ARA: HISTORY UNTOLD - WHEN 4X STRATEGY SNORTS A LINE OF PURE ECONOMICS
#GiftedbyXbox
Ara: History Untold - the game that answers the age-old question: "What if Civilization and Anno had a love child raised by an economist with ADHD?" This 4X strategy game tries to reinvent the wheel, and sometimes it rolls, sometimes it's square, and sometimes it fucking levitates.
GAMEPLAY: MICROMANAGEMENT GONE WILD
Ara throws you into the deep end of empire management faster than you can say "What the fuck is a Wares Bonus?" Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and let's face it, you already bought the game, so you're stuck with it), is to guide your civilization from sticks and stones to nukes and iPhones.
The game's unique selling point is its production chains, which are more complex than a teenager's relationship status. Want to build a farm? Great! Now craft a plow, some fertilizer, maybe sacrifice your firstborn to the RNG gods, and voila! You've increased your food output by 0.5%. Congratulations, you're now ready for the other 9,999 decisions you'll need to make this turn.
CITIES: SIM CITY ON STEROIDS
Cities in Ara are like that one friend who won't stop talking about CrossFit - they just keep growing and demanding more attention. Each city can sprawl across up to 25 regions, with each region having multiple building slots. By the time you hit the medieval era, your cities will have more moving parts than a Rube Goldberg machine designed by M.C. Escher.
TECH: RACING THROUGH HISTORY LIKE IT'S A SPEEDRUN
The tech system in Ara is faster than a cheetah on cocaine. You'll be inventing the wheel one minute and splitting the atom the next, all while wondering if you remembered to upgrade that one farm in the corner of your empire. The devs have promised a tech speed slider in an update, presumably so you can choose between "Holy Shit That's Fast" and "I Blinked And Missed The Renaissance."
UI: A LABYRINTH DESIGNED BY A DRUNK MINOTAUR
If you enjoy clicking more than a bored office worker with a fidget toy, boy, do I have news for you! The UI in Ara is a masterclass in "How Many Menus Can We Fit On One Screen?" It's like they took inspiration from the most confusing parts of every strategy game ever made and said, "Hold my beer."
DIPLOMACY: ABOUT AS DEEP AS A PUDDLE IN THE SAHARA
Want to engage in complex diplomatic maneuvering? Too bad! Diplomacy in Ara is about as nuanced as a sledgehammer to the face. You can make friends, make enemies, or ignore everyone - choose your flavor of international relations and stick with it.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WHAT-THE-FUCK
Good stuff? The attention to detail is impressive, the graphics are pretty damn good, and if you're the type who enjoys optimizing the shit out of everything, you'll be in heaven.
Bad stuff? The learning curve is steeper than a cliff face covered in butter. The UI needs more work than a celebrity's face after a decade-long meth binge. And the game's pacing is about as consistent as a politician's promises.
FINAL THOUGHTS: TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY?
Ara: History Untold is like that weird, brilliant friend who talks in riddles and makes you question your life choices. It's not for everyone, but for those it clicks with, it's more addictive than crack-coated Pringles.
Is it perfect? Fuck no. Is it interesting? Abso-fucking-lutely. If you enjoy piecing together complex production chains, managing sprawling empires, and don't mind feeling like you need a PhD in Economics to play a game, this might be your jam.
Final Score: 7.9 out of 10
It's dense, it's obtuse, but damn it, it's got potential. Ara: History Untold is a love letter to complexity wrapped in a package that's equal parts fascinating and frustrating. Just be prepared to lose a few hundred hours of your life and possibly your sanity in the process.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go optimize my pottery production chain. That 0.01% efficiency increase isn't going to achieve itself!