Creative Assembly’s Total War: Pharaoh is now available on PC, bringing the intricate battlefield strategy game to the lands of Egypt. While the game is failing to sell following a lengthy fan backlash, those who’ve played the game are begging others to give it a shot.
In a post on the Total War subreddit, one fan expressed disappointment at the community for boycotting the new game. While they admit there are valid issues — such as a lack of content at launch — they believe the community’s reaction to the title is “depressing”.
“I’ve loved Egyptology since I was five years old,” the Redditor said. “I’ve dreamed of a game entirely [dedicated] to this civilisation. I love Pharaoh; it’s my dream game, and I think CA Sophia did a great job.”
The fan explained that they understand that Creative Assembly has made some poor decisions regarding the game, but that seeing fans celebrating lower player numbers and sales is “painful”. With the developer’s history of post-launch support, expansive DLC and bug fixes, they believe Total War: Pharaoh is worth the investment.
“This whole situation seems tragic to me,” the fan explained. “At least I can rest assured that this game will have at least a year of support, and I was lucky enough to have my Total War dreams come true.”
While some Total War fans criticised the poster for expressing their opinion, those who have actually played Pharaoh are largely happy with the game. As a large strategy game in an all new setting without the ability to recycle assets, Pharaoh may be light on content, but it is well designed.
“I agree, I am enjoying the hell out of Pharaoh,” one Total War fan replied. “Learning all the new mechanics, the factions flavor, and all the rest is extremely refreshing and the combat is good too. It looks similar to Troy because it was made by the same studio. It is similar in the way Empire was to Napoleon. 80% of the people sh*ttalking it started playing TW with Warhammer and don't understand that every new title isn't going to, or supposed to, completely reinvent the wheel. “
The Total War community has been split following the end of Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC. With many fans joining the community just for the fantasy spin-off, they’re unhappy with the change in direction back to gorgeously recreated historical settings. Some of this audience even rejoiced when Creative Assembly’s live-service game HYENAS was scrapped, resulting in numerous layoffs.