Pharaoh: A New Era Reviews
Pharaoh: A New Era doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to city builders. As a straightforward remake of a 1999 game, it did gain a much better UI and faster gameplay, but it’s still a slow-paced experience focused on micromanagement and logistics. Only a specific niche of city building fans will really get a kick out of this game, but it’s still one worth checking out if you’re into strategic titles which reward patience and long-term planning.
Pharaoh might be a little out of date in 2023, but A New Era is the definitive way to play an absolute classic city builder that nails the fundamentals
Pharaoh: A New Era being a complete remake of the original game and its expansion from 24 years ago is incredible to see. This is a lovingly recreated game with many quality of life improvements and has accessibility in mind. Whether you’re new to the series or returning, there’s a lot to like here. This is a really involved game, but I wish Triskell Interactive did more with it. Pharaoh: A New Era is threadbare remake of a really good game.
If you like city builders and aren't afraid of a little crunch, give Pharaoh: A New Era a shot-- it'll feel refreshingly different from any modern game in the genre. It's challenging, well-presented, and makes the tweaks it needs to make to be accessible, without compromising on the game's soul.
It would take a careless development team to create a terrible remake of a game, and Triskell Interactive are not one of them; they faithfully created something worth playing while integrating the feeling of playing the original. Buy it now!
After becoming familiar with its systems, Pharaoh offers tremendous city building flexibility and a plethora of challenges unseen in any other city builder. A New Era has introduced numerous quality of life features found in contemporary city building titles to an already solid classic. From sandbox to successive dynasties, with new options to tune the game to your playstyle introduced, Pharaoh: A New Era beyond satisfies.
Pharaoh: A New Era’s visuals, music, and gameplay tweaks make for a very easy-to-grasp, complex-to-master setup, and there are loads of options to soften the challenge whenever you feel like it. More than that, when you get your cities bustling with farms, markets, industry, entertainment, religion, and monuments the whole thing is a busy spectacle of beauty. Some archaic bits can make things difficult, and this isn’t my favorite city builder I’ve played, but it’s still an excellent spin on a classic.
Pharaoh is a throwback in the best possible way. Harkening back to a time when city management games were actually manageable, Pharaoh will still present players with a good amount of challenge. There is a ton of game here to enjoy, and it continuously pushes the player to find unique ways to solve interesting problems. It is worth mentioning that there may be a gators hiding in the Nile right out of the gate upon release, but one can expect those to be cleaned up in short order; there is nothing here that should stop prospective players from starting their own Egyptian empires. Fun and addictive.
I have always considered the original City Building series to be some of the best games in the genre, and A New Era elevates Pharoah to modern standards spectacularly well. You’ll come for the charming style and intricate building mechanics but stay for the sheer wealth of content available, allowing you to spend hours building the Egyptian city of your dreams. I hope to see remakes of the rest of the series in the future, or maybe even a brand new ancient civilization city builder.
The original Pharaoh came in 1999 towards the end of a generation of city builders. In 2023, Dotemu's Pharaoh: a New Era retains the classic gameplay, but the lack of innovation weighs more than ever as it competes with a new generation of games in the same genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Pharaoh: A New Era has a lot going for it, and if you can get past the generic graphics and occasional bugs, you'll find a deep city-building experience in here.
One of the greatest classics of management games, finally playable in good conditions in 2023. A new interface and 4K graphics to welcome in 2023 the king of Egypt with open arms.
Review in French | Read full review
The remake of the cult classic brings the immortal glory of the pharaohs with a slightly more modern twist and many hours of fun. You definitely won't make a mistake by buying this game.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Build a pyramid to my greatness. Then figure out how to not die of malaria.
I can’t recommend Pharaoh: A New Era enough. Whether you’re a fan of the classic game or a city-builder who’s never played it, this game will offer you a fantastic experience for a price point you simply can’t beat.
Pharaoh: A New Era is a good example of how to make a good and respectful remake, improving where it's needed but without changing all that already worked.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Pharaoh: A New Era is a slow-paced experience focused on micromanagement and logistics. It is not for everyone, but for a specific niche of city-building fans who enjoy strategic titles that reward patience and long-term planning, it is definitely worth checking out. An excellent city-building game that’s both fun and engaging, with improved visuals, well-designed gameplay mechanics, and various difficulty settings providing a fantastic experience for both newcomers and veteran players.
Pharaoh: A New Era does fair justice to its original while also satisfying players' expectations. In case you haven't heard it before, A New Era is the best way to get acquainted with a true classic. There’s a lot of fun to have with this game, and you'll be challenged to think outside the box as you try to figure out how to progress.
Pharaoh is one of those dream remaster candidates for those who fondly remember ’80s and ’90s PC games, so it stands to reason that fans of the original would have high hopes for Pharaoh: A New Era. Although it doesn’t quite meet those expectations for a few reasons — both understandable and questionable — Pharaoh: A New Era is still a must-play for anyone who loves city-builders, Ancient Egypt, or just wants to try something nuanced and interesting. If you’re looking to unearth ancient gaming treasures to polish into something new, Pharaoh: A New Era is proof the gaming gods answer prayers in mysterious ways.
The straightforward rules of Pharaoh: A New Era make it great on the replay. Even apart from the campaign, you can find maps where all you are supposed to do is grow your population, your prestige, and your pyramids. And if you have the city building bug, you will love watching dusty browns and yellows explode into a cosmopolitan blast of color. To newcomers Pharaoh: A New Era easily takes its place in the modern library of deeply playable city builders.