Builders of Egypt: Prologue

Builders of Egypt: Prologue is a city-building simulation game set in Ancient Egypt, serving as a demo for the upcoming full release. Players construct and manage cities across key historical periods, from the protodynastic era to the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, blending economic strategy with authentic Egyptian architecture and culture. Developed using Unreal Engine 4, the game draws inspiration from classic titles like Pharaoh, offering a modern take on historical city-building mechanics.

Builders of Egypt: Prologue: Review

Introduction

In the pantheon of historically inspired city-builders, few settings evoke as much mystique as Ancient Egypt. Builders of Egypt: Prologue, a free demo for Strategy Labs’ upcoming Builders of Egypt (2025), beckons players to shape dynasties along the Nile, promising a blend of educational ambition and economic strategy. Yet, beneath its monumental aspirations lies a foundation cracked by technical missteps and unfulfilled potential. This prologue—released in March 2020—serves as both a tantalizing glimpse and a cautionary tale, channeling the spirit of classics like Pharaoh and Children of the Nile while struggling to carve its own identity.

---

Development History & Context

Developed by Polish studio Strategy Labs and published by PlayWay S.A. and CreativeForge Games, Builders of Egypt: Prologue emerged during a renaissance for niche city-builders. Built on Unreal Engine 4, the game sought to modernize the genre’s isometric roots with 3D visuals and systemic depth, targeting fans of Impressions Games’ revered Pharaoh (1999) and Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile (2004). The studio’s vision was clear: marry urban planning with Egypt’s socioeconomic tapestry, where faith, trade, and politics intertwine.

However, technological constraints loomed. While Unreal Engine 4 enabled lush environments, early builds faced optimization hurdles, with performance dips plaguing even high-end PCs. This prologue, released amidst the Cities: Skylines-dominated landscape of 2020, aimed to refine core systems through community feedback—a gamble that yielded mixed results.

---

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Unlike narrative-driven epics, Prologue adopts a documentary-like approach. Its campaign missions—framed by protodynastic Egypt (3200–3000 BCE) to Cleopatra VII’s demise (30 BCE)—use narrated expositions to contextualize urban development. Players encounter lesser-known pharaohs and cultural milestones, such as the Opet Festival, through mission briefings and tooltips.

While lacking traditional characters, the game personifies Egypt itself: the Nile’s annual floods dictate agricultural cycles, and divine discontent manifests as riots. Themes of hierarchy, resource scarcity, and imperial ambition permeate, though they often feel like ambient texture rather than driving forces. Notably, the prologue introduces “bread” as currency—a nod to historical labor practices—but this clever detail struggles to evolve beyond a mechanical quirk.

---

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Prologue is a supply-chain orchestrator draped in sand and stone. Players balance housing, industry, and faith across grid-based maps, where adjacency bonuses and workforce distribution dictate success. Key systems include:

1. Urban Planning:

   • Roads snake through districts, linking clay pits to brickworks and granaries. Poor placement cripples logistics, as workers refuse to traverse inefficient paths.
   • “Housing levels” rise via proximity to temples, wells, and entertainment, echoing Pharaoh’s neighborhood mechanics.

2. Religion & Politics:

   • Temples require regular festivals and offerings to avert divine wrath. Neglect sparks unrest akin to famines—a dynamic, if underdeveloped, risk-reward loop.
   • Diplomacy involves appeasing Pharaoh’s demands (e.g., tribute expeditions) and managing trade partners. Failures cascade into embargoes or civil war.

3. Economy:

   • Bread and beer replace gold, historically accurate but mechanically shallow. Export-focused production chains (pottery, bricks) drive income, yet trade routes suffer from opaque pricing and static AI behavior.

4. Monuments:

   • Constructing pyramids and obelisks demands thousands of bricks, straining resources. The spectacle of hauling stones is visually compelling but lacks strategic depth.

Flaws & Innovations:

• UI Clunkiness: Critical data (e.g., resource deposits) is buried under layers of menus. Tooltips vanish mid-action, and the minimap is functionally useless.
• Random Events: Fetch quests (“find my spouse!”) feel disjointed and unrewarding, interrupting macro-management.
• Pacing: Early-game momentum stalls as players wait for population booms or Nile floods, exacerbated by sluggish 3x speed settings.

---

World-Building, Art & Sound

Prologue’s greatest strength lies in its archaeological authenticity. From mastabas to papyrus farms, assets mirror historical blueprints, and the Nile’s ebb-and-flow animations lend dynamism. Yet, visual clarity falters: clay deposits blend into arid terrain, and the diagonal-down perspective obscures building footprints.

Sound design is a double-edged sword:
– Paweł Płoskoń’s score swells with reed flutes and harps, evoking period ambiance.
– Voice acting, however, grates—the narrator’s monotone drains drama from historical vignettes.

Despite Unreal Engine 4’s prowess, performance issues persist. Dense cities tank framerates, and texture pop-in disrupts immersion, particularly on mid-tier hardware.

---

Reception & Legacy

Upon launch, Prologue garnered “Mostly Positive” Steam reviews (72% of 1,415). Praise centered on its educational value and nostalgic charm, while criticism targeted technical jank and derivative design. As a free demo, it succeeded in hyping the 2025 main game, yet failed to address core issues like UI readability and event scripting.

Comparisons to Pharaoh: A New Era (2023) were inevitable—and often unflattering. While Builders of Egypt modernized visuals, it lacked the former’s polish and innovation. Its legacy lies in proving demand for Egyptian city-builders, inspiring indies like Ancient Cities to explore similar terrain.

---

Conclusion

Builders of Egypt: Prologue is a paradoxical artifact. It reveres its muse—Ancient Egypt—with meticulous detail, yet stumbles in translating that reverence into engaging systems. For history buffs, it offers a compelling sandbox to reconstruct Memphis or Thebes, flaws notwithstanding. For genre veterans, it feels like a beta test: promising but unrefined, its potential mummified by technical limitations and missed opportunities.

As Strategy Labs prepares the full release, Prologue stands as both a beacon and a warning: a testament to Egypt’s enduring allure, and a reminder that even pyramids require flawless engineering to endure. Worth a download for curiosities, but wait for patches before immortalizing it in your library.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10 – A flawed foundation with glimpses of greatness.