Total War: Pharaoh (PC, £49.99)
Verdict: The Ruling Dynasty
It’s been a pharaoh’s time since we had a Total War game like this.
Excuse me. Terrible pun. But the point is clear: it’s actually been quite a while since we’ve had a Total War game in the vein of Total War: Pharoah. Nearly a decade, in my estimation.
In these years, the Total War series has become wild in the crazy fantasy world of Warhammer, it has become more narrative-driven in the saga spin-offs, but there hasn’t been a new, big, nerdy, strategic-historical title since 2015’s Attila more .
Until now, of course. Pharoah is Total War’s classic – a sprawling campaign map that covers the entirety of Ancient Egypt and its environs, from which you plunge into individual pitched battles – although it has learned a lot from the more recent titles, particularly when it comes to storytelling.
It’s been a pharaoh’s time since we had a Total War game like this. Nearly a decade, in my estimation
Here, the stories that can be weaved between all the struggles – of young rulers and would-be usurpers – are extremely compelling.
As is the setting of Pharoah, which is perhaps the best of all Total War games. This is a time of collapse and threat, several thousand years before Christ, and it is absolutely beautifully drawn.
But if there’s one thing that’s starting to feel a little old in Total War, it’s the war itself.
The battles in Pharoah have received several improvements, including some impressive weather effects
Pharoah’s setting is perhaps the best of all Total War games. This is a time of collapse and threat, several thousand years before Christ, and it is absolutely beautifully drawn.
Battles have received several improvements in Pharoah, including some impressive weather effects, but it can still be hard to tell whether your careful strategies and tactics are actually making a difference.
Sometimes clever placement of your troops doesn’t seem to help. Sometimes a random click seems to win the day.
Still, whatever gives me a Pharaoh chance to become Pharaoh…
Payday 3 (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £34.99)
Verdict: Reduce crime
Much like Payday 2 (or the original Payday, for that matter), it finds you and three online friends carrying out the heists of a Hollywood film producer’s dreams
How’s this for a game of Robbers and Robbers? Or should I say robbers and cops? Because the focus of Payday 3 is very much on the illegal side of this eternal conflict.
Much like Payday 2 (or the original Payday, for that matter), it finds you and three online friends carrying out the heists of a Hollywood film producer’s dreams. Put on your gear, sneak in, get discovered, storm out – the guns are blazing.
So what’s different this time? Quite a lot, certainly compared to Payday 2, which has become a cornucopia of crime in the decade since its release in 2013.
Lots of different modes, lots of new heists, lots of promotional crossovers with other games and movies.
So what’s different this time? Quite a lot, certainly compared to Payday 2, which has taken place in the decade since its release in 2013
Put on your gear, sneak in, get discovered, storm out – the guns are blazing. What is happening here is a confusing game: sublime in certain moments, otherwise empty
In contrast, “Payday 3” is very reserved – and in a way I like it. This is simply about heists that look better, run smoother and are more satisfying than ever before.
When everything is out of control and you’re trying to escape with your fellow thieves while everyone is barking at each other on the microphones, it’s one of the best games I’ve played all year.
But there is reduced and there is economical – and all too often “Payday 3” feels like the latter. There are only eight missions here.
There’s not even built-in voice chat, meaning you’ll either have to make alternative arrangements with your friends or, more commonly, forego chat altogether. Which doesn’t exactly help you coordinate your master plan.
Of course, like Payday 2, it’s likely that Payday 3 will grow over the years. So contact me in 2033.
In the meantime, here’s a confusing game: sublime in certain moments, empty otherwise.