Total War: Pharaoh

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Total War: Pharaoh is the latest entry of the Total War Series developed by The Creative Assembly.

Released in October 2023, this title focuses on the turbulent days of ancient Egypt, set in the late bronze age much like the thematically similar Total War Saga: Troy.

Overview

Total War: Pharaoh is described on Steam:

"In Total War: PHARAOH, the newest entry in the award-winning grand strategy series, 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, can you rise above your adversaries to become Egypt’s last great Pharaoh and stand against the collapse of an iconic civilisation?"

When it was released, the game took a more narrow approach to the campaign than some previous games, focusing on the immediate area of Egypt and the territories it expanded to in its zenith. The scale of the map was smaller than most mainline titles and players experienced with Troy report similar aspects, from interface design to the overall feel of the game, however unlike its immediate historical predecessors it moves away from mythology and goes back to a more strictly historically authentic design.

Factions are based around characters rather than fully organized states, with each faction vying for political and military influence. The player can seek political office in the Egyptian or Hittite royal courts, or turn your back on the politics of the court and forge your own path. As in Troy, there are five tradeable resources (food, wood, stone, bronze and gold) and some players said that it was challenging to have enough resources, for example Siblesz wrote "I keep running into a problem ... the economics of this game really frustrate me. No matter what I do, eventually after some time I keep running into the problem of having deficiency in resources, especially in food." New players may be interested in a guide to managing resources.

Pharaoh launched with both praise and criticism, beginning with mixed reviews corresponding to other controversies with Creative Assembly in 2023. Critics said that the game lacked innovation and povided underwhelming content for a full price flagship entry to the series. Fans highlight its decently polished campaign despite the smaller scale and some of its immersive battle features.

General Information

Campaign Map and Mechanics

When the game was released, Total War: Pharaoh's campaign map covers Egypt, the conventional "Holy Land" and Anatolia. The Dynasties updated added the Aegean, more of Anatolia and Mesopotamia.

Over the course of the game various challenges are added, including an increase in natural disasters, the arrival of Sea Peoples invasions, and other challenges particularly affecting public order to simulate the late Bronze Age collapse. The campaign start is quite customizable with the player able to affect starting positions, the conditions of natural disasters, and resource distribution - a more granular way to set up campaign difficulty than older titles.

Battle Mechanics

Pharaoh brings new combat mechanics to the game including: dynamic weather with consequential effect on the battlefield (such as thunderstorms and sandstorms), indication of degrading armor while in combat, spreading fire if one is set on the battlefield, and unit stances to change how units behave when commanded to move. For example, units in a stance to fall back will move backwards, without exposing their front to attack. Various mechanics included in Pharaoh may be recognized from the late Total War: Arena multiplayer title.

Dynasties Mechanics

The free Dynasties update added features and mechanics:

Campaign customisation now allies the player to choose between 1, 3, 6 and 12 turns per year.
Dynasty system - a family tree, and new diplomacy mechanics such as political marriages.
Revised line of sight syste (elevation improves visibilty, while forests, buildings and other obstacles reduce it more), encouraging factions to use scouts more.
Lethality mechanic, a chance for a hit to kill the target, which varies according to the quality of the attacking unit and the weapon used).
The ability to manually switch archers between direct and indirect fire.
An administrative burden system, unit upkeep becomes more expensive as your empire expands.
Invading armies can now conquer territory and use diplomacy.

Playable Factions

At launch, the player could choose from eight leaders who represented the three power factions of the time period. After the free High Tide update in January 2024, players could also play two Sea Peoples factions, the Sherden and the Peleset, so Total War: Pharaoh four playable cultures and 10 playable factions.

There are also many non-playable cultures (in March 2024, Welsh Dragon listed these as including Habiru, Isuwu, Kaskians, Libu, Luwians, Nubian Kushites, Philistines, Phrygians, Shasu and Syrians). The player can recruit native units which include warriors from some of these cultures, when you are in regions where these cultures are found.

Ancient Egypt

The Canaanites

Bay
Irsu

Hittite Empire

Sea Peoples

Playable Factions added by the Dynasties update

Following the free Dynasties update in July 2024, players can play either Total War: Pharaoh (with the 10 factions listed above), or Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties. On Steam, they are effectively separate games (you do not need to have Pharaoh installed to play Pharaoh Dynasties). Pharaoh Dynasties includes the 10 factions listed above, plus four more major factions (two in the Aegean and two in Mesopotamia, representing Mycenaean Greece, Troy, Assyria and Babylon), and 25 minor factions - 39 factions in total, all playable with the base game.

Mesopotamia

Hanigalbat (Assyrian kingdom), led by Ninurta-Apal-Ekur
Babylon, led by Adad-Shuma-Usur

The Aegean

Mycenae, led by Agamemnon
Troy, led by Priam

Minor Factions in the Aegean

Aeolia (Achaeans)
Boeotians (Achaeans)
Ithaca (Achaeans)
Sarpedon (Pelasgians)
Thrace (Thracians)

Minor Factions in Anatolia

Alashiya (Settled Canaanites)
Carchemish (Hittites)
Cimmeria (Urartu)
Malidiya (Hittites)
Sangarian Phrygia (Phrygians)

Minor Factions in Canaan

Ashkelon (Settled Canaanites)
Byblos (Settled Canaanites)
Damascus (Settled Canaanites)
Emar (Settled Canaanites)
Ugarit (Settled Canaanites)

Minor Factions in Egypt

Dungul (Libu Nomads)
Merneptah (Egyptians)
Meshwesh (Libu Nomads)
Napata (Kushite)
Setnakhte (Egyptians)

Minor Factions in Mesopotamia

Assyria (Mesopotamians)
Lullubi (Urartu)
Shubru (Hittites)
Shutrukid (Elamites)
Sutu (Settled Canaanites)

Reviews and Media

Pharaoh has received generally positive critical reviews, but has also been the source of substantial controversy which may be considered a turning point for how Creative Assembly develops its titles. It has received praise for its execution of the grand campaign and some of the interesting mechanics included, but heavy criticism for its limited scope, overall limited innovation and initial high price for what many found to be a Saga-level of content. Subsequent to the launch Creative Assembly reduced the price and arranged partial refunds for original purchasers, they also announced that the first DLC would be issued as a free update.

Surrounding its launch has been community criticism of Creative Assembly's handling of their games, and heavy turbulence in the studio including the cancellation of an unrelated high-budget project and heavy layoffs.

Critic reviews: