One of the DEEPEST 4X Games, after 50 HOURS! | ARA: History Untold Review

[@moleundermanagement]

No clue what happend there at 17:53! Trying to fix it right now, YT did me dirty, it's not a big thing but still what is that O.o

[@reallycute7603]

I hope this game will get some fame, bc we really need more turn-based 4X on the market 🤜🤛

[@droe2570]

I agree that we need more historical 4x games, but I doubt this game will do well. It has tons of micro-management like Anno games. I suspect that will reduce its fanbase.

[@reallycute7603]

@@droe2570 I think it will get less popularity bc of lesser marketing. They only aim in Civ fans instead of Grand Strategy too.

[@aaronhedgesmusic]

@@reallycute7603it’s also significantly uglier then civ both in general graphics and ui/ux. The supply chain looks overly complicated. I don’t think it looks good enough to match its AAA price tag

[@reallycute7603]

@@aaronhedgesmusic genral graphic is much better than civ6 or civ5, but I agree that UI is bad.

[@aaronhedgesmusic]

@@droe2570the graphics of the armies and ui/ux looks quite amateurish for a AAA price tag too

[@asmirnaut]

Mentioning that Ara is to Civ as POE is to Diablo is an analogy I understand very well and is making me even more excited to start playing tomorrow!!!!

[@Nevio857]

The territory thing remids me of Dune, Age of Wonders and Humankind, which is an element I love because territories are more complex than a single tile. The graphics remind me of Anno 1800 and 2205, and probably a bit of AOE IV, which is great. I really like the realism here, I always wanted a 4x like CIV with actual cities that grow and change! I hope they add more acts and hopefully they will add future eras where you colonize a planet or something, that would be insane!

[@victorhughgo2376]

That crafting system is insane. What is a crafting system doing in a 4x strategy game anyway? I have to 'build supply chains'? IN DETAIL? That really rubs me the wrong way. I could not get into this game. It's like a stress machine...lol. I use a pc at work all day, when I play a game it's for fun and this just looks like work to me. It reminds me of a Paradox title, like a VIC 3, or VIC 2, that's what this game appears to be aiming for and I just am not into that. YOU CANNOT UPGRADE YOUR UNITS? ...that is ridiculous. This game is going to end up in the 10 dollar bargain bin on a STEAM sale in less than a year. Good review, thank you for your time and your honesty. After seeing how much detail went into building an army (you can actually choose the size of the formation?), and then not being able to upgrade it, it's just ignorant to me. It's one hell of an oversight. Not being able to see your units in detail, that doesn't make any sense, it's just that thumbnail single figure covering up the unit under it.

[@moleundermanagement]

That's fine, you are allowed to not like certain Gameplay mechanics. that's the beauty about gaming and especially niche genres. :)

[@Razzlion]

They are patching in unit upgrading, they have said as much on Steam already. And its a turnbased game, you have all the time in the world to mess with your crafting before you end turn. You dont have to stress hit that endturn buttom my guy?

[@pdraggy]

in r/l you can upgrade unit capabilities... but you can't upgrade like a unit of dragoons into a tank like in Civ/ Humankind. It's also a little bit unfair when a player puts a bunch of warrior units on your borders, declares war than immediately upgrades them all to muskets or something. This is a widely used strategy in Civ that jukes the cpu ai into thinking this war will be over in 2 weeks into yes, it's over in 2 weeks, but it goes the other way.

[@eh5732]

I'm not a min/maxer at all thats like Anti-fun for me. I'm more intertested in how it holds up as a historical simulation game which generates memorable stories and moments.

[@darthader3507]

Civ 6 sounds perfect for you then. Love that game. Wish they just made more support for it but I’m glad for mods like bbg

[@ozisponas1593]

if you are not min maxer then you shouldn't' play 4x games Vik 2 is the game for you in this case

[@eh5732]

@axiomsofdominion Perhaps historical simulation isn't the best term. Civ 4 was my favourite Civ game it felt like it was trying to tell the story of human history whereas civ V and 6 feel more like board games with a historical skin. Its probably not something I can describe well in a youtube comment

[@eh5732]

@@ozisponas1593 Not at all I think Min maxing 4x games kinda breaks them I know some enjoy it but for me it optimises the fun out of the game trying to reach perfection. I think its more fun to accept mistakes and try and make it work. I've tried Grand Strategy games but I find them too dry. You don't get the same satisfaction of seeing your cities grow and land develop like you do in a 4x. You just see the map change from one colour to another.

[@NB-yu4lj]

Memorable stories?😂

[@daweitao2668]

Good video, thanks! I feel like a non-upgrade system for units can work fine. Old units still out in the field or fighting on front lines and the new more modern troops slowly filter into your forces and kingdom (in my role playing mind I actually love this). One turn upgrades when within your own borders that a lot of these kinds of games have is a bit much/too fast for me. Perhaps there is a middle ground.

[@TheSwiftFalcon]

This was a very good review, you've got yourself a new subscriber. :-) Having played the alphas, I find myself in agreement on pretty much everything you say. I really miss Ara, an I am looking forward to getting it again tomorrow.

[@moleundermanagement]

Welcome aboard!

[@lordhaw]

I enjoy the production chains in Millennia so I am looking forward to them in Ara as well. Glad the game has them honestly.

[@Newt211]

You are fun to listen too and provide some quality information!!! Going to sub! Well done!

[@MichalBrat]

I was surprised to be able to run the game on mid details on an integrated graphics Radeon 780M and it was quite playable! Maybe there is some specific graphical setting that makes it give a 3080 a run for its money.

[@EstrellaViajeViajero]

I've heard many reviewers mention the inability to upgrade units - but I haven't heard any interviews mention it.

[@omygandhi157]

Very good overview, nice style. Game decision to have a military unit not to be update for infinity make perfect sense to me. Archers with upgrades run their course in history and had to be replaced with New technology for a range military unit. Seems to me to be the right choice. Need to invest in R & D, like the decision.

[@Baleur]

"Tons and tons of map options, you can even do a random seed" So the bare minimum for a 4x game. Hope they improve on that.

[@Robin-sf3gk]

"Another Civilizationesq game". I mean even if it is. It's not like there are a lot of big historical strategic games right now. So im glad big studios bring high budget historical games in any form. Now it's time to revive the Total War like genre.

[@ThaGamingMisfit]

Can't wait to play this game ! I'm an actual PoE player with 10k hours in that game so I understand perfectly what you mean with your analogy. Still on first sight I feel the crafting system doesn't fit in a game like this, it make no logical or historical sense, but I guess I'll get used to it. I just hope that's not what I'll be doing most of t he time because that will get old fast. I do love the culling of civs, that opens so much new stuff for the next age.

[@ironman00647]

just to clarify one thing that is wrong when he was talking about the prestige points around the 10 min mark. If you notice at any point your in the forgettable range you do have a change to catch up and not be there on the normal difficulty. the only two instance where it will be impossible to get out of it is if your playing the game at a much higher difficulty that is to high for you or when the current act is about to end when the warning comes up. i have been the situation many time already where im forgettable and have a big boom in my city and make it to the next act. you should also what out if you are in the position to move on to the next act as you can become forgettable within 1 turn and your game can be done.

[@Mazzzaq]

The Spiffing Brit is gonna have a ball with this game, so many systems to find exploits.

[@BiNumLi]

Military looks so much better than the typical 4x. Ability to created custom formations is a whole new level. Is no upgrading a serious issue? There are only three acts in the game. Guessing there will be a prolonged period of time over which units are effective. Only at the act changes would you see military make quantum leaps requiring replacing old units. Correct?

[@reallycute7603]

In every act you have 4 eras (so 12 in total), so there is possibily you will change units much more/faster than just between the acts 😉

[@neetfreek9921]

Only reason I don’t like the No upgrading thing is because it’s unnecessary work on top of all the other shit I got to micro. The combat is the best part of the game, the leaders are the worst part. Unique abilities are all just passives, no unique units/structures etc, and naval is awful to move around they don’t even have an auto explore button (more micromanaging).

[@tayloraverett3138]

You really caught my attention with that Diablo and PoE analogy!

[@darkemperor418]

My steam deck is turning into a 4x machine. Old World, Civ6, Aya and soon Civ7.

[@MultiFallguy]

Nothing about the AI? The Civ nemesis and long term replay ability blocker?

[@moleundermanagement]

Let me shock you, the Ai even knows how to use ships! Attack your Cities with said ships and support their units at the coast with long range attacks. Better then in Civ? Yes! Really good? need more time.

[@manooxi327]

thank u for the great vid! more ARA vids plz

[@moleundermanagement]

More to come!

[@Luzitanium]

this game needs more "civs" would love to see the portuguese in this game

I'm running a 6700XT and it also was at over 90% usage when I played the Alpha.

[@CabbageLord]

If you are looking for another video to drop right before release like 10am other than a guide maybe do something like "how does ara ai compared to civilization 6???" or something like that

[@moleundermanagement]

Done! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipWmnpt3ibODd8k

[@moisesalmonte8271]

This game is incredible is deepest than any civilization we had ever played

[@Cramblit]

Older civ games had this much depth. Modern gaming has gone massively backwards the last 20 years.

[@moisesalmonte8271]

@@Cramblit the oldest civ are deep but not like this

[@davincisama]

During alpha managing production chains (arguably the main draw of the game, and the most important mechanic) was a nightmare. The UI made it impossible to see if you were producing enough inputs to satisfy further productions, and outputs to satisfy consumption, unless you checked each city individually. Annoying early game, nigh impossible by chapter 2. Unless they improved the UI I don't see myself playing more than once, which is a shame, I love 4X games.😢

[@bevillmen23]

If you like this crafting mechanics you'd like Against the Storm. Similar crafting style.

[@DonDensho]

I pre ordered weeks ago, but yeah my main concerns was the performance optimization in the mid to late game when you have multiple units and buildings

[@darkfenix20000]

Are there unique units for every civ or leader?

[@rangerric13]

Nope

[@theteamranbir]

City sprawls so much not enough wildnerness regions between nations.

[@TheGoreforce]

have you seen east coast USA?

[@reallycute7603]

Just like Europe

[@funkwolf]

I played an alpha version of the game and It was decent, the balance was pretty off and the combat was quite confusing and seemed kinda bad tbh; while the UI also needed quite a bit of work. The crafting system seems like a cool addition, but I already felt like it was becoming quite tedious really quickly. Im sure there's plenty of work done since then and the game is at a better state, while also I only played the early game; however im slightly skeptical about it being a really good game. I think it's going to be decent but not amazing, who knows.

[@bevillmen23]

same here, played in one of the tests. was just ok. the UI is gonna kill this game

[@niksatan]

great comparisons - Diablo vs PoE like Civ vs Ara

[@KeimpeJ]

I don't agree with the upgrade for units. What you are suggesting is exactly why Diablo is Diablo and POE is POE.

[@jordimg7727]

I do not understand your reasoning, your second statement is a tautology, meaning it will always hold true regardless (Diablo will be Diablo and Poe will be Poe)

[@KeimpeJ]

@@jordimg7727 You haven't seen the video have you. That's a rethoric question. And you retort to someone who has. Maybe get more involved in why someone says what he says. You don't want to be known for only being a retort i presume.

[@stovetopicus]

Visually, I get Anno vibes.

[@NCC1701-D]

Great Review, thanks!

[@KeimpeJ]

1440p? or what is the resolution you are running on? I'm a bit afraid it will eat my 4060ti as well.

[@moleundermanagement]

1440P limit it to 30 and it will be stable, there is not much movement to begin with so you would notice

[@zacharybecker8228]

Lmao I'm running a 1060

[@KeimpeJ]

@@zacharybecker8228 1080 is fine

[@ibnhajars]

D4 and poe comparison is interesting. Is it more like other grand starategy like Vicky 3 ?

[@moleundermanagement]

I would not go as far as comparing it to Vicky or other GS Games. But it gets closer then most 4X games

[@michaelshortland8863]

I only have a NVIDIA Geforce 960 GPU but my CPU is an i7 3.6 GHZ and 16 GBytes of RAM, i am unsure on whether my computer could run this game??

[@Vinterloft]

What i7? An i7 from 6 years ago is like 180% weaker than an i7 from today. But no, a 960 will not cut it as the game probably will refuse to launch with that little VRAM

[@Spacemutiny]

Your review made me feel a little better about the game after some rather brutal reviews like IGN’s 6/10. Shame about diplomacy but I think they will fix this. How did you find the AI? I noticed you said you were very far ahead of the AI players. Do they declare war and attack? Civ 6 had almost no military AI.

[@SenjaiYT]

how late does the game go to, modern times or?

[@moleundermanagement]

a bit beyond, with robots and mechs

[@sergeyserzhant777]

Я так понимаю апгрейд юнитов добавят в будущих обновлениях что бы это не создавало проблем для игрока. Беглый взгляд показывает что это совсем не Цивилизация. Остается еще понять насколько хорош ИИ в одиночной игре.

[@Dylonspitz93]

Your two main gripes are borderline dealbreakers for me super unfortunate

[@beno1129]

My laptop still uses a GTX 1070, so I guess I can't play ARA without getting a new computer :(

[@bevillmen23]

just play on low

[@keithanpickens3144]

So basically what your saying is this game will probably not work on steam deck😅

[@ThaGamingMisfit]

Why would you ever want to play a 4x game on a steam deck?

[@keithanpickens3144]

@@ThaGamingMisfit maybe because my ps5 and Nintendo switch won't play it and the last system I have is a steam deck oled.

[@ozisponas1593]

@@keithanpickens3144 get a pc instead of all that console crap and you won t need to ask questions like that again

[@grantbourck8653]

Yes!!!

[@DarthDaddy-cg6ro]

Thanks.

[@micdy7104]

is Canada in the base game?

[@Bran40519]

Yes, led by John A. Macdonald.

[@micdy7104]

@@Bran40519 thank you :)

[@grdfhrghrggrtwqqu]

They got Mexico and Australia. And some first "nations" too.

[@marczhu7473]

gotcha no upgrade😢

[@mwheezee]

this looks more like a city builder game than a 4x tbs game, the diplomacy seems lacking, the economy micromanagement is daunting and unrealistic since you're playing as the head of state who should be concerned more with state diplomacy and policy making rather than crafting stoves and plows. i am yet to see a good 4x game that is worth investing time into. i'll pass but thank you for the review.

[@ArmchairRizzard]

I haven't watched the review yet, but I was extremely excited to play this until i saw the mixed reviews on steam. I wonder if its worth getting considering the amount of people saying they are disappointed with it. I will not be getting Civ VII because i hate the forced civ switching "feature". So i was relying on this game to scratch that itch.

[@MarekSurman]

After reading bunch of reviews my conclusion is, that it looks great, but is kind of mid and AI is rubbish as most 4X....so another humankind...very sad.

[@Carewolf]

Anything can compete with the official Civilization games, they have been crap for over a decade

[@etudelivre]

PC GAMER review said it was a 4X light compared to the 4X big boys...and you're saying it is extremely deep...which one is it?

[@lazyhydroponicsandstuff3682]

LOL PC Gamer? Games "Journalist" That probably dont even play the game. Do you also get Game info From IGN and Kotaku?

[@etudelivre]

@@lazyhydroponicsandstuff3682 To be honest, I am happy to hear the game is deep, so I'm not arguing. I was just wondering what to believe. So, according to you, the guy reviewing the game in this video is right? I haven't watched the video yet, hence why I'm asking.

[@lazyhydroponicsandstuff3682]

@@etudelivre Yes its deep and complex. Resources in Ara dont just give you a bonus to yeilds like in Civ. For example Gold might give you +2 money and +1 happyness. In Ara if you find gold its used in the production chain to make lets say gold rings or Electronics. Then these are slotted in your city to give bonuses to the different factors that make city Happiness or make Units. For Example if you have Mandrake you can use it to make herbal medicines which increase the health of your city. Or gold rings will increase the Prosperity. Paper Knowledge etc

[@lazyhydroponicsandstuff3682]

@@etudelivre Yes its very deep and complex with resources crafting and how City Happniess isnt just a flat bonus like in civ. They split it up into Government, Security, Prosperty, health, Knowledge and I think one more.

[@lazyhydroponicsandstuff3682]

@@Jinkypigs And When it comes through their mouth its Vomit

[@Tatuzka]

I am kinda bummed up that there is a turn limit, even though you said you've never reached it, but for me its a very odd turn off, which is a shame, since the game looked fun. :

[@maximuscryptosx9424]

2 clicky

[@Sakura_Matou]

The vanishing nations for not having a high enough score is a deal nbreaker for me.

[@Tatuzka]

That and the turn limit for me.

[@Giltr0y]

I don't like the combat. I like controlling the units and influencing on a tactical level. It could have been like Civ or Total War. Either way it would have been better imo. To me this game is closer to a City builder on a grand scale, than to a civ game. I did buy it nevertheless, cause we need competition in this genre. Hope I will enjoy it and it will not be a letdown like Humankind was.

[@colinyu9517]

Then maybe you should go play tactical games? This is a strategy game and controlling the units and influencing on a tactical level doesn't have a lot to do with strategy

[@KevinLopez-x2r]

This game is poop, don’t play it

[@JoelC724]

When they say, "They gave me the game for free," click the video off.

[@xxxxxx8630]

Kopernik leader xd what next darwin ,tesla,newton , elon xd

[@KeimpeJ]

17:53 sound is gone.

[@moleundermanagement]

Fixing it right now, dunno what YT did there :\