By contrast, Total War: Warhammer’s endgame crisis was firmly rooted both in the emergent narrative of a given campaign and in the setting as a whole. It’s telling that Total War: Pharaoh has to sidestep history to provide its most interesting setpiece. Though debated by historians, it seems likely that the Sea Peoples arrived not so much to conquer Egypt as they did to mop up the remains of an already-fractured and dwindling empire. For instance, we know that the Bronze Age Collapse was as much rooted in drought, disease, and migration as it was in flat-out invasion. The apocalyptic drama of these events adds zest to fantasy worlds while undermining the historical accuracy of real-world settings. This is, in part, because dramatic endgame crises like this are far better suited to fictionalized settings than their historical counterparts. It’s telling that Total War: Pharaoh has to sidestep history to provide its most interesting setpiece However, the Sea Peoples Invasion pales in comparison to the endgame crisis from Total War: Warhammer: the invasion of the malevolent forces of the Chaos Gods. Fighting off waves of northern invaders adds a pleasing extra layer of strategic challenge to the closing acts of a Pharaoh campaign. There’s plenty of tension to be had here, too. It’s a classic endgame crisis in the vein of Stellaris - an existential war that threatens your faction. Representing the culmination of the Bronze Age Collapse, the final act of a Total War: Pharaoh campaign has you battle the onslaught of the Sea Peoples - a coalition of displaced tribal societies from the north. Pharaoh does try to take lessons from Total War: Warhammer, albeit with limited success. The tension created by these differences propels the game forward, giving players a distinct sense of identity and purpose during campaigns. However, much like the punchy and over-the-top designs of characters in Overwatch 2, Total War: Warhammer’s factions are wildly different. Among the morass of interlocking diplomatic trade systems, the individuality of historical figures like Seti and Ramesses is lost. The scale of the Total War games suits the theatrical melodrama of the Warhammer setting. Meanwhile, Vlad is gnarled and sinister, his mottled skin, red eyes, and missing nose telling you exactly what sort of vampire he is: a dark lord who bites first and asks questions later. He is practical and tough, but also ostentatious. Spend ten minutes playing as either character and their voice lines, animations, and visual design will tell you everything you need to know.įranz is an imposing sort, clad in ornate yet hefty armor-plating. Faction leaders like the human Emperor Karl Franz or vampire lord Vlad von Carstein are already larger-than-life figures. Total War: Warhammer sidesteps this problem by using broad fantasy archetypes. The scale of the Total War games suits the theatrical melodrama of the Warhammer setting At court, however, he’s just another face, acting no differently to the cavalcade of bland talking heads that make up the game’s political mechanics. During engagements, Ramesses and his honor guard are a distinctive unit, fulfilling a unique role. This is because Total War has always used conflict and battle to do the talking. However, the game’s portrayal of historical figures struck me as bland, and never quite reached the characterful heights of the likes of Civilization 6. Pharaoh’s factions are mechanically distinctive and offer players a broad range of paths that they might take to survive.
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