Irina "Zemlia" Sukhanova At the end of September 2024, another "Civilization killer" was released — Ara: History Untold. Personally, I was looking forward to the release of this project since I love strategy games, especially Sid Meier’s Civilization V. However, the title did not meet my expectations. Why? You'll find out below.
Inspirers
In March 2024, another strategy game came out that was somewhat similar to Civilization — Millennia. But I didn't play that for long either. The reason is that good strategies don’t really need to be overly complicated, and I’m not talking about the gameplay here.
What I like about the fifth part of the famous franchise: visually, it’s simple, it doesn’t strain the eyes, the interface is clear, the controls are simple, everything is well-organized, and there isn't an overwhelming amount of text that makes you want to turn off the game due to sudden drowsiness.
I also like the graphics. There’s no cartoonish style like in Fortnite. The leaders are beautifully and realistically drawn, the map is also realistic, and all the resources are clearly visible.
Image: steamcommunity.com
The goal is simple: develop your nation, prevent other countries from advancing too quickly, fight for land and resources, or engage in diplomacy to achieve victory. Ara: History Untold offers the same, but it’s not that straightforward.
Advantages of the game
Let's start with the advantages. It wouldn’t be fair to only criticize the project, right?
Rulers
So, first of all, players are offered a choice of rulers. Yes, they are cartoonish, but tolerable. Except for Catherine II: her design, in my opinion, turned out to be the worst. Each ruler governs their own country, and the country gives users its own advantages.
Image: ensigame.com
There are 12 eras available, through which gamers must lead their nation. The journey will not be easy, so be prepared. There’s a limited number of turns — more than 1000. For some, this will be a plus and a challenge, but personally, I prefer an infinite number of turns so I can take my time and fully enjoy the gameplay. You must lead the leaderboard to win.
Easy location choice
After choosing a ruler, you are transported to the map, where the capital is already established. For some, this will be an advantage since you won’t have to run around looking for a suitable location at the beginning of the game, but for others, it will be a clear disadvantage.
Image: ensigame.com
Regions purchase
What I liked is the ability to purchase regions. When the capital level increases, the player can take the adjacent lands for free. You don’t have to wait for the city to expand by a few tiles, often useless ones at that.
Image: ensigame.com
You immediately get a scout who should travel to clear the fog of war over the lands and discover new states or territories with interesting resources.
Image: ensigame.com
By the way, resources won't be scattered on the map right away. They become available as you research technologies.
Image: ensigame.com
Crafting system
Crafting is another undeniable plus in Ara: History Untold. For example, if you’ve built a workshop, you can queue up items to be produced there. However, some items can’t be produced right away. For instance, wine requires not only grapes but also alcohol, which won’t be unlocked at the time of production.
The crafting system has been appreciated by many gamers. Building production chains is indeed very interesting.
Image: ensigame.com
Units and buildings are constructed in a live queue. So, if you’ve queued up housing, a workshop, and then archers, there’s no need to panic and wonder where the archers went. The queue simply hasn't reached them yet, and the brave fighters are still in the crafting process. How can you check when their turn will come? Just click on the capital and the small arrow on the right.
Image: ensigame.com
Battle animations
I liked the battle animations. When I played, I immediately managed to get into hostile relations with a tribe, so their weak troops attacked mine. Naturally, they lost, but it was spectacular to watch.
You can leave troops in squads, or you can combine them into entire battalions. The bigger and stronger they are, the better — no wolves, tigers, or enemy settlements will scare you.
Image: ensigame.com
Fast AI
Another advantage I see is that all countries make their moves simultaneously. The player doesn't have to wait for the AI to think, hesitate, and then decide. This feature makes the gameplay exciting and the game capable of delivering surprises.
Image: ensigame.com
Graphics
I personally found the graphics pleasant, so I would also consider this a positive aspect, though many users were dissatisfied with them. I think the visuals are much more enjoyable than those in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI.
Image: ensigame.com
I liked watching the animation: how people walk on roads, how they work. I also liked how the country changes as it develops.
Disadvantages of the game
Now, let’s move on to the negatives of the project. Like any other title, Ara History Untold has its drawbacks, which turned off many players, including me.
Too much reading
I'll start with the fact that during the game, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was developed by Paradox Interactive. Tons of text that are tiresome, yet within all that, it’s impossible to find what you need. You have to constantly read a lot of unnecessary information, and the answer to your question can only be found on Google or by randomly clicking around.
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Tutorial and Interface
I’m not just writing this for the sake of it. When I open a new game, I always start with an easy difficulty level to get acquainted with the mechanics, smoothly immerse myself in the gameplay, and then increase the difficulty. However, the tutorial here is as bad as it gets. It doesn’t explain where you should click, and if it does, you have to open a million tabs.
And now we come to the next downside — the terrible interface. It’s so unfriendly that it feels like it’s about to mock the player for not being able to find the necessary tab. Everything is inconveniently placed, so instead of focusing on gameplay, you end up studying what should have been intuitively obvious.
Image: ensigame.com
Troubled AI
The dumb AI. Seriously, what’s wrong with this thing? When I discover new countries, relations should theoretically be neutral, not distrustful. But the game decided otherwise. Still, this isn't a problem because after one turn, they become friendly. All is well, you can relax. But no… After another turn, they’ll either revert to neutral or declare war. Seriously, this is exactly what happened to me! By the way, there’s a war fatigue system, which is a plus because my battle ended before it even began.
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Unnecessary quests
It’s irritating that the game constantly nags the player. I want to build houses, gather resources, and establish new cities, not read dumb quests that essentially offer no choice. Seriously, the game just started, you have no strong army, there’s a limit on the number of troops. Yes, I wasn’t allowed to build an extra spearmen unit. And then it hits you with a choice: either give 50 wood or lose 20 reputation points, leading to war and all its consequences.
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Game, what is wrong with you?! Why are you triggering these events? Why are you making me read so much text and giving me a choice without a real choice? Because of this idiotic move, it’s impossible to stockpile resources properly! Leave us alone or provide neutral answers that won’t affect the outcome. The screenshot below shows a neutral answer, but it’s only available for tribes.
Image: ensigame.com
The easy difficulty level implies a smooth transition into gameplay, but this doesn’t apply to Ara: History Untold. As I mentioned, I was declared war on for no reason at the beginning of the game. I didn’t even have time to study all the mechanics, and I’m already forced to spend turns building troops with a limit!
You can peacefully establish a second city, but later you’ll have to perform unnecessary actions to unlock the ability to build even more cities. Why is this necessary? It’s redundant!
Trade system
The trade system is also strange. You want to make money and sell your goods, but that’s impossible without mutual open borders. Only states with friendly relations can open borders, but… they don’t open them, and you have to wait for other rulers to lower themselves to you and offer trade. You could have just sent your camels without all the extra actions and waiting…
Image: ensigame.com
Optimization
Many users also complain about poor optimization. I had no issues with lag, but not all players had such smooth gameplay.
Image: ensigame.com
In the beginning, I mentioned that strategies don’t need many mechanics. The main thing is that the interface is understandable and the tutorial helps the player know what to click on and where. On easy difficulty, there shouldn't be epic battles and wars, and there shouldn't be strange relationships that flip from dislike to friendship in one turn.
Conclusion
Personally, I’m unlikely to return to Ara History Untold. The game won’t be memorable and will soon be forgotten because it’s just a Civilization clone. I’d much rather play the fifth part with modifications than read tons of text and struggle with the interface for too long.
However, someone out there may still enjoy the game. It has potential, provided the developers don’t abandon the project. Have you tried Ara History Untold? What do you think of this title? Share your opinion in the comments!
Main image: ensigame.com
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