A couple years ago Microsoft and developer Oxide Games (Ashes of the Singularity) unveiled Ara: History Untold, a new 4X turn-based game with elements of grand strategy and even city building mixed in. We haven’t heard that too much about it since then, but today, Microsoft unveiled a September release date for the promising title.
The Official Xbox Podcast also provided an in-depth look at Ara: History Untold gameplay, including the game’s large selection of leaders (45 in all at launch), living world, and unique cloud-powered approach to multiplayer, in which everyone takes turns simultaneously and players can hop in and out of games as they wish with AI taking over if they leave. You can check out the Xbox Podcast Ara: History Untold Showcase, below.
While the proof will be in the playing, as a 4X and turn-based strategy nut, Ara: History Untold is definitely on my radar. Need to know more? Here are the game’s key features…
- Explore an Immersive Living World – Explore a dynamic living world filled with life and charm across sweeping landscapes ranging from tropical jungles to sand-swept deserts as you discover the resources you need to develop your nation. Witness the world come to life in vivid, realistic detail as citizens move throughout the world and react dynamically to times of health and sickness, war and peace, wealth and despair with unique biomes, cultures, and eras representing the diversity of the human experience.
- Build Your Nation – Serve your people and grow your prestige with numerous Improvements, from forges to libraries, citadels to cathedrals, public parks to industrial factories – as well as a global variety of the greatest architectural Triumphs ever conceived and built by human hands.
- Guide your people through the eras of human discovery – Nurture your people’s brilliance and invention as you progress your Nation through twelve unique Technology Eras, making the hard choices about where to focus your Nation’s greatest minds. As you near the end of each Era, you’ll have to decide how fast to push your scientists along the path to the future – at the risk of the present.
- Oversee a rich and detailed national economy – Harvest the bounty of the natural world and deploy the labor of your people with a depth-filled National Crafting system. Will you manufacture Amenities – like lavish feasts – to provide your cities and citizens with powerful benefits, or invest in the creation of Equipment – the weapons of war – to prepare your Armies to defend your nation or conquer your rivals? Whatever paths you choose you’ll need to carefully optimize your resources and production to achieve the most efficient systems if you want to outpace your rivals to fortune and lasting glory.
- Rule Your Way – Choose from dozens of history’s most influential figures to embody as you reshape the world through your choices. The unique and varied global Leaders and Nations in Ara emphasize a wide variety of different playstyles. Experiment with gameplay-impacting Traits and powerful Leader Abilities drawn from the effect they had on world history. Whether friend or foe, each Leader has a distinct personality based on their historical background that informs their AI behaviors.
- Experience True Simultaneous Turns – Every turn each nation’s actions and choices resolve simultaneously, leading to suspense, anticipation, unique outcomes, and surprising twists on the classic turn-based formula. The fate of your people will be determined by your decisions and your ability to predict your opponent’s next move, putting your skill as a leader to the ultimate test.
- Defend your people by land, sea, and air – Warfare in Ara is presented in the Living World, as thousands of years of military conflict reflect the progress and martial prowess of your people. Develop technologies to advance your weaponry against your rivals, hone your wartime economy and industry to gain the edge, and outthink your opponent’s strategies as maneuvers resolve authentically at once thanks to the power of True Simultaneous Turns.
- Prove Your Worth in Online Multiplayer – Combining the speed and surprise of True Simultaneous Turns with the power of the cloud – multiplayer in Ara is fast, seamless, and able to be enjoyed asynchronously with a wide range of options to tailor you and your friend’s experience to the way you want to play together.
Ara: History Told launches on PC, including, of course, PC Game Pass, on September 24. What do you think strategy nerds? Intrigued by what you’re seeing?
