Ara: History Untold Review – A Wild Race Through History

The Civilization series has many successors. Some of them are relatively successful, but most of them have never managed to escape the shadow of the famous brand. The latest attempt to distinguish itself from the legendary creation of Sid Meier is a peculiar action game Ara: History Untold, which is able to use many directions. The following lines of this review will tell you what makes it stand out and what really distinguishes it.

• Platform: PC (review),
• Release date: 09.24.2024
• Manufacturer: Oxide Games
• Genre: 4X Strategy
• Czech localization: Yes
• Multiplayer: Yes
• Data for download: 32 GB
• Play time: 15 – 30 hours
• Price: 1500 CZK or via Game Pass

Different personalities emerge as leaders of nations in Ara: History Untold

The turn-based Civilization series is known for the fact that you, as an outspoken leader, show the proposed world who is the boss and who, on the other hand, belongs to the dust. The authors of Ara: History Untold want to move away from this trend by using a format in which you will have at your disposal both various rulers and characters who determine the fate of their peoples not by force, but by science or relatively non-violent coercion. their ideas. Thanks to this, the range of personalities on offer is unprecedentedly diverse. In it, you will find more than forty representatives of unique cultures, succeeding in different directions.

20240917220318_1 | Source: Own

20240917220458_1 | Source: Own

20240917220501_1 | Source: Own

20240917220802_1 | Source: Own

20240917221653_1 | Source: Own

20240917221717_1 | Source: Own

20240917221915_1 | Source: Own

Some of the leaders here are primarily warriors, which is reflected in most of their perks. Among the characters, you will also find excellent heroines in the field of agriculture, nuns, astrologers, poets, lawyers or political activists, who represent charity, wisdom and the desire for a better life. Personally, I got the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, the legendary Ieyasu Tokugawa, who can put much more pressure on his enemies in a state of war than other leaders. In addition, his units have superior strength outside the territory he controls, so wars of attrition are fun for him.

The first steps will not be unfamiliar to you

Once I had chosen who I would be joining on my journey through history, there was nothing stopping me from diving into empire building. The basic idea of ​​Ara: History Untold is not much different from Civilization or other games following in the footsteps of the famous brand. In practice, this means that you start with a city that you expand as you invent new technologies. However, it is the technologies that set the game apart from many of its competitors. There are many twists and turns along the way, which means that you will reach some forks before others, and others you will avoid for a long time or ignore completely in the name of faster progress. For example, I avoided inventing siege engines for a long time, only to realize in the Middle Ages that this was not a perfect idea, since most cities at that time already had decent walls.

20240917235425_1.jpg | Source: Own

20240918000017_1.jpg | Source: Own

20240917235032_1.jpg | Source: Own

20240917234414_1.jpg | Source: Own

20240917235022_1.jpg |

20240917235542_1.jpg | Source: Own

20240917235005_1.jpg | Source: Own

I really like this choice-based research format because no nation has the same list of technologies as its competitors. There are always plenty of workarounds, and the AI ​​and other players have no problem choosing their own direction in the name of achieving their goals. Sometimes you will focus your nation primarily on infrastructure and discoveries, revolving around human satisfaction and triumphs that replace wonders of the world. However, there is nothing stopping you from completely rejecting this option and becoming a warmonger, whose priority is to discover new weapons and formations that troops can use. In this case, the nation with the faster development often sets the pace, as it is the nation that puts pressure on others to constantly move forward with research and leave old inventions idle.

He who slows down disappears

Once a certain number of players have entered a certain era, there is always an elimination of those who do not have enough power and, above all, prestige to allow their nation to make history. This format often leads to some pretty wild situations. For example, I once decided to declare war on neighboring Germany, but before it could end satisfactorily, it was swallowed up by history, causing everything under its control to suddenly collapse. Cities were lost, and savage, bloodthirsty bands roamed the countryside. However, I used this space to expand the territory originally controlled by the Germans.

20240919110837_1 | Source: Own

20240919111710_1 | Source: Own

20240919111915_1 | Source: Own

20240919112039_1 | Source: Own

20240919112310_1 | Source: Own

20240919112339_1 | Source: Own

20240919112828_1 | Source: Own

Taking over enemy territories always involves building. You have to provide the cities with enough materials, finances and food to ensure their growth. In addition to these elements, you also deal with security, happiness of the population and their education. Some of the mentioned points can be solved by building the right buildings, but usually this is not enough. The creators put a lot of emphasis on the need to think very actively about each metropolis and above all about optimizing individual processes, where you purposefully increase production at the expense of the produced raw materials. But you have to divide everything manually, which at first glance seems simple, but when you have twenty farms, several factories and cities full of buildings, it is no longer so fun.

When you’re not building, developing technology, or exploring a world full of problems, there is room for diplomacy. However, it’s too finely chopped for my tastes. You won’t get anything like Total War or the complex format of other 4X games. Fortunately, any communication issues can be resolved through expansionist or revenge-oriented wars, which are built around highly focused squads that game-like eliminate select rivals.

20240919111710_1 | Source: Own

20240919111915_1 | Source: Own

20240919112039_1 | Source: Own

20240919112310_1 | Source: Own

20240919112339_1 | Source: Own

20240919112828_1 | Source: Own

20240919132806_1 | Source: Own

However, when it comes to facing their enemy, the outcome is not entirely favorable. Interestingly, you can put icons at the head of your troops, representing personalities you encounter during your travels through history, and which bring different bonuses to your institutions depending on how you assign them. They are even capable of creating works of art that bring the prestige needed for the final victory.

Ara: History Untold manages to stand out from the crowd thanks to several elements.

A relatively fundamental problem with games across the spectrum is that they fail to differentiate themselves from their competitors. In the case of Ara: History Untold, I think it succeeds because it combines many aspects into a working whole. It offers players traditional gameplay, enriched with several interesting elements. For example, the prestige format is quite significant, involving the gradual elimination of those who simply do not have the strength to expand. The icons, the development tree, and the individual nations are also well done. The combat system also works without any problems.

The main drawback I find is the excessive need to keep everything under control. In short, there could be less micromanagement. If the game worked less with details and focused more on the big picture, it would benefit the game, and the player would not have to wonder why one turn he gets a large negative income, and the next he miraculously ends up in the plus again without doing anything.

When managing cities, thanks to the over-emphasis on detailed optimization, I also encountered bugs related to the inability to move items within the set metropolises. The only thing I would criticize the set for is the AI, which sometimes behaves perhaps too aggressively and does not work very well with its options or the map. But sometimes it is surprising. Although I could see it organizing a bigger rodeo.