The year is 1200 BC and, in bronze age Egypt, Pharaoh Merneptah is worried about his legacy. His maniac son Seti is set to inherit the kingdom, but Ramesses is building support to the north east. Canaanite generals are poised to take advantage of any sign of weakness in the Egyptian ranks, and to the north, in modern Turkey, the Hittites are in a desperate battle for survival.
Total War: Pharaoh reviewDeveloper: Creative AssemblyPublisher: SegaPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out 11 October on PC (Steam)
There’s a sense of dread to the opening state of the map in Total War: Pharaoh, but it’s perfectly poised if you like the idea of aggressively surging beyond your starting territory, taking a strong early foothold and then working to gain enough notoriety to eventually challenge for the throne. In classic Total War fashion, you advance your cause each turn by building up your cities, recruiting armies, pushing them around on the grand strategy map, and then diving into huge real-time battles to take new territory and see off enemy armies. Maybe, with enough political scheming, and a few massive armies, your nation can avoid the late bronze age collapse entirely.
On the grand strategy level Pharaoh is one of the best board games of the Total War series. Each of the leaders in the three available factions are well characterised, and start with a few clear faction objectives to usher you through the first ten turns or so. After that you get to decide what sort of objectives will earn you notoriety – do you want to become known for taking cities or turning enemies into allies through trade and bargaining? This Legacy system sets the flavour of your entire playthrough, and meshes nicely with your leader’s faction-wide Royal Decree boosts, and time-limited events that might give you a windfall or upset your plans.
Pharaoh’s campaign strikes a great balance between control and chaos. It gives you just enough agency to set short and long-term objectives while also throwing interesting emergent challenges in your path. Seasonal events, droughts, and bickering pretenders to the throne force you to react, but in spite of these chaotic elements the campaign feels more pared down and directed than some other Total War games.