The strategy game series Total War has developed a large fan base over 20 years. However, the latest title is not doing well with the community and on Steam. And after over 300 hours, MeinMMO author Odysseas Grigoriadis counts this game as one of his favorites.
I have a peculiarity when it comes to games: some people probably just call it bad taste. But I would say I have a soft spot for games that get a worse reputation than they deserve. For me, such a case is also Total War: Pharaoh.
Who is writing here? The first video game by MeinMMO author Odysseas Grigoriadis was Age of Empires. Shortly afterwards, he received a Rome: Total War disc as a gift from a friend. Since then he has played every new installment in the Total War series.
End of the world in ancient Egypt
What kind of game is Total War: Pharaoh anyway? As usual for the series, the game is a mix of real-time battles and grand strategy in a turn-based format. Pharaoh is the latest entry in the main Total War series. With Dynasties, a free update was subsequently released that doubled the size of the map in one fell swoop and added numerous new systems.
The setting is the late Bronze Age around 1200 BC. BC – a time in which the so-called “Sea Peoples” raged in the Mediterranean region. Scholars still argue about where exactly they came from and why. What is fairly certain, however, is that the Sea Peoples played an important role in the downfall of many major cities and civilizations in this region. With the late Bronze Age, an exciting (albeit quite unknown) setting was actually chosen.
Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties shows its gigantic new map and features in the trailer
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Disastrous release and missing players
When announced, Total War: Pharaoh wasn’t well received: the game was accused of being an asset flip of a previous title, namely A Total War Saga: Troy. In addition, the scope is far too small for a full-price title (when Pharaoh was originally published). The map “only” included Egypt, Canaan (today’s Levant) and the Hittite Empire in Asia Minor. What’s more, the game wasn’t Medieval 3 or Empire 2 – both games that fans have wanted for a long time.
The criticism before release significantly damaged the game’s success. It is currently one of the least played Total War parts on Steam. There are no figures available for players on Epic Games.
According to steamdb.info, the release version of Pharaoh peaked at around 5,400 concurrent players. After the extensive update to Pharaoh Dynasties there were almost 8,000 players (via steamdb.info). For comparison: Rome 2 had a peak of just over 118,000 players, according to steamdb.info. So there could be significantly more.
Unique aesthetics and deep gameplay
So why am I so attached to Pharaoh of all people? On the one hand, of course, because the setting has fascinated me since my childhood. The Bronze Age has a unique aesthetic and is far too rarely covered in video games. Right from the start, the Hittites were a culture that I personally find very exciting and that I haven’t seen in any other game since the first Age of Empires.
The reason I love Total War: Pharaoh (more so than other games in the series) isn’t just nostalgia. Subjective preferences aside, much of the criticism can be refuted simply by playing the game. While Pharaoh and Troy may be superficially similar, in many ways they feel very different. This applies both in battles and on the campaign map.
Here are just a few examples:
Whether the scope at release was sufficient for a full-price title is debatable. Shogun 2 and Three Kingdoms, for example, offer a significantly smaller scope due to their focus on one culture and the individual factions differ even less from each other.
Nevertheless, both games are very popular – Three Kingdoms has 82% positive reviews on Steam and Shogun 2 even has 91% (via Steam). That’s justified, because the games are really very good. But a focused map doesn’t seem to have been such a big exclusion criterion.
Big update doubles game content, costs nothing
After the free dynasty update, the mood towards Pharaoh in the community also changed significantly. The game has become noticeably bigger and is now rated better by the players. Overall, reviews on Steam are 85% positive.
The update added long-requested elements such as a family tree. The map has also been expanded to the east and west. It now extends from Greece to Mesopotamia. Now the Mycenaeans, Trojans, Assyrians and Babylonians also join the playable factions.
In addition to the 14 main factions, there are 25 playable secondary factions. They don’t have any unique mechanics, but they do have new starting positions and a special mix of units. Speaking of which: If you were missing cavalry at the beginning, you will now find it with the Mesopotamians. Cavalry shouldn’t have existed at this point, but at the request of many players it is there anyway.
If you’re new to Total War: Pharaoh, now is the perfect time to do so. The game is as complete as it gets and offers a lot more than when it was released. The standard price has also fallen to 40 euros. So there’s not much standing between you and what, with constant updates and a bunch of free content, has become – at least in my eyes – the best historical Total War in a long time.
Fans of Total War: Warhammer 3 were recently treated to a long-awaited trailer. It also contains a very special curiosity, you can read more about it here: A long-awaited trailer for a Warhammer game on Steam is finally here and surprises with a story twist