Strong alternative to Civilization 7 listens to the community, changes everything with a huge update: "Can finally recommend the game"

Ara: History Untold was an attempt to compete with the classic of 4X strategy. However, at its release, the game did not fully realize its potential. Now, there is a substantial update, and it improves everything – as also shown by the reviews on Steam.

What kind of game is this? Ara: History Untold is a 4X global strategy game developed by Oxide Games. The game was released on September 24, 2024, for PC (Steam) and Xbox Series X|S, and it is also included in Game Pass.

At its release, the game received mixed reviews: It was criticized, among other things, for requiring a lot of micromanagement in the economy without helping players keep track of things. Additionally, many felt that the battles were trivial. MeinMMO’s strategy game expert Schuhmann also could not recommend the game at the time.

One year after the release, Ara: History Untold now receives a massive update. This includes numerous improvements that fans have long wanted.

Here you can see a trailer for the new Revolutions update for Ara: History Untold:

Ara: History Untold – The 2.0 update brings massive improvements for the 4X game

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New Game Systems, Units, and More Features

What is included in the update? The Revolutions update overhauls numerous aspects of the game and also introduces some new mechanics. Some of the most important new features include:

A new culture and influence system: This allows you to expand your territory without military intervention.
A new agitator unit: This triggers rebellions in neighboring areas and allows you to integrate these areas into your empire with enough influence.
New special units for each nation: The Mongols now deploy their famous mounted archers in battle, the Japanese have samurai, and so on.
Improvements to the crafting system: This is intended to allow players to spend more time on significant strategic decisions instead of managing minor details.

The new update is well-received by fans. The Steam rating of the game is already showing a noticeable improvement: The reviews from the last 30 days are 84% positive. In comparison, the overall rating of the nearly 2,000 reviews on Steam is only 69% positive.

“With the release of 2.0 I feel I can finally recommend this game,” Rusky writes in his Steam review. “I hope to see more development on Ara, it does it’s own thing and it’s pretty good at it!”
Bayernkrieger states in his Steam review “The 2.0 update has truly made this game what it should have been from the beginning.”

If you already own Ara: History Untold, according to most players, now is a good time to check back in. If you haven’t yet, you can purchase the Anniversary Edition on Steam for €49.99.