7 min read

Pharaoh

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Pharaoh is a city-building simulation game set in ancient Egypt, developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra Studios in 19991. As the fourth game in Impressions Games’ city building series, Pharaoh takes players through Egypt’s dynasties, where they manage settlements and aspire to eventually become pharaoh2. The game uses the same engine as Caesar III but introduces new mechanics specific to Egyptian civilization, including pyramid construction, flood management, and Egyptian mythology3.

Development began after Impressions decided it was time for a change of scenery following Caesar III, with the team consulting professional Egyptologists to create a historically accurate playing experience4. The game was praised for its depth and historical authenticity, with composers Henry Beckett and Keith Zizza noting that the game is “truly epic in scope and in scale. You start with nothing but the sand in your shoes and end ruling a Pharaoh’s kingdom”5.

Story Summary

Players take on the role of a family following it through Egypt’s dynasties, with the ultimate goal of becoming pharaoh through successful city management and construction projects2. The campaign spans over 50 missions covering different periods of Egyptian history, from the Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom8. During certain plague events, Moses appears as a mysterious leader of slave labor, providing a subtle nod to biblical history9. The game incorporates Egyptian mythology extensively, requiring players to appease various gods through festivals and temple construction to avoid divine wrath affecting their cities10.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Pharaoh uses a 2D isometric perspective with fixed magnification levels, maintaining the visual style established in Caesar III11. The game employs the same walker system as its predecessor, where service providers and goods distributors move through the city following roads, though this system has been criticized for its random pathfinding at intersections12. Players interact with the city through point-and-click controls, managing various aspects of civilization from a top-down strategic view13.

Structure and Progression

The game features over 100 hours of gameplay across 50 missions in campaign mode5. Each mission presents specific objectives such as reaching certain population levels, constructing monuments, or achieving trade goals. The campaign progresses through three distinct musical and thematic periods corresponding to Egypt’s Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, with Old Kingdom music designed to sound primitive, Middle Kingdom hopeful, and New Kingdom glorious5.

Puzzles and Mechanics

Pharaoh introduces several mechanics unique to Egyptian civilization, including seasonal Nile flooding that affects farming, pyramid and monument construction requiring specific resources and labor management, and a complex religious system requiring regular festivals to appease gods14. The game features detailed economic simulation with trade routes, resource management, and population happiness factors. Service walkers have specific movement limitations, with most able to walk a maximum of 326.4 tiles, while bazaar buyers only purchase goods within a 40 tile range15. Monument construction requires road access and can take extended periods to complete, with some players reporting leaving the game running for days waiting for massive structures to finish16.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

PublicationScoreNotes
IGN9/10Trent C. Ward praised the game’s depth and Egyptian setting17
GameSpot8.2/10Ron Dulin noted it was “an all-around better game than Caesar III”14
Game Informer8.5/10Paul Bergren’s review highlighted the educational value1
PC Gamer (US)83%Andrew S. Bub appreciated the historical accuracy1
GameRankings82%Aggregate score from multiple publications18
jeuxvideo.com17/20French review praised the city management complexity19

Modern Assessment

GameSpot’s Ron Dulin concluded that “Pharaoh is slow-paced but addictive and is immensely complex but incredibly easy to play”14. The game received the IGN Editors’ Choice award and was a finalist for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction at the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards9. Modern retrospectives have been more critical, with Jimmy Maher noting design issues such as “the excruciating worker-recruitment system” and “the drawn-out, repetitive campaign”20. The GOG.com version maintains a strong 4.7/5 rating from 290 user reviews7.

Development

Origins

Impressions Games decided to move away from Roman themes after Caesar III’s success, choosing ancient Egypt as their next setting21. The development team resisted the common trend of switching to 3D engines, instead persevering with their proven 2D interface system9. Extensive research was conducted with professional Egyptologists to ensure historical authenticity, with the team consulting documentary sources and archaeological evidence4.

Production

The game was developed using a modified version of the Caesar III engine, with Chris Beatrice serving as the primary developer liaison with the community5. The composers Henry Beckett and Keith Zizza faced unique challenges, noting “no one really knows what the music in the time of the Pharaohs sounded like,” leading them to research other artists’ interpretations and reference films like “The Ten Commandments”5. The music system was designed around three kingdoms corresponding to Egypt’s historical periods, with 43 total soundtrack files totaling 101 MB22.

Technical Achievements

The game featured detailed Egyptian architecture and authentic historical elements, with the development team conducting extensive documentary research9. System requirements included a Pentium 133 MHz processor, 32MB RAM, and 360MB storage space3. The game supported DirectX 6 compatibility and included features like a global worker pool toggle and improved trading mechanics compared to Caesar III3.

Legacy

Pharaoh was followed by the Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile expansion in 2000, developed by BreakAway Games rather than the original Impressions team23. The game influenced subsequent city-builders and was considered a predecessor to Zeus: Master of Olympus, which was thought to have improved upon Pharaoh’s design issues9. In 2023, a complete remake titled “Pharaoh: A New Era” was released by Triskell Interactive and Dotemu, featuring 4K graphics and modernized gameplay while maintaining the original mechanics24. The original game’s music was even used by the Luxor Las Vegas hotel website, demonstrating its cultural impact beyond gaming5.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

Download / Preservation

Series Continuity

  • Previous: Caesar III (1998)
  • Next: Zeus: Master of Olympus (2000)

References

Footnotes

  1. [Wikipedia - Pharaoh (video game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh_(video_game) – ) - Basic game information, developer, publisher, release year ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Internet Archive - Pharaoh – - Game description and series information ↩ ↩2

  3. PC Gaming Wiki – - Engine and technical details ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Common Sense Media Review – - Development consultation with Egyptologists ↩ ↩2

  5. Caesar3 Heaven Games Forum – - Composer quotes about game scope ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  6. IMDb - Pharaoh – - Designer credits ↩

  7. GOG.com - Pharaoh + Cleopatra – - Platform availability ↩ ↩2

  8. Pharaoh Heaven Games – - Campaign structure and mission count ↩

  9. TV Tropes - Pharaoh – - Easter eggs including Moses appearance ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  10. The Spoiler - Pharaoh Guide – - Religious system mechanics ↩

  11. MobyGames - Pharaoh – - Technical specifications and graphics details ↩

  12. Eurogamer Review – - Walker system criticism ↩

  13. Strategy Wiki - Pharaoh – - Control scheme and interface ↩

  14. GameSpot Review – - Egyptian-specific gameplay mechanics ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. Caesar3 Heaven Games Mechanics Forum – - Walker movement and bazaar range data ↩

  16. Abandonware DOS – - User comment about monument construction times ↩

  17. IGN Review – - Contemporary review score and assessment ↩

  18. Archived GameRankings – - Aggregate review score ↩

  19. Jeuxvideo.com Review – - French review score ↩

  20. The Digital Antiquarian – - Modern critical assessment ↩

  21. Reddit - Impressions Games – - Development origins ↩

  22. KH Insider Soundtrack – - Soundtrack technical details ↩

  23. GameSpot - Cleopatra Review – - Expansion development by BreakAway Games ↩

  24. Steam - Pharaoh: A New Era – - 2023 remake information ↩

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