The year is 1200 BC and, in bronze age Egypt, Pharaoh Merneptah is worried about his legacy.
On the grand strategy level Pharaoh is one of the best board games of the Total War series.
Pharaoh’s campaign strikes a great balance between control and chaos.
As well as the typical bonuses for sacking cities you also gain gear for your generals and their retinues.
Sadly, the battles themselves haven’t been so satisfying.
The addition of unit stances is a good idea, in theory.
These let you activate specialised behaviours in the middle of combat.
The rewards for flanking are great, but battles often feel imprecise and difficult to read.
Amassing the greater number of units and auto resolving always feels like the best strategy.
Be sure to watch the ‘Pillars of Civilisation’ bar at the top of the campaign screen.
Irsu the Ravager of the Canaanites might have other ideas, of course.
The button that kicks off his campaign simply reads ‘BURN IT ALL DOWN!’
UI and Unit banners are scaleable.
There are colour profile options for Deuteranopia, Protonopia and Tritanopia.
Music, effects and speech volume can be indipendently adjusted.
Campaign and battle keybindings can be adjusted.
There is no easy mode but faction starting positions are labelled as easy, medium, or hard.
On those terms it’s a dependable grand strategy game with strong factions and a great setting.
A copy of Total War: Pharaoh was provided for review by Sega.
