When the great Egyptian civilisation is in its twilight years and the Bronze Age is ending, what kind of leader will you be? That's the situation you find yourself in with Total War: Pharaoh. You must engage in combat and diplomacy, creating opportunities to keep yourself alive. Eventually, you will be the last faction standing or the most successful depending on your goals.
Ruling over Egypt
The premise of Total War: Pharaoh takes place towards the end of the Bronze Age. It's clear that Egypt's glorious age is waning and everyone is looking towards the future. Various leaders and factions are vying to be the top dog or at least survive the coming conflict.
The main focus is the Egyptian leaders, but you also have Canaanite and Hittite leaders to choose from. Every leader has strengths and weaknesses that suit several playstyles. It will take time before you can get through everyone and truly understand where they shine.
There are guides that tell you about a leader's advantages, but it won't make much sense until you start playing. Most of the story isn't really a story per se, but rather a leader's attempt to preserve power. Whether they do it through conquest or diplomatic choices is up to the player.
But you have to master the gameplay systems first, as you will not achieve victory without getting the fundamentals down. Utilising each leader's advantages and covering their disadvantages requires good knowledge of the game's intricacies.
Mastering the game
Total War: Pharaoh's gameplay is a double-edged sword. There are several mechanics to learn for combat, diplomacy, and construction. While there is no substitute for diving in and learning, it's easy to make silly errors. Even if you are familiar with strategy games, the Total War series has always been challenging to learn.
Unlike games such as Fire Emblem Engage, there are several layers to each part of the game. Combat has formations, flanking, and weather to deal with. Diplomacy involves creating deals, balancing factions, and understanding needs. Every aspect has layer upon layer of complexity, which gives you a great strategy experience.
The downside is that it's a lot to learn and that means you can't truly appreciate the game until you've put the hours in. Going through the tutorials if you are a new player is a necessity. And while the tutorials are robust, there is a lot of content to go through. You can't rush the tutorials unless you want to start from the beginning.
Even after the tutorials are finished, you have to test your knowledge in an actual game. It's intimidating when the training wheels are gone and your decisions aren't set in stone. That's why you must spend several games practicing what you learned to grasp the fundamentals.
Spend time testing everything
Even if you do brush up on your knowledge, experience is the best teacher. You must put what you learned in the tutorials into practice. The good news is that you can test out your battle prowess with single battles or start a campaign. If you want to test your strategies against different troop combinations, you can customise the difficulty as necessary.
Some leaders are best suited for easier campaigns while others provide a tougher challenge. This allows you to test your knowledge and get a firm foundation before you increase the difficulty. It's a good way to ease players into Total War: Pharaoh without throwing them in the deep end.
However, you have to be comfortable with failure. You will make mistakes as you get used to the various gameplay aspects, as changes in weather, terrain, and diplomacy can throw off even experienced veterans of past Total War games. While the learning curve might be easier for experienced players, there are still several things you must get used to.
Quality of life additions
The UI helps you track everything well, allowing you to focus on any urgent issues such as a lack of supplies. It's also possible to fast-forward combat which speeds up the game time. Since combat is time-consuming, it's great to have an option to skip the process. The only disadvantage is that you can end up with worse results, but it saves your tactical skill for major battles.
You also have advisors giving you tips especially if it's your first time doing something. Even if you run through the tutorial, advisors are willing to provide reminders to deepen your understanding. Advisors can be called on at any time, and there's an encyclopaedia to help you understand terms. All of this makes the game easier to learn as the resources are at your fingertips.
There's no getting around the learning curve, but it's great to see that Total War: Pharaoh makes it easy to learn. There are several tactics you can try and new units you can build. Learning the basics and tending to urgent needs builds your confidence, and it's easy to adapt once you know where everything is.
Lots to digest
If you are willing to play the tutorials and spend your time learning, there's a robust strategy game waiting for you. Total War: Pharaoh is one of the most complex strategy games out there, but the control you have is fun to wield. Build structures, take over settlements, balance happiness, and keep your enemies at bay.
The list of activities you can do and the number of factions means you are always doing something different. Taking control of combat also helps you get used to the new gameplay mechanics, adding even more strategy. It's definitely a lot to wrap your head around at first, and you need a significant time investment.
Total War: Pharaoh is not an easy game to learn either. There are many gameplay aspects to master, which can be intimidating for new players. Even veterans might struggle with some new additions. If you aren't willing to spend time learning the mechanics and deal with failure, this isn't the game for you.
But if you spend time learning the game's intricacies, you will find a good strategy game. The control you have over every gameplay aspect makes you feel like a true battlefield commander, if you're willing to work for it.
