Releasedin 1999, Pharaoh was a popular city-building game set in Ancient Egypt. Over 20 years later,Pharaoh: A New Erawas released in 2023 as a remake. Fans of the Y2K era game have been flocking to the remake since mid-February of 2023. However, if you’re someone who grew up on the original Pharaoh, don’t expect to get the exact same experience this time around.
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While Pharaoh: A New Era is a remake, there are a lot of new updates that have been implemented, along with several changes that might surprise you. Regardless of the differences, the joy of playing Pharaoh remains timeless.
10Military
One of the biggest changes in Pharaoh: A New Era is how the military functions in the game. The original Pharaoh game had a lot of bugs and questionable mechanics in regard to the military aspect. In order to refine these issues, the remake has removed a bulk of the military gameplay.
The choice to whittle down the military left many people conflicted. While some people love the new military function, others feel that it is lacking. Among all the new changes, the revision of the military remains the most controversial.
9Global Labor Pool
A lot of Pharaoh: A New Era’s big changes lie within the options menu. In the options menu, there is a section for the kind of recruitment system that you would like featured in your gameplay. There are two selections: recruiters and global labor pool. The recruiters option is what the original Pharaoh game provided.
By choosing the global labor pool, you can allow industry buildings to consistently access workers so long as the building connects to a road.
8Glitches
If you’re a fan of Pharaoh, then you are most likely acutely aware of the glitches and bugs that were prominent in the original version. The feedback was not lost on developers, however, as Pharaoh: A New Era works hard to provide an experience free of game-halting bugs.
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While the occasional glitch may still pop up (no game is perfect), it’s a drastic improvement in terms of how smooth the gameplay is.
7Gameplay Options
Another big change that comes with playing Pharaoh: A New Era is the number of gameplay options that you have access to. In the remake, there are a lot of ways thatyou can customizeyour experience to make it harder, allow cheat codes, and more.
Examining all of your gameplay options is important to get the most out of the remake. If you are feeling nostalgic, you can even adjust your game to run like the original Pharaoh game.
6Difficulty Options
While Pharaoh: A New Era has made a lot of positive additions to the game, there have also been a few removals of certain features. To give an example, the difficulty settings on the remake have actually dwindled in quantity.
In A New Era, you can play in easy, normal, or hard mode. In the original Pharaoh game, there are five different difficulty levels to choose from. The removal of additional options allows the audience to feel less overwhelmed and keeps things relatively simple.
5Music And Audio
Perhaps one of the more tame changes made, there is adifferent soundtrack featuredin A New Era. This change can be hard to miss, especially if you are someone who either does not pay attention to the music in a game, or you keep your game on mute.
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But if you are more musically inclined, you will pick up on this change right away. The differences between the two games are not drastic, and they each provide an appropriate tone to the setting of the story.
4Art Style
Another one of the biggest changes lies in the art style of A New Era. Even those who have not played the original Pharaoh will be able to tell immediately that there is a different feel and aesthetic to the 2023 release.
A New Era has a much more modern approach to the design of the game, with the graphics being cleaned up significantly. While many don’t mind the vintage style that Pharaoh brought to the table, others will definitely find A New Era to be easier on the eyes.
3Rotation
A simple feature can make or break a game for a lot of people. Some features that seem important are sometimes limited due to the technology that was out at the time. In the original game, rotating buildings is pretty much impossible due to the graphics of the ’90s.
With modern technology, players can now rotate nearly every structure within the game. While it seems like a small feature, it can make the gameplay significantly easier, and more satisfying.
2Map Editing
The ability to use the map editor might throw you off, depending on when you get the game. Unlike the original Pharaoh, the map editor is not available to you right away. Instead, the editor will come in an update for A New Era.
The absence of an immediate map editor is due to the creators of the game wanting to perfect the mechanics before releasing it to the general public. Worry not, the map editor is well on its way.
1Turning Off Predators
One of the biggest components to the original Pharaoh game were the predators roaming around in the world. The predators provided an extra level of difficulty to the game that some enjoyed while others hated.
However, in A New Era, you are given the option to remove the predators entirely within the options menu. You can bring them back at any time, as well. The option to switch back and forth provides the best of both worlds to all audiences.
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