Year: 2023
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Ian Livingstone; Ed Watkins
Number of tracks: 23

★★★★★

Phara-No

I don't want to talk about the actual game at this point because I haven't played it and unfortunately probably won't be doing so anytime soon. Just this much: I used to be a big fan of the Total War series, but since Rome 2 at the latest, I've kind of run out of steam. As a huge Heroes of Might and Magic enthusiast, even Warhammer III couldn't keep me enthralled for more than 30 turns, which speaks volumes.

The original fascination that accompanied me through Rome, Medieval 2, Empire and Shogun 2 has faded. My simple diagnosis: it has been simplified in the wrong places and complicated in others, which means I just don't really enjoy it anymore. It hurts to say that, but judging by the online reviews and player numbers, I'm probably not alone.

Shogun: Total War (2000)

Medieval: Total War (2002)

Rome: Total War (2004)

Total War: Pharao (2023)

Then let me talk about the original soundtrack, which transports us to the soundscape of ancient Egypt in keeping with the setting. With the Bronze Age, it not only enters a sparsely documented musical genre, but also a sparsely populated video game environment. Score contemporaries such as the massive Assassin’s Creed Origins or the epochal Civilizations-games set in the era spring to mind - and of course Pharao from 1999. Beyond that, this part of the Middle East is usually only a side note in the video game world.

The composers Ian Livingstone and Ed Watkins are therefore both free and forced to come up with something unique for the almost 20 tracks of the Total War-newcomer. And they don't succeed insofar as the fighting tracks of the score sound like a typical Hollywood action movie of the Black Hawk Down, Extractionor, most recently, Marvel's Moon Knight-series. The oriental instruments such as wind instruments, zither and fast percussion are anachronistically thickened with booming John Wick-beats or electric basses to lend the simplicity an 'epic' quality.

The best example of this is The Lands Were Scattered in the Fray, followed by No Land Could Stand Before Their Arms and Moonlit Necropolis, all three of which sound like a chase on a quad bike through scorching desert landscapes - but maybe it's just my imagination running away with me here. Nevertheless, this step towards Hollywood-esque makes the departure from the classic family of the real-time/turn-based strategy game series acoustically apparent.

However, not everything is pure adrenaline rush. In order to differentiate the less action-packed (battle) tracks, the excessive use of electro sounds has been dispensed with, making tracks such as Night Over the Nile, Amduat or They Were Coming Forward Toward Egypt sound like more classic Total War , but without reaching its class. Of course, nostalgia is once again a blinding factor here, but everything seems like it's been heard before ... despite the mostly untouched landscape or 'competitive density', as mentioned above.

I'm sorry that I can only attest to high mediocrity here. If you take my affection for the typical orchestral barrage out of the equation, the score for Total War: Pharao would probably score even worse. At least my preferences were catered for with the aforementioned The Lands Were Scattered in the Fray and No Land Could Stand Before Their Arms so that there were at least two tracks worth listening to for me. However, anyone expecting the master class of previous offshoots will be disappointed both musically and technically.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Fields of Reeds	Ian Livingstone	4
02	Mistress of the Bow	Ian Livingstone	3
03	Valley of Cedars	Ed Watkins	3
04	Night Over the Nile	Ed Watkins	4
05	Moonlit Necropolis	Ed Watkins	4
06	They Were Coming Forward Toward Egypt	Ed Watkins	3
07	The Lands Were Scattered in the Fray	Ed Watkins	5
08	Ta Seti	Ian Livingstone	3
09	Amduat	Ian Livingstone	3
10	Shores of Canaan	Ed Watkins	3
11	Approaching Meggido	Ed Watkins	2
12	Weighing of the Soul	Ian Livingstone	4
13	Princes, Commanders and Maryanu	Ian Livingstone	3
14	The Foreign Countries Conspired in Their Islands	Ian Livingstone	3
15	No Land Could Stand Before Their Arms	Ed Watkins	5
16	Buhen	Ed Watkins	3
17	Hills of Sinai	Ian Livingstone	2
18	Eastern Desert	Ian Livingstone	3
19	The Tents of the Libu	Ed Watkins	2
20	Those Who Came Together on the Sea	Ed Watkins	3
21	I Prepared to Ensnare Them Like Birds	Ed Watkins	3
22	Napata	Ian Livingstone	3
23	Lord of the Red Land	Ian Livingstone	3