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Despite all the fun that could obviously be had unleashing rampaging sphynxs and hippo-headed warriors on the battlefields of Total War: Pharaoh, Creative Assembly Sofia are currently steadfast in keeping their latest historical release firmly in the realm of history, with “absolutely no plans” to release a similar expansion to Troy’s Mythos, which added magic and minotaurs to the otherwise relatively grounded Aegean setting.
Speaking to me (Nic Reuben) for here (Rock Paper Shotgun), both creative director Maya Georgieva and lead battle designer Milcho Vasilev politely shot down the idea that the first Total War to focus on ancient Egypt might also offer the chance to field mythical units from that pantheon.
“The tone of the game we’ve selected is history first and foremost,” said Georgieva. “With Troy, the game was based on a mythological period. Here, we want to show the real history of Egypt and the bronze age,” added Vasilev. I will admit feeling a pang of disappointment on learning that mythological expansions won’t become a mainstay of Sofia’s offerings, but I’m sure there’s many a Total War fan sighing in relief that not every title in the franchise feels compelled to drop a bucket of fantastic beasties all over their sword and board formations. And hey, Age Of Mythology might still be a thing again someday, right?
Nate (RPS in peace) found himself enjoying a light spot of stone-trepreneurship when he played Troy, although Mythos wasn’t out then. If it was, maybe he wouldn’t have had to find the fun in rocks like some sort of mad cave-in survivor only seconds away from chewing off his own fingers for sustenance, or worse, some sort of Minecraft player. Who knows! Personally, I thought Mythos was a great expansion, allowing Sofia to go wild with ideas that wouldn’t have worked in a more constrained setting.
That said, the battle changes made to Total War: Pharaoh are sounding so clever and juicy that a big mythical overhaul may not even be necessary. You can read all about them in my preview, incidentally. Total War: Pharaoh is slated to be out in October this year.