Ara: History Untold is a turn-based strategy game where you create a nation and guide it through the course of history. You start with a scout based in your fledgling capital. You’ll use your scout to explore the world, collect the remnants of former peoples, and hunt dangerous wildlife – clearing the land for your people to expand.
In your capital, you begin with a great hearth, which determines how fast your city grows by allowing you to claim surrounding regions over time. Your cities can undertake work projects like constructing buildings, creating units for your Force, or gathering resources like food to support your nation.
Your units can be trained into Forces, which you’ll use to explore the world, meet tribes and other nations, and protect your territory from invaders and aggressive neighbors.
As you progress, you’ll research new technologies, unlocking powerful forces, advanced improvements, and new resources to exploit. You’ll guide your people as they advance through the ages—from the Ancient Era, through the Bronze Age, and possibly into the Singularity Age, should your nation persist to the modern era.
Ara isn’t a game solely about conquest. While you can pillage and besiege other nations, you can also choose a more peaceful path by forming alliances, establishing trade routes, and drafting research agreements.
As you play, your nation will earn prestige as a measure of how well you’re governing your people, and by accomplishing significant feats. Your production, scientific, economic prowess will generate prestige every turn – as will the measure of your people’s quality of life.
Additionally, winning battles, building unique human triumphs like the Eiffel Tower, converting cities to your nation’s religions, researching technologies, and much more will also earn you prestige.
At the end of the game – after the final era in the final act is complete, the nation with the most prestige will emerge victorious.
On the following pages you’ll find more information on some of the game’s unique systems.