Pharaoh: A New Era

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.

Pharaoh might be a little out of date in 2023, but A New Era is the definitive way to play an absolute classic city builder that nails the fundamentals

It’s obvious that Pharaoh: A New Era was a labor of love by Triskell Interactive and Dotemu. I am sure there wasn’t a massive demand for this title, but there are some die hard fans out there (like me) who enjoyed and appreciated this game beyond comprehension. It keeps the heart and soul of the original Pharaoh, while making just enough tweaks to improve upon a timeless classic. The nostalgia factor is high on this one, and if you liked any of the late 90s to early 2000 city-building titles, then picking up Pharaoh: A New Era is a must. My only request: please consider remastering Zeus & Pose...

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!

Pharaoh returns to take the rightful spot on the throne of city builders. The game has some shortcomings, but it is still a great remake. A New Era treats the source material with respect, at the same time making it more accessible.

Pharaoh: A New Era is the best way to get acquainted with a true classic. There’s a lot of fun to have with the game, and you'll be challenged to think outside the box as you try to figure out how to progress.

Oh, to be a Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. It’s crazy how long their empire lasted. Historians place the formation of Ancient Egypt at around 3100 BCE, a run that lasted until 30 BCE, when under Cleopatra, it fell to the Romans. That means that someone around for the fall is farther in time from someone at the beginning than we are from Julius Caesar. An epic epoch like that calls for a grand telling, and Pharaoh: A New Era delivers the gauze-wrapped goods.

Pharaoh: A New Era is a remake that works by respecting the original game and addressing some significant issues, namely UI design and functionality. The graphical update is a charming one and will only bother players who for some reason loathe cartoon hand-drawn worlds. In the end, what matters the most is that this is a rich, complex, and compelling city-builder that is going to please the most demanding fans of the genre for many weeks, potentially months to come.

A beautiful Bast from the past. (Bast. The goddess. Get it?)

Pharaoh: A New Era is a solid example of a great remake, letting players enjoy a classic game with a fresh coat of paint, be they newcomers or nostalgic fans of the original 1999’s title. If you are into old school city-builders, Pharaoh: A New Era will provide you with hundreds of hours of entertainment.

Where I would caution newer folks is this: This is an older game without a lot of handholding, which is to say it hits you in the face with a shovel. There is a tutorial, but it also just kinda turns you loose to run your city after that. There’s very few “Hey sweetie, it would be just darling if you could maybe keep everyone from dying of malaria, click on the flashing STOP DYING OF MALARIA button” prompts. Bad things are basically always happening, but that is why it’s a lot of fun. It’s also not quite the gold Egyptology book that’s so entrancing, but there is a robust encyclopedia built in...

When I think of Dotemu, I usually think of them reviving long-lost arcade franchises, such as Streets of Rage and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to a painfully pristine degree, which makes the originals feel lame in comparison. While I’m still waiting for their highly-anticipated tactical take on Metal Slug, Dotemu has taken its time to publish a remake on a city-builder from the late 90s. To me, Dotemu and PC-exclusive city-builders are as relatable as Ozzy Osbourne and K-pop, but given how...