Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition
Skip · Strategy · 2024
Steam Deck PlayableThe verdict
SKIP IT.
It scores 17, under the fair line, at $49.99.
- Length
- 14.4h 109h to 100%
- Value
- $3.47/hr
- Reviews
- 69% of 2,300 positive
Watch this gameOne alert at a price you pick.
Buy now or wait
Discounted in 4 of its last 5 seasonal sales. Last cut ended 10 days ago.
- Next sale
- Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
How to read this
Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
About the game
Build a nation starting at any point in human history and compete for supremacy in this epic turn-based strategy game. Engage in diplomacy, fight wars, and go head-to-head with other leaders from history.
Minimum specs
Minimum on the Steam store: 8 GB of memory, AMD Radeon RX 480 – Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, 50 GB of storage. Windows only.
The value story
7 discounts in the 13 months on record, a median of 50 percent off across all of them, roughly 7 weeks apart. Today it is at full price, and its last discount ended 10 days ago.
It is pricier than 99 percent of its genre, and less well reviewed than 74 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Terra Invicta ($39.99, scores 58) beats it on value, while it beats Sid Meier's Civilization VII ($69.99, scores 2).
More about Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition
Of the 800 Steam-purchase reviews this site sampled, 20 come from buyers who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written September 2024 to October 2026. That is more refunded reviewers than 8 in 10 paid games this site has sampled to the same depth, and among the 2,597 games in its genre sampled this deeply, 556 have a larger share. In its first 30 days on sale, 12 of 213 sampled reviews came from refunders. Inside the two-hour refund window, 42 percent of the 282 reviews written there were positive, against 69 percent overall, and those are 13 percent of everything written about it.
Finishing takes 14.4 hours; clearing it takes 109, which is 7.6 times the campaign.
The drop-off
86% start to <1% rarestNo achievement in this game marks the ending, so there is no finish rate. The curve runs from the most-unlocked achievement to the rarest, and its shape is where players stop. Steam global achievements
What players say
Honestly, this game surprised me in a good way. It's not just another Civ clone-it actually brings new ideas to the table. What I like: Simultaneous turns: This alone saves so much time in late-game. No more sitting around waiting for turns to process. Economic depth: The crafting and supply chain management give you a lot to optimize if you enjoy micro and logistics. Graphics: Zooming in and seeing your empire...
2 more reviews, 1 not recommended
The game is good, but it could be so much better with a few key technologies and some additional polish. Things like trains would add a whole new dimension to transportation and city development. It would also be nice to actually see cars and other vehicles moving along the roads instead of the same handful of people walking around everywhere. I also think diplomacy could use some serious attention. Right now, it...
I gave this game a chance but it was a waste of time. The game is basically an inferior Civ knock-off. The first thing you will notice when starting a new campaign is that many of the faction leaders make no sense. Empress Irene as head of the Byzantine Empire? Rather odd choice but not as baffling as the next one. Harriet Tubman as head of the United States? Why? 90% of what gets said about Tubman is literally...
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
No data upstream: critic score (Metacritic).
Cite this score
Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition scores 17/100 on the BANG Score (a skip) as of Oct 19, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/2021880/ara-history-untold-anniversary-editionReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 26, price as of Oct 18. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.