Ara: History Untold is a grand civilization game that allows players to shape a Nation as they ascend from sticks and stones to lasers and nukes. In a game about immortalization and progress, it isn’t the mightiest or wealthiest that will prevail, but the Nation that succeeds in all measures.
Only the master of all will win Ara History Untold
Ara: History Untold is a rather long game about Nations fighting to be remembered in the annals of time. Unlike other 4X games, where the victory conditions are rather linear and are targets to reach for before anyone else, Ara; History Untold employs the Prestige system that makes all avenues of progress significant all the time.
Prestige is earned from almost any achievement, no matter how big or small, from fielding military Forces to building cultural triumphs to earning high amounts of wealth to founding cities. Every action that can earn Prestige is separated into eight Domains (Military, Commerce, Government, Religion, Culture, Science, Industry, and Impact).
This means that being the best in any one field will not guarantee you victory. At all times you must be thinking about how you can gain Prestige in as many Domains as possible, although you will naturally focus and prioritise specific Domains as you play. Through time and through your choices, your Nation will be shaped and rounded, leading to complex and diverse strategies and playstyles.
In my first game, I picked the Zulu Nation, and intended on being the mightiest Nation on the map. However, as I proceeded through the Ages and developed Cities, I noticed I kept going out of my way to research more cultural Technologies purely for the triumphs they unlocked.
Soon, I became the strongest and most culturally developed Nation, thanks to all the mighty wonders I had managed to build before anyone else. Despite this, focusing so hard in these areas led to a decline in the average Quality of Life for my Cities and the very late start to my own Religion, two factors that are just as important that I had neglected.
Deciding how to develop your Nation and keep pace to pace with the others is exciting. Instead of knowing exactly what to do to achieve a specific victory condition, everyone is left on edge as there is no one specific route to winning the game. The story and development of your Nation will be unique to you, making Ara: History Untold quite special.
All Nations in Ara History Untold are racing against each other… and time
Ara: History Untold is more than a mere race to get as much Prestige as possible, however. Advancing through the Ages is not something that happens equally. It has its own finish line, and those who lag behind will be culled from the game and forgotten to time.
Each game is split into three Acts that contains four Eras of history. Each Era hosts its own set of Technologies that unlock different improvements, units, and goods. To advance to the next Era, however, a Nation must only research a specific amount of Technologies.
Upon researching the Era Catalyst and advancing to the next Era, any unresearched Technologies will be abandoned. This isn’t too bad, as many things can be researched through multiple Technologies, although not all. Finally, when enough Nations advance to the next Act, the Prestige rankings determine who carries on playing, and who gets removed.
This creates an awful and tense decision every time you need to research something. Do you spend extra time in your Era to grab some more Technologies, or do you leave them behind for the sake of progress? Which Technological routes do you go down, and which paths do you bar yourself from?
Having so much choice here means that you must be careful with what you research, as it could determine which Prestige Domains you prioritize and focus on, which dictate the attitude and prowess of your Nation.
In a bid not to get left behind, you must determine how much you can afford to stay back for better Technologies and when you must move on. It’s a brilliant system that forces players to be proactive in their advancement.
With the different technological paths and routes for victory, each game of Ara: History Untold has the capacity to be different, and a multitude of varying strategies are viable for victory. However, the game could have pushed the boundaries further.
Ara History Untold has 41 Nations, and yet they all tell the same stories
Ara: History Untold has 41 different Nations to play with, ranging from England to the Mongol Empire, to the Cherokee, to the Crow Nation. Each one has a unique Nation Trait that provides a litany of buffs and bonuses, and a selection of three to five regular traits.
These traits will provide a slew of bonuses intrinsic to that Nation, making certain aspects of play a little easier. Although some traits are more powerful than others, ultimately, these don’t really change the game much.
Some traits are truly trivial and inconsequential, and even the good ones simply make some things easier. There are no unique units, buildings, technologies, or anything else that separates the Nations aside from their handful of minor boons.
Ara: History Untold is more than a 4X game. It sets itself up to be an ever-evolving experience of consequences and identity, where each game can be so vastly different than the other. And although the game mechanics do allow for this, it would be so much more impactful if each Nation tangibly felt different.
No matter what Nation you pick, the events are the same. The aesthetics, for the most part, are the same. The buildings and goods are the same. When playing with the Zulu Nation, I want to feel like I’m playing as the Zulus. Not just a mechanically worse Mongol Empire.
This doesn’t take much away from Ara: History Untold, as the game itself allows you the freedom of picking any path you wish. It would have just been nice and fitting for the Nations to have more initial identity.
When encountering other Nations in the world, they’re all essentially the same. I want to feel like I’m meeting a Nation different from my own, but all I think is of the minor statistical differences they benefit from.
Ara History Untold lets you shape your Nation and go down in history
Although I believe the Nations could have more individuality, Ara: History Untold is a brilliant 4X game that includes freedom of choice and direction in a race against your peers and time.
No matter how you go about gaining Prestige, you will always feel closer to your peers than you’re comfortable with. As Technologies get researched, masterpieces get created, and triumphs get build, the world gets smaller and smaller even as Nations get culled and left behind.
I can’t wait to see what other directions I can go in, and know that most of you will have a great time building your own Nations.
8
Ara: History Untold
Ara: History Untold does a fantastic job at giving players the freedom to shape their Nation how they see fit, whilst keeping everyone in a toothy race. The Nations themselves could be more distinct, but the game mechanics more than make up for that.
