Ara: History Untold review: Civilization alternative dials up the strategy

Ara: History Untold MSRP $60.00 Score Details Pros

Deep resource management
City-builder hooks make it more intimate
Genius elimination system
Lots of meaningful decisions

Cons

Can be demanding on PC
Each round feels the same
Repetitive late game

I’ve played plenty of strategy games that require me to build a modest settlement into a thriving metropolis, but Ara: History Untold really wants me to know just how monumental a task that is. I mean, have you ever stopped to think about how supply chains emerge from nothing and form a complex central nervous system that runs through a country? It’s a mind-boggling miracle.

The latest title from Xbox Game Studios and developer Oxide Games doesn’t take that fact for granted. Rather than copying the 4X hook of Civilization wholesale, it drops an extra layer of micromanagement on top of the formula. I’m not just amassing land and going to war with other nations, but creating a pipeline of goods that all feed into one another and trading them with my neighbors to keep my growing society healthy. By the end of just one round, I walk away with a newfound appreciation for what humanity has constructed.

An Xbox PC Game Pass exclusive just got a release date and no one noticed
Xbox’s first stream of 2024 will include Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game

Ara: History Untold is a more complicated take on Civilization that takes a lot of time to fully understand. Once you find your footing, though, you’ll find an engrossing strategy game that at times feels more like an intimate city-builder. Matches can be slow and feel the same from run to run, but the more hands-on approach shines a light on all the tiny, interlocked successes that build one nation.

Building a supply chain

On its surface, Ara: History Untold sounds, looks, and feels an awful lot like Civilization (no surprise considering Oxide Studios was founded by former Firaxis developers). It’s a traditional turn-based 4X strategy game where players choose from a