If you’ve been feeling like Total War: Pharaoh is lacking some of that raw brutality you’d expect from a game called ‘Total War’ then worry no longer. Following on from an established trend in Creative Assembly’s recent historical strategy games, the latest Total War game now has its corresponding blood DLC – this time appropriately called Blood and Sand – that ramps up the gore to the borderline X-rated levels you’d expect from an HBO series.
New Total War: Pharaoh DLC Blood and Sand does just one thing, but it does it rather dramatically, adding fountains of blood, gore, and viscera to the ancient Egyptian strategy game. Following the launch of big free update Total War: Pharaoh – High Tide, this new add-on is a paid DLC that drenches both its battles and campaign map with the red stuff.
“From gore-soaked dunes to rivers running red, brutalise your enemies across the ancient world and ride a tide of bloodshed through the chaos of the Bronze Age Collapse,” developer Creative Assembly writes. It adds bloodier campaign events, and big battles will leave monuments stained with blood and rivers running red on the campaign map. In battle, meanwhile, there’ll be all manner of blood sprays, decapitations, and dismemberment. It’s certainly not holding anything back.
Personally I’ve never really felt like the Total War games were especially lacking for their relatively tame depiction of mortal combat, but I think it’s a reasonable option to offer those who are looking for it – although you will have to pay for the privilege, despite Creative Assembly’s recent Total War price changes. It’s also worth noting that this add-on has been a common occurrence in recent Total War games, including the Warhammer series, Atilla, and Three Kingdoms, and it’s priced similarly here.
Total War Pharaoh Blood and Sand is out now on Steam. If you’re looking to bring some serious brutality to your ancient Egyptian adventures, you can buy it for $2.99/£2.49.
Get an overview of all the Total War Pharaoh factions if you’ve been waiting for this update to get started, or check out the best grand strategy games for plenty more grandiose campaigns.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.