Next month, Creative Assembly will be bringing players back in time through Total War: Pharaoh, and the game will be putting the Bronze Age collapse of Egypt on full display for the very first time. It looks like the return of historical Total War games that fans have been waiting for, while its campaign customization features could reinvent the entire concept.
Campaigns have always played a role in the Total War franchise. They often work similarly to games like Sid Meier's Civilization where players assume control of a faction and attempt to take over the world. While that series brings players through history, Total War often sticks to one specific period and lets players run wild within it. Total War: Pharaoh is no different, yet Creative Assembly is throwing a couple of new things into the mix that will surely shake the formula up a bit.
One of the biggest things that Creative Assembly seems to be focused on is the new campaign customization features that it will be introducing with Total War: Pharaoh. The studio wants to give players a sandbox of possibility that they will keep coming back to time and time again, which these features aim to accomplish. When asked about the level of control Total War: Pharaoh will give players, the lead campaign designer Aleksandar Georgiev said,
We are creating this game with the concept of a sandbox. We wanted to give the player a lot of freedom in how they create their destinies. For example, we wanted to represent the historical reality but also wanted to give the player ability to recreate history as they see fit or as they can. For example, we know that the Egyptian factions like Ramesses or Seti were historically playing their roles within Egypt, the Egyptian empire, but with our game should you desire so and you have enough good strategy behind your back, Ramesses can become the Hittite King. This is something that our game allows. The gameplay around the court, the gameplay around the ability to challenge sitting pharaohs and become yourself a pharaoh allows the player to not only to recreate the history as it was but also to invent history in any other way.
It sounds like Creative Assembly hopes to make Total War: Pharaoh one of the most freeform sandboxes it has ever created. It wants players to experience what things were actually like, but it also wants players to have control over what could happen. This makes the game perfect for history buffs while also giving those who want to mess around with history something to look forward to. Georgiev went on to say,
The idea behind the customization feature was really to increase the replayability of the game as much as possible and also to provide the player with the ability to customize their own experience as they would like
Just like with most games, Creative Assembly wants to give players a reason to keep coming back to Total War: Pharaoh. The studio hopes that the control it is giving players will do exactly that. They will not only be able to tailor the experience to their playstyle, but those looking for a challenge should be able to challenge themselves in new ways. If it works, it should ensure that no two games feel alike, which sounds very promising.
Total War: Pharaoh's customization features sound like they could be game-changing. It should give Total War fans a true sandbox to explore, which may be exactly what the franchise needs right now. The studio is very proud of its inclusion, but fans will just have to wait and see it for themselves.
Total War: Pharaoh will be out for PC in October 2023.