Pharaonic

About

Pharaonic is a single player role playing game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Milkstone Studios and was released on April 28, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Pharaonic is a single-player historical fighting game set in Ancient Egypt, known for its good story, stunning graphics, and challenging combat. As a brave warrior, you'll face the Pharaoh's army and dangerous creatures, while uncovering the truth about Ahmosis I, the Red Pharaoh. With a variety of customizable combat styles, divine powers, and loot, players must strategize and adapt to overcome brutal foes and ultimately challenge the gods.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+17

Skip User Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

grinding11 negative mentions

Visually striking setting with a captivating art style that immerses players in ancient Egypt.
Challenging yet satisfying combat mechanics that require skill and strategy, making each encounter feel rewarding.
Decent variety of weapons and armor, allowing for different playstyles and customization.

Repetitive gameplay with a lack of enemy variety, leading to a grindy experience.
Clunky animations and hitboxes that can result in frustrating combat encounters.
Poor map system and level design that can make navigation confusing and tedious.

gameplay
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
52%
14%
The gameplay of Pharaonic is a mixed bag, featuring challenging combat mechanics reminiscent of Dark Souls, with varied attacks that can be parried, blocked, or dodged. However, many players find the gameplay clunky and repetitive, with issues like damage-sponge enemies and frustrating mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the game offers enjoyable moments and a visually appealing setting, making it a potential hidden gem for fans of the genre.
- “The selling point of the game is its challenging combat mechanics.”
- “Pharaonic brings enough to the table, both known mechanics and unique twists that allow the game to stand apart even while being counted as a souls-like game.”
- “The game manages to keep things varied and fresh with different enemy types as well as interesting mechanics such as unblockable attacks and undodgeable attacks.”
- “Pharaonic is a game bogged down by repetitive gameplay and lack of meaningful progression.”
- “Sadly, the gameplay is repetitive, frustrating, and tedious.”
- “The game is pretty, but the core gameplay of combat is festering baby-shit garbage.”
graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
37%
6%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful and immersive art style, particularly the ancient Egyptian theme, which adds a unique visual appeal. While some players find the graphics to be subpar or inconsistent, many appreciate the colorful and detailed environments, noting that the overall aesthetic is a highlight of the experience. However, there are mentions of minor graphical glitches and performance issues, especially at higher settings, which can detract from the otherwise polished visuals.
- “The combination of the art style and ancient Egyptian theme is immersive and captivating.”
- “I have to say it was very alluringly beautiful - the graphics and style.”
- “Graphics and sound quality are professional-level, and art and design is superb, colorful and very appealing.”
- “It has 3D graphics (some people say 'great', I say 'subpar'), but it plays as a 2D side-scrolling game with 1 vs 1 fights.”
- “The art style and the atmosphere it creates doesn't relate to the level of difficulty it has.”
- “Don't let outstanding graphics fool you, this isn't a great game.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
68%
7%
The game's story is generally considered straightforward and basic, focusing primarily on combat rather than deep narrative or character development. While some players appreciate the environmental storytelling and background lore, many find the plot forgettable and lacking in substance, with minimal player choices or character growth. Overall, the story serves its purpose but does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience, which is primarily driven by combat mechanics.
- “The story of Pharaonic is set in ancient Egypt, and you play Dagi, a prisoner who tries to escape from prison to find out what happened to the Red Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt in the year 440.”
- “It's a basic story, but it does the job and sets the stage well.”
- “Story is simple but fine; background lore, however, is more developed and shows an interesting setting to explore and learn about.”
- “The game's environmental storytelling is also lacking, with players killing enemies with a minimal sense of purpose or exploration.”
- “The game's art direction and environment design are extremely well done and are pleasant to look at, but are undermined by a lack of substance in plot and NPCs.”
- “As the game prioritizes combat, there is less there in terms of story and character progression.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, with combat described as a slow slog due to high enemy health and repetitive encounters. The lack of a points system for weapons and armor, combined with significant XP loss upon death, exacerbates the grind, making progress feel laborious and unenjoyable. Overall, the gameplay is criticized for its repetitiveness and the overwhelming sense of tedium it creates.
- “The combat itself is a slog, with most enemies having too much health, making grinding feel unbearable due to the repetitiveness of encounters.”
- “Sadly, the gameplay is repetitive, frustrating, and tedious.”
- “The combat in this game is a tedious slog and a lot of the same enemies over and over where you swing twice and back up to wait for your stamina as well as the respawning enemies of Dark Souls.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring evocative Egyptian themes that enhance the atmosphere, though some players find it generic and forgettable. While it complements the visually appealing graphics and engaging gameplay, opinions vary on its impact, with some noting it adds to the experience while others feel it falls short. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, despite some criticisms.
- “Of course, the music has those Egyptian vibes that you know from the cinema.”
- “Ancient Egypt fighting game delivers beautiful graphics, nice music, and difficult (i.e. fun) gameplay!”
- “Good graphics with a really nice art style, good progression, and gameplay that's arguably challenging, and nice music.”
- “This game has some potential, but sadly even if the graphics are pleasing to the eye and the music is good, the main mechanic is not good enough.”
- “Music was forgettable.”
- “The music sounds like generic background desert music, but it does harm the experience that much.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game experiences performance issues, including stuttering during key actions like equipping items or defeating enemies, which can disrupt the already slow-paced combat. However, some users note that its performance is an improvement compared to other titles, such as Ziggurat, on similar hardware.
- “Gameplay is fantastic and performance is much better than Ziggurat's on my laptop!”
- “The game has some issues with performance.”
- “There is noticeable stuttering when equipping an item, after getting a kill, or sometimes randomly during gameplay, which disrupts the already slow combat style of this game.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it limited due to predictable routes, others appreciate the variety of weapon, armor, and magic combinations that encourage multiple playthroughs. Despite the concerns, many feel the game offers good value for its price.
- “Good quality-cost relationship, very replayable.”
- “There are many combinations of weapons, armors, and magic powers to try, and this makes the title very replayable.”
- “And although replayability is minimal because, unlike Souls games, you'll probably end up taking the exact same routes, I feel it was still a fair purchase for €15.99.”
- “There doesn't feel like much replay value as a result.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by clever references to other video games, particularly the Dark Souls series, which fans find amusing. Additionally, players have noted the comedic inconsistency in character design, such as the disproportionate hand sizes of male and female models, adding to the game's lighthearted charm.
- “There are some fun references to other video games, and it has a nice bit of humor to it, which I always enjoy.”
- “As a lover of the Dark Souls series, I found it a little funny that they drew their inspiration for the game from it.”
- “One funny thing is that the female model's hands are exactly the same size as the male's, although she is overall smaller.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game's art style effectively creates a captivating atmosphere that enhances the experience, particularly in its ancient Egyptian setting, though some players feel it doesn't align with the game's level of difficulty.
- “The art style and the atmosphere it creates doesn't relate to the level of difficulty it has.”
- “Awesome atmospheric game set in ancient Egypt.”
- “The art style and the atmosphere it creates doesn't match the level of difficulty it has.”
- “The game fails to immerse players in its world, leaving the atmosphere feeling flat and uninspired.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere feels lifeless and lacks any real tension.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers appreciate the character development in the game, highlighting the fresh mythic Egyptian setting that introduces unique armor, weapons, and character designs, moving away from conventional fantasy tropes.
- “The mythic Egyptian setting feels really fresh, allowing for interesting new armor, weapons, and character designs beyond the standard tired fantasy clichés.”
- “The character development is incredibly deep, with each choice impacting the story and relationships in meaningful ways.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the game's stability is generally solid, with only minor graphic glitches noted that do not significantly affect gameplay. However, some players mention that the game is not fully content complete.
- “Other than not being content complete, I really didn't run into any issues, other than some minor graphic glitches, but nothing that impeded gameplay.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without losing progress.”
- “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which severely affected my overall enjoyment.”