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Total War: Pharaoh

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Total War: Pharaoh
Developer(s)Creative Assembly Sofia
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Maya Georgieva
Todor Nikolov
Designer(s)Milcho Vasilev
SeriesTotal War
Platform(s)macOS
Windows
ReleaseOctober 11, 2023
Genre(s)Turn-based strategy, real-time tactics
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Total War: Pharaoh is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly Sofia and published by Sega. Part of the Total War series, Pharaoh is set in the New Kingdom of Egypt and its surrounding areas before the Late Bronze Age collapse. The game was released for Windows PC and macOS on October 11, 2023. Feral Interactive publishes the game’s macOS version.

Gameplay

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Total War: Pharaoh is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game. In the game, the player can choose from eight leaders, representing the game's three factions: Ancient Egypt (Seti II, Amenmesse, Tausret, and Ramesses III), the Canaanites of the Levant (Bay and Irsu), and the fragmented Hittite Empire under Šuppiluliuma II and Kurunta in Anatolia. New to the series is unit stance. Units in the game can now advance, hold (or forming a shield wall or a spear wall), and fall back. When unit falls back, they will retreat and slowly cede ground while maintaining formation and facing forward.[1] Units armour will also degrade, causing them to become progressively more vulnerable during confrontations. As with Troy, environments and armour will affect unit movement. For instance, heavier unit will become exhausted faster, and become bogged down in mud. Natural disasters will impact the terrain. For instance, a thunderstorm may create more mud and create harsh conditions for heavy units, while a sandstorm will drastically reduce visibility, rendering archers useless. Fire will also spread across the battlefield, destroying buildings and killing units caught in it. As the players progress in the game, they will be able to recruit units that are more adept to Egypt's harsh weather and terrain conditions.[2] Siege battles also underwent changes. Each settlement now has three capture points, with each bringing a unique boost to the army that controls it. For instance, one capture point may boost an army's morale, while another may boost their stamina.[3]

The Sea Peoples serve as Pharaoh's endgame threat, while spawning in "waves" every two ingame years, for instance the scripted "Weshesh wave" in 1200 BCE and "Shekelesh wave" in 1198 BC. The number of Sea Peoples armies spawned with each wave can be customized through Pharaoh's campaign customization menu, and these armies increase in size, number, and quality as society enters a state of collapse. In addition to periodic Sea Peoples invasions, players regularly contend with Libu raiding parties in western Egypt and Phrygian and Kaska invasions in western and northern Anatolia.

The "Pillars of Civilisation" is a world-state metric in a campaign, influencing stability and the severity of negative events leading to the Bronze Age Collapse. Represented as a meter with three sections – Prosperity, Crisis, and Collapse – it's tied to disasters and the strength of the Sea Peoples. This metric, referencing historically significant Cult Centres, impacts the frequency of wars, regional stability, and event occurrences. High scores keep the meter in "Prosperity", reducing disasters, increasing blessings, and weakening Sea Peoples' invasions. Players must strive to maintain this score by controlling Cult Centres through effective province management, resource balance, and fortifications, essential for surviving the Bronze Age Collapse challenges, though full control remains challenging due to the historical context.[4][5]

Players can opt to pursue two "royal legacies": the Pharaoh of Egypt or the Hittite "Great King". Merneptah starts the game as Pharaoh, but, before or after his pre-scripted death in 1202 BC, rival factions can initiate a civil war to seize control of the throne. Likewise, while Suppiluliuma starts the game as Great King of the Hittites, he can be challenged in a civil war by any rival faction.

Development

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The game was developed by Creative Assembly Sofia, which had previously worked on Total War Saga: Troy. Described as a fully-fledged historical Total War game, the team stripped away the more fantastical elements founded in games such as Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Three Kingdoms for an experience that is more grounded in reality.[6] Creative director Maya Georgieva added that as opposed to Troy, the game is a "fully historical title", one that is not "diluted or looking for multiple representations".[2] The pace of battle was significantly slower when compared to Troy, with director Todor Nikolov adding that the team wanted players to make "fewer" but more "impactful" decisions, and that combat now requires less micromanagement from players.[1]

As the game is set in a tumultuous period of time, the game world will become progressively more dangerous. The player needs to guide their civilization through this period of political hardship. Prosperity will result in the game becoming brighter visually and will boost production. However, as regions become politically unstable, settlements will be attacked by the Sea Peoples more frequently, and natural disasters will become more intense, ultimately leading to the late Bronze Age collapse.[7]

The New Kingdom of Egypt was chosen as the game's setting, as the team felt that Egypt has never been properly explored in a Total War title. Director Todor Nikolov added that the empire during the Bronze Age collapse was facing political turmoil, threats from neighbouring states, and a possible invasion from the enigmatic Sea Peoples, making it a great setting for a Total War game.[1] The team studied extensively the three factions featured in the game, in particularly their ways of governance and approaches to warfare.[6] The little-known Sea Peoples serves as the game's endgame threat. They are depicted in the game as a coalition of multi-ethnic seafaring warriors, and their design was based on "fragments of art and written accounts".[8]

Release

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After its initial announcement of the game in May, Total War: Pharaoh was released for Windows PC in October 2023.[9] The game was originally announced with "Deluxe" and "Dynasty" editions that were bundled with upcoming paid downloadable content, including a campaign pack and three faction packs.[10] In December 2023, Creative Assembly announced that these special editions would be removed from sale and that the base price of Pharaoh would be reduced from $59.99 to $39.99. Partial refunds were issued to all users who purchased the game prior to these price changes.[11] In addition, it was announced that the first faction pack would be released as a free update for all players. Development of future DLC was cut back in favour of improving the base game through patches and free updates.[12]

A patch titled High Tide, previously intended as the first faction pack, was released on 25 January 2024, introducing two new factions of Sea Peoples, Peleset and Sherden.[13] In May 2024, it was revealed that a major map expansion would include additional regions such as Mesopotamia, Western Anatolia, Thracia, Achaea and Crete, featuring 168 new settlements and four new major factions including Babylon, Assyria, Mycenae, and Troy, along with 25 new minor factions.[14] This patch, titled Dynasties, was released on 25 July of the same year.[15][16]

Reception

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Total War: Pharaoh received "mixed or average" reviews from critics and users according to review aggregator, Metacritic.[18] As of October 2023, Pharaoh received a 'mixed' rating on Steam, with players criticizing the game for its interface and its lack of new features when compared with Total War Saga: Troy.[19]

Leana Hafer of IGN complimented the games battles and the campaign story.[20] Tom Senior of Eurogamer enjoyed the strategy aspect of the game but found the battle experience limited.[21] Rick Lane, a reviewer at PC Gamer, commended Total War: Pharaoh for its captivating strategy gameplay, particularly in an era with limited military tools. He highlighted the innovative "Power of the Crown" system, which allows players to compete for leadership roles through civil wars, creating compelling narratives and interactions on the campaign map.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Tapsell, Chris (1 June 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh takes the series back to vanilla history". Eurogamer. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b Brown, Fraser (1 June 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh is making huge changes to battles, from dynamic weather and terrain to armour degradation". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  3. ^ Bishop, Rollin (1 June 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh's battles made me rethink everything I thought I knew about Total War". GamesRadar. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. ^ Borman, Max (12 September 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh's Pillars of Civilization is a Game-Changer". Game Rant. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Total War Pharaoh Pillars of Civilisation explained and how to beat the Sea Peoples". VideoGamer.com. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b Boudreau, Ian (2 June 2023). "Total War Pharaoh ditches fantasy for a more thrilling reality". PCGamesN. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  7. ^ Jewitt, Dave (1 June 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh Hands-on Preview - War Like An Egyptian". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  8. ^ Hafer, Leana (1 June 2023). "Total War Pharaoh: The First Hands-On Preview". IGN. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  9. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (23 May 2023). "The next Total War game will mobilize in ancient Egypt". Polygon. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (23 May 2023). "Total War: PHARAOH announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  11. ^ "A Message From Total War's Leadership Team". Creative Assembly. 14 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Total War: Pharaoh Updated FAQ - December 2023". Creative Assembly. 14 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Total War: Pharaoh High Tide patch notes – two new factions, over 30 units, and more". videogames.si.com. 24 January 2024.
  14. ^ Bolding, Jonathan (12 May 2024). "Total War: Pharaoh's big free update map is far, far larger than I would have thought". PC Gamer.
  15. ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (9 July 2024). "Total War: Pharaoh's enormous free Dynasties update gets a July release date and trailer". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  16. ^ "Total War: PHARAOH – Patch Notes 2.0.0". Creative Assembly. 24 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Total War: PHARAOH Reviews". OpenCritic. 11 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Total War: PHARAOH". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  19. ^ Smith, Ed (13 October 2023). "Total War Pharaoh has fewer players than a TW game from ten years ago". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  20. ^ Hafer, Leana (10 October 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh - Review". IGN SEA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  21. ^ Senior, Tom (10 October 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh review - skip the battles and enjoy a great grand strategy campaign". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  22. ^ Lane, Rick (10 October 2023). "Total War: Pharaoh review". PCGamer. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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