Total War: Pharaoh is making huge changes to battles, from dynamic weather and terrain to armour degradation
Total War has been revelling in fantasy and legends for a good long while now, but with Total War: Pharaoh the series returns to its roots, presenting a more grounded vision of history, albeit with some artistic licence. But even without magic, gods and superhuman leaders, Pharaoh still has some tricks up its sleeve.
Set during the Bronze Age collapse, Pharaoh sees Egypt dealing with myriad crises: the death of its ruler, threats from neighbours and incursions from the enigmatic Sea Peoples—an invading force of unknown origin. The tumultuous nature of the period is reflected in a stability system that throws more dangers at you as stability is lowered, from invasions to natural disasters. There's a theme of surviving against challenging odds, as you're battered by human adversaries and the natural world.
«We obviously dipped our toes in the Bronze Age with [A Total War Saga: Troy],» says creative director Maya Georgieva. «And after solving some of the issues, we were ready to go big and really be able to represent the whole period on a larger scale, and this is what we're doing with Pharaoh.»
We found a better tone of voice by making a fully historical title that is not diluted or looking for multiple representations.
Georgieva hopes that one day Total War will cover the «whole historical timeline», from ancient history to the modern age. To that end, the tone of Pharaoh is a departure from Troy's, which drew as much from epic poem's like Homer's Iliad as it did from history. «We found a better tone of voice by making a fully historical title that is not diluted or looking for multiple representations. So our intent here is to basically represent Egypt as it was and create a game that does justice and creates a living,
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