Builders of Egypt is a city-builder set in the ancient world of one of humanity’s longest-lasting civilizations. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Builders of Egypt Review Overview

What is Builders of Egypt?

Builders of Egypt is a 3D simulation city-builder by Strategy Labs that transports players to the Nile Valley, the cradle of one of humanity’s greatest and most enduring civilizations. In this game, you take on the role of a city planner, shaping the ancient settlements of Egypt as the Pharaoh’s personnel city planner—from the bustling streets of Memphis (known then as Inebu-Hedj) to the turquoise-rich terraces of Khetyu-Mefkat.

Builders of Egypt features:
　⚫︎　4 campaign scenarios with a variable number of missions each
　⚫︎　Sandbox scenario mode
　⚫︎　Grid-based city-building with a focus on production chains and adjacency
　⚫︎　Inter-city trade routes, import and export logistics, and faith system

Steam				GOG
TBD

Builders of Egypt Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Great Ancient Egyptian Flavor Forgiving, But Not a Cakewalk	Ineffective Map Design and Awful UI Random Game Events are Pointless and Difficult

Builders of Egypt Overall Score - 70/100

Builders of Egypt lays down a solid foundation with its well-designed city-building mechanics. Unfortunately, the cracks in its construction are hard to ignore. Its lack of visual clarity hinders effective gameplay, and it struggles to establish an identity beyond its setting and theme. While it’s far from a bad game, its greatness isn’t quite ready to be immortalized in a pyramid just yet.

Builders of Egypt Story - 6/10

It’s uncommon for city-builders to feature narratives that rival their gameplay, and Builders of Egypt doesn’t stray far from that trend. The game’s story is confined to lengthy narrated introductions at the start of each campaign mission, loosely inspired by real-life Egyptian history. Beyond these segments, there’s little else to uncover in terms of storytelling. However, the historical context does a decent job of setting the scene. While narrative isn’t the main draw of a city-builder, the effort earns the game a small boost above the average.

Builders of Egypt Gameplay - 8/10

Builders of Egypt delivers well-designed and enjoyable gameplay, but it struggles to establish its own identity. Nearly every aspect of its logistics-focused and adjacency-centered city-building system feels borrowed from other titles, most notably Pharaoh: A New Era. While the game includes a few minor improvements alongside some mechanical shortcomings, it still offers a solid experience—just don’t go in expecting anything groundbreaking; apart from the groundbreaking your workers are doing for your Great Pyramid, that is.

Builders of Egypt Visuals - 7/10

Builders of Egypt impresses with its detailed 3D assets and sprawling maps of the Nile Valley, delivering plenty of eye candy. However, the game’s visual ambition comes at a cost—it’s a performance hog, causing mid-to-low-end PCs to struggle from the start and even testing high-end systems as cities grow. Beyond that, its visuals fail to convey critical gameplay information, like resource availability, and its dull UI does little to enhance the experience. If stunning visuals are all you’re after, this game delivers, but that’s about where the appeal ends.

Builders of Egypt Audio - 7/10

The music in Builders of Egypt is undeniably impressive, even if it leans heavily on modern interpretations of Ancient Egyptian melodies. Sweeping scores and grand fanfare manage to capture the grandeur of the setting. Unfortunately, the experience is let down by the narrator’s lackluster voice acting, uninspired UI sound effects, and underwhelming ambient noise, which collectively drag the audio experience down a notch or three.

Builders of Egypt Value for Money - 7/10

The game’s price hasn’t been announced yet, but based on its quality and the price of comparable city-builders, a reasonable range would be $15–$20, in which case it would earn the above score. The only way it could earn a higher score is if it’s much cheaper than most alternatives or opens itself up to more content in the future. We’ll update this score once the game’s full price has been revealed.

Builders of Egypt Review: Solid Foundations, Cracked Facade

2024 was a whirlwind year for the city-builder genre, packed with triumphs and missteps. Who could forget Frostpunk 2, which snagged a TGA award, or Fabledom, with its charming storybook aesthetic? Manor Lords made waves, keeping fans hooked with frequent updates. But the year wasn’t without its stumbles—Cities: Skylines 2 left many disappointed, and Builders of Greece failed to live up to expectations.

Enter 2025 and Builders of Egypt. Sharing a similar name to last year’s misfire and launching in the shadow of mixed genre quality, it didn’t inspire much confidence at first glance. While it’s unfair to judge based on assumptions rather than merit, these preconceived notions reflect the current state of the genre—a landscape teetering between brilliance and mediocrity.

With that preamble out of the way, let’s grab our papyrus, line our eyes with kohl, and walk like an Egyptian into Builders of Egypt. Could this be the steady middle ground to kick off a new year of city-builders? Let’s find out.

Laying the Groundwork of a Thriving Society Brick by Brick

Diving straight into the core of Builders of Egypt’s gameplay, it’s a city-builder that revolves around three key pillars: production-driven city management, precise building placement, and goal-oriented missions. Unlike sandbox-style city-builders where you can freely construct your dream metropolis within a budget, this game’s campaign mode takes a more structured approach. Each mission presents specific objectives, tailored maps, and a curated selection of buildings—all centered on establishing production chains or supporting systems to keep those chains running efficiently.

To illustrate the gameplay, here’s an example of an early-game production chain you’ll find yourself setting up in nearly every scenario, along with the interconnected systems you’ll need to manage to keep it running smoothly. Bricks and pottery are foundational products in Builders of Egypt. They’re essential for construction and can also be exported for revenue (referred to as “bread” in-game). The process starts with clay pits, which must be placed on specific map areas with clay deposits—though identifying these spots can be frustrating, but more on that later.

Once you’ve gathered clay, a Stockpile is needed to store it, ensuring the production line doesn’t clog up and allowing for smoother import/export operations. From there, Brickworks and Potters convert the clay into bricks and pots, respectively. However, Brickworks also require Straw to operate, meaning you’ll need Wheat Fields to supply both Straw and Wheat. Wheat serves dual purposes: feeding your population and generating more exportable goods.

Keeping this system operational requires a workforce that lives close enough to commute efficiently. Homes must meet specific needs to increase their capacity, boost tax contributions, and elevate citizen class levels for specialized jobs. Each need—whether it’s water, food, or entertainment—has its own set of parameters and radius requirements. And this intricate dance of interconnected systems? It’s all just to produce bricks and pottery—far from the most complex items you’ll create later.

While such complexity is standard for city-builders, what stands out here is how tightly interconnected and synergistic every element is. It forms a self-contained system where mistakes are costly, but success is immensely satisfying, as your efforts are rewarded with a thriving city. I find this system incredibly engaging—though, as much as I enjoy it, there’s a more sobering reason behind my enthusiasm, which becomes apparent as the game unfolds.

Production Chains, Adjacency, Upgrading Houses…I’ve Seen This Before

As much fun as I had playing Builders of Egypt, a nagging feeling kept creeping in throughout my time with it. The gameplay, while enjoyable, felt... familiar. Of course, city-builders tend to follow well-trodden paths, and innovation is often rare unless it’s something unconventional, like Dice Legacy or Against the Storm. But this familiarity wasn’t just genre convention—it was something more specific. Then it clicked: I had seen this gameplay before, almost beat-for-beat, in Pharaoh: A New Era, the HD remake of the 1999 classic that came out just a year prior.

Now, to be fair, I’m not accusing anyone of copy-pasting ideas. In a genre as crowded as this, parallels are bound to happen. That said, the saturation of city-builders also means that standing out is crucial, and Builders of Egypt struggles to carve a distinct identity. Simply leaning on an Ancient Egyptian setting doesn’t cut it when the same theme has been a staple in countless games—especially when Pharaoh: A New Era looms as a direct point of comparison.

Despite its lack of innovation, Builders of Egypt is undeniably well-crafted, offering an engaging experience for city-builder fans who thrive on grid-based problem-solving. While it doesn't revolutionize the genre, it provides plenty of satisfying challenges—just don’t expect groundbreaking ideas, even if you’ll be breaking plenty of ground to erect your monuments.

Great Ancient Egyptian Flavor

Builders of Egypt doesn’t exactly create something phenomeal when it comes to Ancient Egyptian themes—plenty of games have tread this ground with varying success and originality. Yet, what sets this title apart is its refreshingly reserved and historical approach to the setting. Instead of veering into overly stylized or fantastical territory, it embraces authenticity, creating a sense of reverence for its source material.

This dedication shines in the details. For instance, Bread replaces gold as currency, reflecting Ancient Egypt's reliance on bartering. The Nile's annual flooding isn’t just a background event but a pivotal mechanic you must plan around to keep production flowing. Add to this the historical accounts that precede each campaign mission, grounding your efforts with context and purpose beyond simply building a city.

It’s these touches that infuse the game with genuine Ancient Egyptian flavor, making it feel both familiar and distinct in its respectful execution.

Forgiving, But Not a Cakewalk

One of the better aspects of Builders of Egypt is how it strikes a solid balance between challenge and leniency. The game’s tightly woven production systems demand careful planning and efficiency, but they aren’t punishing to the point of frustration. A collapse in your production line—while undoubtedly a headache—doesn’t necessitate an immediate restart. Rebuilding mid-game is certainly a tall order, especially with limited resources and interconnected systems relying on that one failed chain, but the opportunity to recover exists, and that’s a big plus.

This flexibility is further enhanced by the game’s three campaign difficulty levels, which adjust mission requirements significantly. Whether you’re a novice looking to get your footing or a veteran craving a tough challenge, there’s a difficulty mode to suit your style. Add to this the modifiers available in the expansive sandbox mode, and Builders of Egypt offers a range of experiences that cater to both casual players and hardcore city-builder enthusiasts.

Ineffective Map Design and Awful UI

Now let’s delve into some of Builders of Egypt’s more glaring shortcomings, starting with its map design. While undeniably beautiful and impressive in scale, the maps falter when it comes to functionality as a city-builder. Certain production buildings, like mines and quarries, require specific resources within their range to function. Unfortunately, identifying these resources is unnecessarily difficult. Unless it’s something as distinct as turquoise, the terrain mostly just looks like a collection of rocks, leaving players squinting and second-guessing. Considering that these quarries and mines are where most production lines start, this is a major hit to the game’s functionality.

To make matters worse, the games gridlines only appear when you’re actively placing a building, which complicates long-term planning. On top of that, building ranges are inconsistently displayed during placement. Sometimes you can see if a building is within the range of another it relies on; other times, you can’t, leaving you to figure it out after committing to the placement. On lower difficulties, where you can refund your mistakes in full, this is an annoyance. On higher difficulties, however, it becomes a costly error, as you’ll be taxed for a misstep you were almost destined to make.

Rounding out these issues is the UI, which feels like a relic from an earlier era of gaming. It’s functional but drab—a series of semi-translucent black boxes with basic borders that lack scalability. If your eyesight isn’t great or you’re playing on a smaller screen, good luck navigating it. Worse still, the UI often blends into the warm tones of the game’s visuals, making it hard to distinguish in busy scenes. And don’t even get me started on the menu screen—it’s a dim, clunky mess that sets a poor first impression.

Random Game Events are Pointless and Difficult

And now we arrive at one of the more baffling aspects of Builders of Egypt: the side missions that feel completely unnecessary. Occasionally, during your playthrough, a citizen will approach you with a request that offers resources as a reward upon completion. This concept isn’t unusual in city-builders, but here, it’s clunky and poorly implemented.

These missions often require you to find something for the requester. At first glance, you might assume they’re asking for a certain quantity of a resource to be produced or delivered, but no—what they actually want is for you to locate objects on the map, mouse over them, and click. If it’s a specific resource, like a clay deposit, it’s mildly annoying but manageable.

However, when the task involves finding a missing spouse, it becomes downright frustrating. There’s little guidance on where they might be, what they look like, or even how to complete the task. It’s a scavenger hunt with no clues, dropped into the middle of a complex city-building game.

Adding to the frustration are aid requests. While straightforward in concept, they require you to navigate through multiple menus to send the aid, rather than letting you fulfill the request directly from the pop-up. For all the effort involved, the rewards are underwhelming—a modest stash of resources that rarely feels worth the trouble.

Clunky, Unoriginal, But Ultimately Fun

Overall, there’s much to say about Builder’s of Egypt, which is a feat in itself in a genre full of forgettable entries. It’s a shame that the game lacks a distinct identity even in its title and execution, but the game itself is fun to play, poses a definite challenge without being frustrating, and delivers on the Ancient Egyptian flavor to compensate.

There’s a few cracks on the facade, as it were, represented by the game’s underwhelming UI and ineffective visual design, but there’s a solid foundation of a game under all that—even if the bricks weren’t theirs to begin with.

Is Builders of Egypt Worth It?

Only If It Falls in a Specific Price Range

The official price of the game hasn’t been announced yet, but based on similar recent titles of comparable quality, a price point of $15-$20 seems most fitting. At this range, it would offer decent value—not exactly a bargain, but reasonable for what’s on offer.

If priced lower, it could be a great deal, but anything higher risks diminishing its appeal. As it stands, the game comfortably fits within the narrow $5 sweet spot where many games of this type typically land. We’ll update this article as soon as the official price is revealed, so stay tuned!

Digital Storefronts
Steam				GOG
Price		TBD

Builders of Egypt FAQ

How Do I Set Up Trade Routes in Builders of Egypt?

To set up a trade route in Builders of Egypt, make sure you are producing items that other settlements are willing to buy. You can do so by checking the world map and mousing over each neighboring settlement.

Once you confirm what products they are willing to buy (as well as what they are selling), you can set those products to be exported using the Economy Tab. This is also where you can check the trade prices.

Lastly, make sure the Stockpiles holding these tradeable items also allow them to be exported, so the monthly merchant can automatically buy them whenever they visit.

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Builders of Egypt Product Information

Title	BUILDERS OF EGYPT
Release Date	January 9, 2025
Developer	Strategy Labs
Publisher	PlayWay S.A.
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam, GOG)
Genre	Simulation
Number of Players	1
Rating	RP
Official Website	Builders of Egypt Official Website

Aaron Bruce Albert..

A massive fan of roguelikes, turn-based RPGs, and open world adventure games. His gold standard games include The Binding of Isaac, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker.