With an October 2023 release date penciled in, Creative Assembly is using its time to slowly reveal elements of the story and gameplay within their next mainline historical strategy game, Pharaoh: Total War. Upon its reveal, we were told that the core story would follow the rise of Ramesses as he sought to save the New Kingdom from the collapse taking place around the world. Importantly, this will be the incredibly popular series’ first fully-fledged ancient Egyptian game, which seems odd given the appeal of the setting.
The announcement trailer alone received over 3.4 million views on the official YouTube channel for Total War in the first month, boasting over 24,000 likes at the time of writing. So, as you’d imagine, plenty of onlookers are now looking into getting the finest gaming equipment to experience the adventure in this iconic period of history for PC gaming. Now, the developers have revealed more about the core character, Ramesses, as well as the other Egyptian factions that you can play as while the walls close in around the New Kingdom.
Arguably the Number One Historical Game Series Finally Comes to Egypt
The Total War series began in 2000 with Shogun: Total War, which set you on a campaign to dominate during the Sengoku period of ancient Japan. Later came Medieval: Total War, the groundbreaking Rome: Total War – which did feature an unlockable Egyptian faction to play without a core campaign – Empire, Napoleon, Attila, and the China-set Three Kingdoms. It’s expansive, but fans have long clamored for a visit to ancient Egypt.
In the meantime, the Age of Mythology, Side Meier’s Civilization, Assassin’s Creed, and Tomb Raider have filled the gap. Among them, Origins managed to sell over 10 million copies, and the port of the ancient Egyptian-set Lara Croft Collection has been well-received. It’s not just in video gaming that ancient Egypt continues to be a winner, either. In movies, and thanks to the comeback of Brendan Fraser, 1999’s The Mummy is still revered as a fun ancient Egyptian adventure, which is apparently getting a sequel with several members of the original cast signed on.
The demand is still there to this day, as shown by the amount of coverage the Netflix documentary Queen Cleopatra received upon release – regardless of how ill-informed it was. In a fellow massive content platform space, that of slot gaming, ancient Egypt is the outright top theme. It’s why so many online casinos feature an ancient Egyptian-themed slot as the star of the welcome bonus, such as 200 no-wagering spins on Book of Dead or 30 bonus spins on the same slot. Along with the Lara Croft game Temples and Tombs, casinos continue to stack their libraries with slots of Egyptian myths and pharaohs because they’re so appealing to the general public.
Bringing a Pivotal Point in Egyptian History to Gaming
In history, Ramesses III is hailed as the New Kingdom’s last great monarch, being able to slow the decline of Egypt and fend off adversaries through superb military strategies. In Total War: Pharaoh, the main campaign sees you attempt to replicate the incredible feat of the young future legend. However, Ramesses isn’t your only choice of faction with whom you can attempt to rewrite the history of the New Kingdom.
These other playable factions, just from the Egyptian faction, are led by Seri, Amenmesse, and Tausret. While Ramesses deals with the threat of raiders from the Canaan border, Seri starts in Hardai, attempting to keep the western desert tribes at bay. The Viceroy of Kush Amenmesse had control of the gold mines so he could leverage their wealth to claim power. Then, there’s Tausret, who has her own designs for the throne. She begins in the Upper Egypt deserts.
Those four are just the contenders for the throne from within the New Kingdom proper. Beyond these Egyptian factions, you’ll be able to play as four outsider leaders. You could pick Irsu or Bay from the Canaanite faction, which seeks to plunder Egypt. Or, you can run with Hittite leaders Kurunta or Suppiluliuma, who oversee a struggling faction with two different ideas for how to proceed as the Bronze Age collapses.
It’s not long now before we can delve into one of the richest ancient Egyptian gaming experiences.
