Total War: Pharoah preview - All is Pharoah in love and war

As a franchise, Total War has remained the same in many ways over its 20+ year lifespan. It has seen new mechanics, features, and gameplay layers piled on top of its all-out-war strategy gameplay, and each new entry has taken players to wildly different periods of history - or in Warhammer's case - a world of dark fantasy. 

However, with all these changes to the series, the unmistakable and unique formula of Total War has continued to shine through, unchanged conceptually and thematically from Shogun: Total War when it launched all those years ago. 

The latest entry in the franchise, Total War: Pharoah, was announced on May 23, but a week prior I got to experience a very early preview build of the game. I'm no Total War fanatic, but from my short time with Pharaoh so far, it looks to hit all the marks expected of the series' fans while making some necessary steps to evolve the format once again. 

All out war

Total War: Pharoah features one of the more ancient settings of the series, taking place in the New Egyptian Kingdom period during the Bronze Age Collapse in the 12th century BCE.  

As an era, the historical record is light on detail, but what we do know paints it as a perfect background for the chaos and cold-blooded reality of a Total War game and its battle simulations. It's also the perfect place to introduce some of the series newest features that look to make battles more dynamic and realistic than ever before. 

During the preview session, I got to try out three battles of varying difficulty, and while I had no hands-on experience with the campaign strategy layer, the developers did speak a little about it, confirming a story mode that changes based on which faction you play, and the choices you make to conquer Egypt and the surrounding lands. 

There are three main factions to select from: Egypt, Canaanites, and Hittites. Each faction has different leaders that come with their own personalities, reflected in their traits and the units rosters they can field during warfare. The preview only let us try out the Egyptian faction led by Ramesses, but there was enough variety in the units and battle maps to get a feel for the experience. 

Blood on the sand 

Each of the three battles I played took place in varying locations to show off different aspects of Total War: Pharoah (which we'll get to later). The first took place on the sand dunes beneath the Great Pyramids, the second on the marshy borders of the Egyptian Empire, and the third in the city of Mennefer as it's being sieged by the Sea Peoples. 

On the surface, the gameplay is as straight forward as ever, allowing you to set up and position your units prior to battle, before giving them commands on where to move, who to attack, and what formations to hold. As someone who hasn't played a Total War game for a while, it was easy to get back into, and the UI made all the features, and how I could utilise them, clear to follow. 

As for the difficulty, maybe my Total War rust was still in effect, but the game isn't afraid to make you work for the win. It's up to you to figure out which units counter which, what stratagems and tactics to deploy when and where, and how to approach every encounter, but it felt rewarding when I walked away having secured my hold on the kingdom in blood. 

A notable change from previous games is the slower pace of battle. For one, it's an appropriate choice to display the more primitive ancient warfare taking place, but more importantly, it's a specific design decision to reflect the new battle simulation and mechanics that are interwoven with it. 

Units now have weights based on the armour and weaponry they carry, which is an important factor in decisions. For example, units in heavier armour will have a tougher time trudging through the mud toward the enemy, while units clothed in a light tunic will suffer far more from the effects of a sandstorm. 

This also plays into an exhaustion system that has a significant role in how effective your troops are, especially after the toll of heavy battle. This gives each tactical decision more weight and should force players who ran through previous entries on autopilot to sit forward and relearn some of the best ways to command a battle. 

Cataclysm 

Perhaps the most major addition to Total War: Pharoah is the dynamic weather system, which is both a necessary evolution for the battle system and a thematically appropriate feature for a game developed during and taking place in a time of total climate upheaval.

While previous games had weather effects, they were mostly for visual flair rather than an added layer of gameplay, but this time weather is treated with the importance it deserves, as it can be the decider for a battle if you aren't prepared, and in some cases, changes the entire outlook of an encounter. 

During my first battle, about halfway through, a sandstorm began to rage through the map. It instantly reduced visibility and lowered movement speed, but knowing it was coming, I planned ahead and commanded a unit to push into the side of my enemies just as it hit, overwhelming them just when falling back became an impossible task. It was a satisfying feeling to recognise a change in the environment and use it to my advantage by developing a new strategy on the fly.

The dynamic weather also works in tandem with the expanded dynamic terrain system, causing battle maps to change drastically during some weather states. For example, torrential rain can waterlog fields and cause mud to become slippery, while sweltering heat can dry up mud and make it easily traversable once again. These effects can change over the course of a battle, and players will need to adapt to real-time changes when making decisions, adding even more depth to the battles that's been missing.

Final Thoughts

Total War is a series that remains king in its own unique lane of real-time strategy gameplay, and while many fans are just happy for new entries with a different skin, those of you seeking something that meaningfully evolves the formula to be more dynamic and reactive may have found what you're looking for with Total War: Pharaoh.

Total War: Pharaoh will launch in October 2023 on PC.

Previewed on PC.