Since its founding, Sid Meier's Civilization The franchise has been one of the biggest names in 4X gaming. With six mainline titles and numerous spin-off games, Firaxis continues to bring players thrilling adventures through history. Sid Meier's Civilization 7 One of the biggest titles to date. Because of its success, it's easy to see why other studios would want to offer similar experiences. Oxide Games made this happen with the following solution: Ara: The Unknown History.
Announced again in 2022, Ara: The Unknown History are following in the footsteps of Sid Meier's Civilization You can build your franchise by allowing players to carve their own path throughout history. They hope to embrace civilization once again, guide it through the ages, and leave their mark on the world before they disappear. But while the core gameplay loop can be fun, Ara: The Unknown History When you approach it, there are many things that leave something to be desired.
The gameplay loop in Ara: History Untold can be thrilling.
Anyone who has played Sid Meier's Civilization You need to know exactly what to expect. Ara: The Unknown HistoryThis is the core gameplay loop of . Before starting the game, players must select a country from over 40 real-world countries. Each leader has advantages and disadvantages, and each leader has three appearances to choose from. Once players find something that suits their play style, they can manipulate the settings to build their own experience and then dive into the game's world. Ara: The Unknown History.
once Ara: The Unknown History At the start, players are given a starting city and must build there. They must train scouts to explore the surroundings, begin construction of useful buildings within the city, and begin their first research. Then hit the next spin button and sit back and wait for your current project to complete. And once that happens, they do it again.
As players progress further through the game, they will encounter other civilizations, tribes, and dangerous animals roaming the land. To survive in this world, you must do your best to keep your neighbors friendly or prepare for vicious war and destruction. You also need to be careful not to fall behind in the skill tree. Otherwise, you risk disappearing from the world forever.
This gameplay loop isn't much different than before, but it's still very satisfying. Ara: The Unknown History. Oxide Games seems to have figured out what the title is all about. Sid Meier's Civilization Since it ticks, I decided not to change it too much. That said, there are some unique mechanics that keep things a bit fresh, but can also be a bit frustrating at times.
Ara: The Untold History injects some interesting mechanics into the city.
One of the biggest changes is Ara: The Unknown History This is how cities grow. Instead of waiting for a city to claim a hex on its own, players will be prompted to claim new land as the city levels up. Each plot around has its pros and cons, so players will want to plan accordingly to ensure their city has everything it needs. You can then claim that land and build various improvements to help your civilization prosper.
These improvements come in the form of various buildings, and since there are no builders here, this is also where players build things like farms and mines. Additionally, these buildings do more than simply provide background bonuses. Instead, players will actually need to craft a variety of resources similar to: Anno series. These resources can help provide bonuses to your city when applied as amenities, and may also be needed as part of a building project.
But for these buildings, the sky is not the limit. In reality, each parcel of land actually has a predetermined number of buildings that can be built within it. So players will want to make sure they are using their space wisely. This is because once the slots are full you will have to demolish some improvements or wait for the city to level up again. And if you want to win the game, you have to set aside an entire area to do so.
Along with this, as your city levels up, you sometimes unlock specialists. These specialists can be applied to specific buildings, providing bonuses such as faster production or more food. There isn't really much more to it other than these specialists, but their presence helps provide a bit more functionality to the city. This is great to see.
While all of this makes the city more vibrant, it is also a place where craftsmen are constantly creating goods and needing maintenance. Ara: The Unknown HistoryA problem arises. It may be a 4X game, but there's so much going on that it can get overwhelming at times, especially if players have multiple cities. The whole thing is not helped by the fact that the UI is often tedious to navigate and it's not always clear how to find specific items. And after a while, players may become exhausted because there are so many things to juggle.
The actions and times of Ara: History Untold are a unique twist.
very good Sid Meier's Civilization, Ara: The Unknown History We also focus on researching new technologies. This research gives players more to improve their civilization, unlocking more exciting technologies as they progress through the different eras. But while it's not much different than before, the way it works in this age of technology is incredibly unique.
Players earn Prestige Points as they craft items, research technologies, and participate in various activities. These Prestige Points are earned for the entire period. Ara: The Unknown HistoryWith three main actions, each civilization is displayed on the scoreboard. As the action progresses, civilizations are divided into three tiers based on the number of points they have. The top three tiers are safe, but if the lower tiers are not careful when the action ends, their country will be eliminated. This means that if the player doesn't have enough Prestige Points, the world can move on without them.
When a certain number of civilizations reach a certain technological age, Ara: The Unknown History Starts a countdown until the end of the current act. So if players are currently nowhere close to completing the skill tree, they can actually skip it if they wish. They will lose a lot of bonuses. But if that's the only way to survive, that's what they have to do. Luckily, some future technologies will also include these bonuses, but some may be gone forever. This makes for an interesting research system. However, it can also be slightly worse, as players will have to spend more time collecting fame than actually carving their way through history.
Ara: Unknown history is not enough to become a great genre
Not only is the UI cumbersome and many of the game's systems can be a bit overwhelming, but there are also a few other aspects: Ara: The Unknown History Below. First of all, the game's warfare is rather lackluster and mostly focuses on capturing or protecting a single city. This means players won't get the large-scale 4X warfare they want. Especially since the units do not have 3D models unless the player specifically chooses to have the battle continue. Instead, they send giant icons displaying their unit types along with numbers to attack other units, quickly ending battles before they even begin.
Additionally, there are few options for diplomacy, random quests don't feel very rewarding, and it's not always clear what the player should focus on. While it offers some strategic thrills, all of this prevents this game from becoming another genre leader. There may be opportunities to shore up weak aspects through DLC and future updates. But aside from a few unique twists, it feels like something is missing to make the game actually worth the price of admission.
Final score: 6/10
