After spending some time dabbling with the fantasy genre, theTotal Warseries has returned to its roots with this year’sTotal War: Pharaoh. This time around, Creative Assembly is putting the Late Bronze Age collapse in Ancient Egypt on full display. And while it may be a bit rough in some places, the game feels like yet another fantastic strategy experience that fans have come to expect from this iconic series.
Total War: Pharaohtakes the coreTotal Warexperience but injects a few new elements into the mix that make it well worth the price of admission. Not only can players expect to explore a whole new setting, but new additions like weather effects, outpost building, and the campaign customization features have helped make this aTotal Warto remember. Whether this is someone’s firstTotal Waror they are a returning player,Total War: Pharaohshould be the perfect time killer.
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Creative Assembly loves to explore brand-new settings with eachTotal Wartitle, and it seems to have chosen a great one forTotal War: Pharaoh. This game puts players in control of one of the many factions vying for power within Ancient Egypt during the Late Bronze Age Collapse. Each of the eight factions feels fully realized, the campaign itself constantly feels like it is on the brink of collapse, and while the campaign map may be considerably smaller thanthe likes ofTotal War: Warhammer 3, it seems extremely authentic and its size never really feels like a hindrance.
As far asTotal War: Pharaoh’s campaign goes, players should know what to expect here. They take control of one of the many factions and attempt to survive the collapse as best they can. Each faction spawns in a different location with existing diplomatic relations with their neighbors. Once the game begins, the faction must attempt to earn the game’s three different victories: Minor, Major, and Ultimate. To do this, players have to complete all sorts of objectives that usually involve conquering regions, obtaining titles, or taking over landmarks. While obtaining these victories can sometimes feel a bit too easy, Creative Assembly has given players the ability to customize every single aspect to their liking.
The studio is really trying to makeTotal War: Pharaohfeel like a sandbox, and one way it is doing that is throughthe new campaign customization features. Unlike pastTotal Wargames, players now have virtually limitless control over how their campaign plays out. They can alter specific campaign aspects, the way battles work, how AI behaves, and various other settings. While players can ignore these features if they want to, they can also alter them so that no two campaigns feel alike, and that is a fantastic change.
The campaign itself also has a few new additions thathelp setTotal War: Pharaohapart. While the settlement building works pretty much like past titles, the studio has added a layer to that with the introduction of outposts. Now, players can build up the actual regions with various outposts at pre-determined spots across the campaign map. These outposts can help build up their religion, resources, or help with defending the cities. They may not seem like much, but they can be extremely useful if players choose wisely.
Speaking of religion,Total War: Pharaohalso features a god system that rewards those willing to focus on it. There are dozens of gods for players to choose from, with each one offering new bonuses for them to utilize. Most will start with one god, but as players explore the world further, they will discover more. And after researching the right Royal Decrees, players will be able to worship up to three different gods at a time. As long as they take the time to worship them through different buildings and dedicate their generals to them, the gods can help them during their conquest immensely.
Along with that, players also get to choose an Ancient Legacy that they will pursue for the rest of the campaign. These legacies represent some of the region’s greatest rulers and dictate how players will approachthe rest ofTotal War: Pharaoh’s campaign. Each one unlocks new mechanics to play with, and when used well, can be greatly beneficial. The main downside to this feature is that it cannot be changed, so players will want to make sure they do not get stuck playing the game in a way they may not enjoy,
The campaign also features a couple of other new features that really help highlight this setting. For starters,the Pillars of Civilization mechanicdepicts the Bronze Age collapse through the game’s visuals and various penalties. While it may not be challenging to keep society from collapsing completely, this feature does give the game a unique flair. Along with that, the new Pharaoh or Hittite Great King system lets players try their hardest to either keep or obtain those titles, which gives them even more power to play with.
The Pharaoh and Great King features are a core part of the campaign, which is probably whythe game is calledTotal War: Pharaoh. Once players earn enough legitimacy through war or the Royal Court, they can make a bid for that crown and kickstart a civil war. Once the war is over, the faction with the most legitimacy will be given the title. And if the player is that winner, then they can use their new royal powers to shape the world to their liking. It may be a tough battle to win, but it is well worth it. And pursuing it can be a lot of fun.
However, the campaign is not perfect, as there are some aspects that could still use a bit of work. WhileCreative Assembly did introduce new diplomacy optionslike vassalization, diplomacy feels kind of boring since there isn’t much to it. Most diplomatic deals boil down to how much the player is willing to pay the NPC or vice versa. Because of this, diplomacy serves more as a tool to make up for a loss in resources rather than to accomplish something meaningful. This does not ruin the experience since it works a lot like pastTotal Wargames, but if players were looking for some game-changing diplomatic relations in 2023, they will not find it here.
The new Royal Court systemalso leaves much to be desired. Even though it can give players various bonuses, interacting with it can often feel monotonous. Players select an action to take every single turn that either results in them gaining or losing regard with other members. Along with that, they can also plot against others to earn various rewards if they succeed. While this may engross players in the setting a bit more, the actions often boil down to just hitting gossip every single turn. And once players hold a seat, it is easy to keep that seat, so they may often just ignore the system entirely.
While the campaign is important for aTotal Wargame, the most important aspect is the wars itself, andTotal War: Pharaohis not short on those. In typicalTotal Warfashion, players can engage in countless RTS battles against NPCs or other players. And while these may not seem that different at first glance, Creative Assembly has actually given them a bit more life this time around. Not only do the units have more weight and the NPCs seem to make smarter decisions, butthe brand-new weather effectscan alter the battlefield in unique ways. These additions could have ruined the experience, but they actually help add a new layer of strategy to the game, which should prove exciting for series' veterans.
From a brand-new campaign with exciting new features to a battle system that has been shaken up with new mechanics,Total War: Pharaohhas a lot to offer players looking for a new strategy experience to sink their teeth into. Some of its unique features may feel a bit bland, but it makes up for it by offering players unprecedented freedom to shape game and history how they see fit. And even though it may be smaller thanTotal War: Warhammer 3, it is still a worthy entry in this iconic franchise.
Total War: Pharaoh
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In Total War: PHARAOH immerse yourself in ancient Egypt at the zenith of its power and experience the dramatic events that threaten its destruction. With dynamic real-time battles and incredible turn-based empire management, will you rise to become Egypt’s last great Pharaoh, or a conquering Great King of the Hittites? Or will you take command of the Sea Peoples’ bloodthirsty hordes and drive the Bronze Age Collapse?With the Bronze Age Collapse looming and the dark sails of the Sea Peoples filling the horizon the people of Egypt cry out for a new leader. Many desire the power of the throne, but the path to becoming Pharaoh is a perilous one. Unearth a breathtakingly vibrant recreation of the Bronze Age Collapse as you battle societal disarray, face natural disasters and fight to protect your people against waves of invaders.Enemy armies aren’t the only challenges to overcome on the battlefield. Lead your soldiers through sudden and dramatic shifts in weather, such as torrential rain and sandstorms, and witness the tides of battle turn as it directly impacts the surrounding terrain. Beware the threat of fire too, as battles can become engulfed in flames, striking and spreading across the battlefield as it burns forests and damages the foundations of enemy settlements.
Total War: Pharaohreleases October 10 for PC. Game Rant was provided a code for this review
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