Highlights
- Total War: Pharaoh takes players back to 1200 BC in the Bronze Age Collapse, allowing them to rewrite history and guide their nation to victory.
- The game features turn-based grand strategy and real-time battles, with a map stretching from Anatolia to Nubia.
- Players can choose from three cultures (Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hittite) and eight playable factions, with unique perks. The game also includes dynamic weather, dynamic fires, and a late-game Sea People invasion that threatens the crumbling empires.
Creative Assembly and Sega announced Total War: Pharaoh in May. The next historical Total War game will take players to 1200 BC, at the beginning of the Bronze Age Collapse. The following century would see the beginning of Egypt's decline and the destruction of the once-mighty Hittite Empire. However, it was also a period of technological advancement, with the rapid adoption of ironworking across the ancient world.
Total War: Pharaoh players will have an opportunity to rewrite history as they guide their nation to victory starting October 11. Creative Assembly has shown off a good bit of the game, including extended looks as various factions' alpha gameplay. These include a lot of new features coming to the game. Here's a quick rundown on everything Creative Assembly revealed about Total War: Pharaoh so far.
Total War: Pharaoh Confirmed Features
- Turn-based grand strategy and real-time battles
- Map stretching from Anatolia to Nubia
- Three Cultures: Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hittite
- Eight playable factions with unique perks
- Dynamic weather
- Dynamic fires
- Gods that provide buffs to factions that worship them
- Late-game Sea People invasion
- Egyptian and Hittite Court positions
- Occupy Sacred Land to build Legitimacy and become Egyptian Pharaoh or Hittite King
- Throne claimants can equip different crowns, providing unique benefits
- "Pillars of Civilization" Mechanics representing the Bronze Age Collapse
- Extensive Campaign Customization options
- Players can construct Outposts outside of Cities
- Garrison Outposts provide reinforcements in battle
- "Royal Decrees" tech tree unlocking various bonuses
- Leader Skill Trees
- Night-Day Cycle
- Changing seasons affect resource production
Total War: Pharaoh's Campaign Map stretches across the ancient Near East from the Egyptian province of Kush, in modern-day Sudan, to Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. The south is dominated by four Egyptian factions waging a war for the throne. Meanwhile, two playable Hittite factions battle for Anatolia, while the two Canaanite factions are sandwiched between the crumbling empires to their north and south. However, the invading Sea People and impending Bronze Age Collapse threaten to bring all of them to their knees.
The Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses is the game's mascot, though he isn't the only one who is vying for the Egyptian throne. The princes Amenmesse and Seti actively seek the title of Pharaoh, while Seti's wife, Tausret, is poised to capitalize on the deadlock. In the north, the Hittite leaders Kurunta and Suppiluliuma struggle to control Anatolia. Meanwhile, the Canaanite factions are led by the brutal warlord Irsu and the scheming manipulator Bay, both of whom are eager to capitalize on the empire's civil wars. Each of the eight leaders has unique abilities and units, encouraging radically different playstyles.
However, players are not just battling the other factions. The Sea People are on their way, coming to pillage and plunder the destabilized empires. Players can try to face them alone, though they might be better off seeking allies among the other factions. The Sea People also tie into Total War: Pharaoh's Pillers of Civilization mechanics, which simulate the rapid onset of the Bronze Age collapse.
Scattered across the map are 19 great cities representing the centers of Bronze Age civilization. War, plague, famine, and other disasters can permanently damage these settlements, weakening all three societies. The higher levels of collapse increase the frequency of disasters and make Sea People attacks more dangerous. However, players can work to reverse the decline or even prevent it altogether.
Another of the game's most significant new features is Total War: Pharaoh's dynamic weather system. Battlefields might become obscured by sandstorms or soaked with sudden heavy rain. Some units handle different weather conditions better than others, and players must adapt their strategies to account for that.
The new historical Total War game also introduces fire as a game mechanic. Once set, fires can spread across grass, trees, and buildings, threatening to envelop units and destroy settlements. Players can use this to their advantage, burning siege equipment to the ground and torching forests to engulf enemies. However, players will need to be careful if they start playing with fire, as the flames can be unpredictable, and don't care who they burn.
Another of Total War: Pharaoh's new features is that it gives players extensive options for how to customize their campaigns. For example, players who feel like the game is getting too predictable can choose to randomize each faction's starting location. Players can also change things like resource ability, staring money, AI personality, natural disasters, character movement, attrition intensity, and much more.
Total War: Pharaoh releases for PC on October 11, 2023.