Predynastic Egypt

86%
Game Brain Score Based on 559 reviews
  • gameplay
  • replayability
  • graphics
Predynastic Egypt Game Cover
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"Predynastic Egypt" is a historical simulation game that allows players to experience the evolution of early Egyptian civilization. Witness and manage events such as wars, natural disasters, migrations, and technological advancements to guide your chiefdom through challenges and toward establishing the first Egyptian state. Discover 48 historically accurate technologies and cultural achievements as you delve into the mysteries of Egyptian religion and culture.

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  • PC
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  • Windows
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  • Mobile Platform
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

86%
Audience ScoreBased on 559 reviews
gameplay38 positive mentions
replayability19 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique and educational experience, providing insights into ancient Egyptian history while engaging players in strategic gameplay.
  • The art style is beautiful and captures the essence of ancient Egypt, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
  • The gameplay is easy to learn but challenging to master, making it addictive and encouraging multiple playthroughs to improve scores.
  • The game has limited replayability due to its linear structure and fixed events, making subsequent playthroughs feel repetitive.
  • Combat mechanics can feel random and frustrating, with outcomes heavily influenced by luck rather than strategy.
  • The game can be overly punishing, with strict time limits and challenges that may lead to player frustration, especially for those unfamiliar with the mechanics.
  • gameplay133 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized as visually appealing and engaging, with a focus on puzzle-solving rather than deep strategy, making it accessible yet challenging. While many players appreciate the straightforward mechanics and historical context, some find the linearity and limited replayability a drawback, leading to a repetitive experience after multiple playthroughs. Overall, it offers a casual yet satisfying experience for fans of strategy and resource management games, though it may not satisfy those seeking complex gameplay.

    • “The enjoyment of the mid to early game is exceptional, as the gameplay is tight and rewards learning and planning.”
    • “The gameplay is another case of easy to learn, hard to master.”
    • “Beautiful artwork, amazing history, and fantastic gameplay.”
    • “Despite the gameplay not being to my tastes, there is a reason for these mechanics even if it makes the game less fun.”
    • “The narrow margin for error is a downside, restricting the gameplay to a limited selection of defined historical paths, effectively making it a puzzle to find that path.”
    • “The gameplay keeps you focused, you don't get bored until the third playthrough, but from then the mechanics feel repetitive.”
  • replayability95 mentions

    Overall, the game exhibits limited replayability due to its linear progression, scripted events, and lack of randomization in maps, which many reviewers noted as significant drawbacks. While some players found enjoyment in optimizing strategies or pursuing achievements, the consensus is that it does not offer the extensive replay value typical of 4X games. However, a few users appreciated the thematic difficulty settings and the potential for varied playthroughs, suggesting that it may still appeal to those seeking a short, focused experience.

    • “I got it solely for that reason, and soon discovered a challenging but fun and replayable game.”
    • “The replayability doesn't come from random maps, but rather from improving your performance on each set event and finally winning the game.”
    • “I really like the ambiance of the game, background music, voices, the way upgrades are applied on the map, the way your tribe evolves from meager beginnings to a powerful state; there is a lot of replayability in it too because there's always a new strategy you would like to try out to better the results.”
    • “The way the game progresses is very linear, which dims replayability.”
    • “The replayability is somewhat limited due to the map being the same every time, although resources and some points of interest are randomly generated.”
    • “Unfortunately, I don't think that there'll be much replay value to get me to play it a second time; it's scripted, not procedurally generated.”
  • graphics57 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a simplistic yet charming art style that effectively captures the essence of ancient Egypt, resembling hieroglyphs and traditional artwork. While some players appreciate the aesthetic and thematic coherence, others note the limited animations and basic visuals, which may detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics serve their purpose well, providing an attractive backdrop for the gameplay while maintaining a clean and intuitive user interface.

    • “I love starting with graphics as they are often the most striking part of a game's make-up, and pre-dynastic Egypt scratches a certain itch.”
    • “The graphics, while somewhat tilted towards the functional end of the spectrum, are still very pretty and evocative of the theme and do exactly what they need to do while still being interesting and nice to look at.”
    • “The graphics are charming, beautiful, and their style serves the gameplay and historical background well.”
    • “Very simple graphics, with very few animations.”
    • “It's simplistic, the graphics are basic, the game seems to involve hitting 'next turn' a lot.”
    • “The graphic expression is really too limited.”
  • story44 mentions

    The game's story is rooted in historical context, providing a realistic and educational narrative that enhances the gameplay experience, though it is linear and lacks depth. Players are required to commit fully to missions to progress, which can lead to a repetitive experience across multiple playthroughs. While the story is engaging and well-researched, some players feel it could benefit from more dynamic elements and clearer objectives to improve overall enjoyment.

    • “The best part of the game is that this is more than window dressing -- enough research has been put into the setting to turn what scanty sources we have about the period into a coherent, believable story.”
    • “The game follows the real story, so it's nice to play and learn.”
    • “The game course is well designed to constantly give you the good feeling of development and achievement while pushing you forward with timed story events.”
    • “There's no story, there's no set of pre-made missions with certain goals, there's nothing like that.”
    • “Really the gameplay is very limited, short, lacks depth and story.”
    • “If your game is railroaded, and only really has one storyline/set of content, it's unacceptable to make the player start over once they've experienced most of it already.”
  • music27 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its relaxing and fitting nature that enhances the gameplay experience, while others noted a lack of variety and simplicity in the sound design. Many found the soundtrack to be beautiful and well-suited to the game's theme, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere. Overall, while the music is generally well-received, some players feel it could benefit from more diverse tracks.

    • “This game is a lot of fun, with a beautiful soundtrack and great empire mechanics.”
    • “The music was better than expected; this was a great game to play after taking a college class on ancient Egypt, as is the sequel.”
    • “The music is relaxing and unobtrusive, and the sound effects are well done.”
    • “Individual sounds are often very simple, but also sound like they've been compressed one too many times, and there is a distinct lack of music tracks for the game.”
    • “Game just loads to a blue screen with music.”
    • “Good concept, I enjoyed the artistic style quite a bit, the historical accuracy, the music and so forth but it's far too short, too restrictive, not enough choices, limits you to 200 turns (which go by fast) and holds the players hand far too much.”
  • atmosphere11 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and relaxing qualities, creating a magical and nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic titles. Players appreciate the combination of simple mechanics and engaging visuals, which contribute to a meditative and addictive gameplay experience, despite some concerns about replay value. Overall, the game successfully delivers a captivating atmosphere that enhances enjoyment.

    • “Great game, very atmospheric, very meditative, with cool hand-drawn graphics and clear UI.”
    • “The management of civilizations (albeit without the multiple ways of 'winning the game') and the atmosphere & nostalgia of Pharaoh 1999 + the others in that series is what made this fun for me!”
    • “A simple game, but it manages to create this magical atmosphere.”
    • “A relaxed atmosphere and simple base mechanic means this is mostly a casual game, pleasant to play and worth the time to get it.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players appreciate the game's relaxing nature and diverse campaign options, allowing for a mix of farming, military, and exploration. However, many find the grinding aspect tedious, as progress feels slow and success seems elusive, detracting from the overall enjoyment.

    • “Really, I thought this was a game up my alley, but since you can never get through it with what appears to be any amount of success, it becomes tedious.”
  • humor5 mentions

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its funny take on achievement hunting and its entertaining approach to a lesser-known historical period. However, some reviewers note that while the game is amusing, it is relatively short and lacks replayability, which may limit its long-term appeal. Overall, it offers a lighthearted experience for fans of micromanagement and strategy genres.

    • “Funny achievement hunting.”
    • “It is a very funny way of learning something about a not-so-well-known period.”
    • “A funny game if you like micromanagement and strategy.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game is highly focused on optimization, encouraging players to refine their strategies for resource management and performance improvement. Players who enjoy building and optimizing will find the gameplay rewarding, as it emphasizes achieving better results and completing challenges efficiently. Replayability is driven by the pursuit of higher scores and gold victories rather than random map variations.

    • “If you like the building aspect of civilization games and are all about optimization, you'll probably enjoy this game.”
    • “Predynastic Egypt is a resource management and optimization game in which you overcome trials and ordeals to establish Egypt as a unified kingdom.”
    • “That's not even counting optimizations for finishing the game faster, going for achievements, and learning what best makes the game tick.”
    • “It is about bettering one's previous performance, trying to get gold victories at every challenge and so forth.”
    • “The replayability doesn't come from random maps, but rather from improving your performance on each set event and finally winning the game.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game is praised for its stability, with users reporting minimal to no issues such as glitches, freezes, or crashes. Many describe it as remarkably well-polished and functioning smoothly throughout their gameplay experience.

    • “I didn't really have that many issues with this game - no glitches even, it's remarkably well polished for what it is.”
    • “Everything works well enough and I experienced no glitches.”
    • “It's stable, I had no glitches, freezes, crashes, or bugs I could see.”
    • “It's stable; I had no glitches, freezes, crashes to desktop, or bugs that I could see.”
    • “Everything works well enough, and I experienced no glitches.”
    • “I didn't really have that many issues with this game; no glitches even. It's remarkably well polished for what it is.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

8hMedian play time
10hAverage play time
3-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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