Should I play Age of Empires II (Retired) or BANNERMEN first?

If you want chronology, Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) came out before BANNERMEN (2019). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.

Are Age of Empires II (Retired) and BANNERMEN similar?

They overlap on Strategy on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.

Does BANNERMEN have multiplayer like Age of Empires II (Retired)?

No. Age of Empires II (Retired) supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while BANNERMEN is listed as single-player only.

Age of Empires II (Retired) vs BANNERMEN

Age of Empires II (Retired) and BANNERMEN both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) is 6 years older than BANNERMEN (2019). Age of Empires II (Retired) scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than BANNERMEN (54.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose Age of Empires II (Retired)

Choose Age of Empires II (Retired) if you want the Multi-player and Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 36,634 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose BANNERMEN

Choose BANNERMEN if you want an Action, Indie, and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's currently about 25% cheaper on the Steam Store. BANNERMEN launched in 2019.

Both Age of Empires II (Retired) and BANNERMEN sit in Strategy on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.

Age of Empires II (Retired) vs BANNERMEN — Steam metadata comparison
	Age of Empires II (Retired)	BANNERMEN
Released	2013	2019
Genres	Strategy	Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure
Platforms	Windows	Windows
Steam Deck	Deck Verified	Deck Unsupported
Price	19.99 USD	14.99 USD
Steam reviews	95.2% positive (36,634 reviews)	54.5% positive (99 reviews)
Multiplayer	Multi-player	Single-player only
Developers	Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires	Pathos Interactive

Side by side

Both are Strategy games on Steam.
Age of Empires II (Retired) (2013) is 6 years older than BANNERMEN (2019).
Age of Empires II (Retired) scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than BANNERMEN (54.5% positive).
BANNERMEN is currently ~25% cheaper on Steam than Age of Empires II (Retired) (14.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
Steam Deck: Age of Empires II (Retired) is Deck Verified, BANNERMEN is Deck Unsupported.