Ara: History Untold Reviews
A beautifully presented and accessible game in a sometimes obscure genre, Ara: History Untold is a pretty picture book rather than a deep tome.
While Ara: History Untold is a visually captivating historical 4X with an interesting underlying economy, it gets bogged down well before the midway point.
Ara: History Untold is a complex strategy at times, and while there’s still so much I haven’t mentioned, you’re given plenty of help along the way. Some explanations could be a little clearer as I got overwhelmed at times with the amount of information that is thrown at you, but you can visit an encyclopaedia whenever you want that has a wealth of topics where you can search specific words if you’re unsure about something. From the gorgeous presentation to the layers of gameplay, I can’t recommend this enough, especially if you’re a history nerd.
Ara: History Untold brings city-building to Civilization with strategic success.
Despite a few issues, I still think Ara: History Untold is some of the most fun I’ve had with a 4X historical nations game that wasn’t Civilization. Oxide Studios clearly knew the assignment and they aced on a number of fronts. It’s a little disappointing that for their experience, they weren’t able to avoid common issues like mid-to-late grind, but if you want a game that will offer plenty of variety in playstyles and an interesting and engaging crafting mechanic, Ara: History Untold is quite an extensive option for any fan of 4X strategy.
An enticing strategy game that caters mostly to those who love to develop a culture and bringing it throught the eras. Deep and complex just at the right degree.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ara: History Untold is another distinctive take on the historical 4X strategy genre, putting a real emphasis on furthering your nation, managing supply chains and resources, and shifting the focus away from warring mentality it's so easy to sink into. There's room to grow, but this is a strong contender.
Ara: History Untold is challenging the heavy hitters in a very competitive genre, but stands out thanks to its unique approach to 4X grand strategy and innovative mechanics. It's a gorgeous and polished turn-based strategy game that hooks you with "one more turn" and keeps you hooked with its flexible and varied strategy gameplay.
Ara: History Untold doesn’t totally reinvent the grand strategy genre, but the changes it makes help create a fresh, engaging, and fun experience. All 4X games are dense with mechanics, decisions, and weighty outcomes. Ara: History Untold does a good job of navigating the player through its many options and paths to victory. Ara: History Untold beats the upcoming Civilization VII to the finish line, but the two approaches are different enough to sit side by side.
Ara: History Untold makes meaningful contributions to the well-worn grand strategy genre at every turn, even if the absurdities of its mix-and-match approach to history can be hard to swallow.
Ara: History Untold tweaks the Civilization formula, but doesn't change it all that much. While it's a well polished experience, I'm not sure it does enough to push the genre forward, settling instead to do what it does well. That said, good strategy games can be hard to find, and Ara is a good one in a crowded field.
We feel like we've only scratched the surface with Ara: History Untold even after thousands of turns and multiple games, but this is a fun take on this type of experience and a great choice if you're looking for an engaging PC game to pull you in. If you don't mind history with a bit of a twist and want a game where you can sink hours into each session as you overcome all sorts of challenges and triumph as a nation, Ara is well worth a look.
Ara: History Untold is a decent foray into the historical 4X, with enough borrowed and slightly tweaked elements to make it worth a look for fans of the genre. Its original ideas become too much of a slog however, along with a scattering of UI issues and performance hiccups that need addressing.
In the end, it's a successful Civilization clone that excels in some ways and falls a little short in others. And the game is also graphically pleasing. It is definitely worth trying.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Ara: History Untold has found a great way to assert itself in the 4X game market. It brings a very realistic and beautiful graphic style, has done away with the hexagons and brought in many very deep systems and a diverse production. It's just really not for newcomers to the genre and can be a little frustrating, especially at the beginning.
Review in German | Read full review
While Ara: History Untold asks a lot of players, it rewards those willing to put in the hours with a deeply rich gameplay experience that makes them feel like every choice they made shaped their nation and helped their people achieve greatness. From large-scale design innovations to the smallest details, the game delivers an almost flawless experience.
Ara: History Untold brings fresh ideas for a long-running genre, and more than stands on its own because of them.
Ara History Untold might be the one game that finally gets me into the genre. It's a good game for newcomers to the 4X strategy genre and Oxide Games is definitely a developer to look out for, since this is only their first title.
There’s a lot to like about Ara: History Untold, even with the rough edges that appear every so often. Barring some performance issues, I’d say anyone even a little curious about the genre should give the game a shot and try it for themselves (especially if you have Xbox Game Pass).
Ara: History Untold winds up being a mixed bag that doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights it had set its sights on, but the future for the game looks bright.