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It’s been a while since Creative Assembly released a pure historical Total War game. There was Three Kingdoms a few years back, followed by Troy, a Saga game. Both had significant mythological elements with superpowered single-unit generals, fantasy units like tamed tigers and minotaurs, and historical modes that were an afterthought at best. It wasn’t much for history fans to chew on. 

That’s changed with Total War: Pharaoh. Set during the chaos of the Bronze Age collapse, Pharaoh was released to mixed reviews due to its small scope, with the map featuring just Egypt, Canaan and parts of Anatolia. A massive free update has brought huge improvements to the game. The map is expanded to include all of classical Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Greece, and there are dozens of new factions, including Babylon, Assyria, Elam, Uratu, the Sea People, Troy and more. 

The gameplay mechanics are well refined, with distinct kingship and government mechanics based on the region you’re playing in, improved diplomacy and trade resources that really matter. As with other games in the series, Pharaoh is a sandbox, allowing you to build your kingdom as you see fit, whether that means pillaging and burning across the world as the nomadic Sea People or preserving civilization from collapse as Babylon or the Hittites. 

As someone with over 3,000 hours spread across various Total War games, I feel comfortable saying Total War: Pharaoh is not just one of the best Total War games in recent years, it’s one of the best strategy games, period.

Release Date: Oct. 11, 2023

Genre: Historical real time strategy

Developer: Creative Assembly

– Ajay Kumar