Ara: History Untold is a paid strategy game from Oxide Games. This turn-based grand strategy allows you to reshape the world based on your own choices. Take control of real-world civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, or even the Americas—you can even choose who you want to lead your nation. With a wide and complex management system, prepare to spend hours learning the game and even more hours perfecting it.

With impressive graphics and its capacity for near-limitless gameplay possibilities, Ara: History Untold feels like the next-level cross between Sid Meier’s Civilization VI and Crusader Kings III.

Rewrite history as you see fit

Long-time strategy gaming fans are right to hold Ara: History Untold in high expectations, coming from the same game development studio behind iconic franchises like Civilization, Galactic Civilizations, and Command and Conquer. In this offering, one key feature is the so-called Living World, which emphasizes ensuring that your choices reflect visually into the game—civilian movements, buildings, and even terrain.

In terms of gameplay, this game is not restricted to history as you know it. It promises to let players build their versions of real-world nations, plan cities, or adopt certain aesthetics and technologies like steampunk. Also, like Civilization games, it allows you to view your cities in detail, as well as a zoomed-out view that lets you monitor your position relative to other players.

AI characters play a pivotal role in this game as historical leaders guiding nations through alternate histories. You can choose from a wide array of influential figures, each with their unique traits and abilities based on their real-world impact. The AI for these leaders is designed to reflect their personalities and historical backgrounds, influencing how they engage in diplomacy, warfare, and economic strategies. The dynamic AI system ensures that leaders act with distinct motivations, leading to unpredictable and varied interactions that challenge players to adapt their strategies.

Flexible multiplayer experience

In Ara: History Untold, multiplayer functionality is built around both synchronous and asynchronous gameplay, supported by cloud technology. It offers a flexible multiplayer experience, allowing you to enjoy fast-paced, seamless matches with simultaneous turns, where all actions from each nation are resolved at the same time. It’s important to note that a Microsoft Account is required for accessing online multiplayer features.

Like most grand strategy games, expect a steep learning curve required. Even for experienced players, this game has different development trees available. It also has its approach to policymaking, diplomacy, and government, requiring you to put in the hours. Even the period divisions are different. It features Acts, which further subdivides the usual periods like the Classical or Industrial periods.

Revamping the strategy game genre

Drawing from their experience, Oxide's creative developers have crafted Ara: History Untold to push the boundaries of what strategy games can offer. One significant enhancement is that players can start with a pre-constructed nation instead of starting from scratch, allowing them to focus on more substantial choices that shape their nation's development. Additionally, its fresh approach to turn-based gameplay enables players to design and execute all of their moves simultaneously. 

To break away from the linear tech tree progression, the game utilizes a randomized deck of research cards, presenting players with three options at a time. This injects a level of unpredictability into every playthrough and prevents the existence of a one-size-fits-all approach to progress. The game has also been made more accessible to newcomers with its recent inclusion in PC Game Pass.

Apart from these developments, the game leverages the Nitrous Engine, a cutting-edge game engine built to handle intricate visual and gameplay complexities. With this technology in place, the game's Living World boasts a visually stunning and thriving environment for players to explore. Moreover, it complements the gameplay with a captivating musical score, intensifying the game's overall immersive quality.

Establishing a new grand strategy standard

Coming from a game studio known for working on the strategy genre, Ara: History Untold generates a lot of hype—and rightly so. It makes the game much more immersive by creating a living world that accurately reflects each of your choices. Also, the game gives you greater freedom in creating a world of your choosing, using its available civilizations as a starting point.