Pharaoh: A New Era preview: Live like royalty

Triskell Interactive has a large line-up of games in its catalogue, spanning a number of different genres and styles. For its latest outing, the developer is jumping into the world of simulation. Pharaoh: A New Era is a city-building sim set in ancient Egypt. A full remake of 1999’s Pharaoh, this game will once again task players with building up Egyptian civilization and managing a plethora of resources and systems. I got to view a behind closed-doors presentation of Pharaoh, where I learned all about what Triskell Interactive is up to with its latest remake.

The next generation

Appropriately named, Pharaoh: A New Era takes the 1999 classic and ushers it in for a new generation. It should be known that this is a full remake, rather than an HD upscale of the 20 year old game. The developers at Triskell Interactive are using a new code, as well as a new UI for Pharaoh: A New Era. The game also comes with the Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile expansion

During the presentation, I was really impressed with the visual work in Pharaoh: A New Era. Though it is a full remake, Triskell Interactive still uses the classic 90s-era design of the original game. Now a much more stylistic choice than in the original Pharaoh it still works for a modern city-builder, while doubling as a nice callback to a classic era of sim games. 

Centuries of history

For those that aren’t so interested in the open-ended modes, Pharaoh: A New Era features a story mode that takes players throughout thousands of years of Egyptian history. Comprising 53 missions, players will go through a guided experience that highlights some of the most noteworthy moments in ancient Egypt.

Map editor mode is the less guided experience. A traditional sim mode, this is where players will have to balance resources while building their city to be the greatest version of Egypt as possible. In the presentation, I watched as the presentation built structures and assembled a game plan to ensure that citizens were protected and satisfied. 

History buffs will appreciate the work done by developer Triskell Interactive in Pharaoh: A New Era. The developers did research to accurately portray Egyptian culture, down to the look and design of the buildings. They even went as far as to make sure the hieroglyphics are accurate and not just nonsense thrown in for visual flair.

An empire restored

Pharaoh: A New Era looks to be a promising remake of a 90s classic. With some stunning HD visuals, Triskell Interactive manages to capture the nostalgic look of the original game, while still fitting in with the modern era. Set to release next year, Pharaoh: A New Era is shaping up to be a solid historical city-building sim.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_