What Dominions 5 is
You play a Pretender God who rules a nation and wants to ascend to become the one true god, the Pantokrator. Before the game starts you pick what kind of god you are — an arch mage, a huge titan, a large monument, and other forms — and each choice gives you different strengths. You also decide how your Dominion shapes your lands, your followers and your sacred soldiers. Your Dominion is your divine presence on the map; if it dies, you die with it. It also inspires your sacred warriors and grants them powers drawn from it.
The game is a deep turn-based 4X set in a fantasy world built from real history and myth. You will not find the usual elves here. Instead you might lead vanir from old Norse myth, or nations inspired by Aztecs, Romans, Israelites, Greeks, Kievan Rus and Lovecraftian horrors. There is a very large variety of spells and units to work with.
How a group plays together
Dominions 5 supports online co-op, online PvP and Remote Play Together, and it works as asynchronous multiplayer, so players can take their turns on their own schedule rather than all sitting down at once. You can team up or fight for the throne against other Pretender Gods over the internet.
Battles play out as auto battles: you set up your armies and spells, then watch the fight resolve. Battles now use simultaneous movement for every unit on the field, so fireballs and arrows fly at the same time as everyone moves, which makes large battles quicker to watch than before.
Before you start
There are three ways to win: conquer your enemies' lands, extinguish their Dominion entirely, or claim the Thrones of Ascension. Keep an eye on your own Dominion, since losing it means losing the game.
Dominions 5 lets you customize a God's bless effects in fine detail, which opens up a new set of choices for your sacred troops. The game is also moddable, so the community adds its own content on top of what ships in the box. The series has been running since 2002 and is still actively played, so expect a wargame-style depth that rewards planning over quick reflexes.