Pharaoh: A New Era Reviews

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 & Poseidon!

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 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.

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 (because this was from an era where sometimes games at least tried to pretend to be educational), so you can nerd out about the history of Egypt. In other words, Pharaoh: A New Era is a lovely update of the old classic. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m dead of malaria again.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

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...