whole, but compared to HD, DE does seem a bit washed out. Does anyone else feel the same ?

[buttergolem]

The HD Edition looks like a classic but the Definite looks kinda strange with those blurry character models. But the buildings are looking far more detailed and sharper.

[atoaster]

Original: Sharper textures
Definitive: Smoother animation

[infinteuniverse]

I like the original voice actors for the campaigns though.

[SebHaarfagre]

This is really helpful, thank you.
I see that Definitive is so much more than just a reskin, it's like a texture pack for Skyrim vs an Overhaul mod.

Now to Google about issues and reception for gamers...

[MrYugoWRC]

I like the HD better, the nostalgia of the 90's is there.

[aimps]

I chose HD over DE because I am nostalgic and I like retro more.

[fazmoze]

I hate how they made the water in the new one so light. Lookes pretty bad.

[jakublulek]

I don't personally like DE, and it isn't just a nostalgia. It has certain Red Alert 3 vibes that I don't think suit very well to AoE world, cartoonishness which is fine for sci-fi strategy but not for the historical one. I appreciate solid multiplayer and improved AI, much better than the HD version, but I could run HD version on a potato, my worst and oldest laptop but not the DE. That is for me the biggest downside. Maybe I will get used to it just like I got used to AoE III graphics (but that was long time ago).

[scottvaj]

I prefer the HD over the the crashes and errors in DE.

[slybunda]

ground textures look better in old one. but DE version has far smoother animations and sharper characters

[pangbangdang]

Can you do a new video with bloom and map lightning disabled? Looks way better in my opinion.