Hero of Egypt

Hero of Egypt is a God-of-War-style third-person action-adventure video game developed and published by Empire Entertainment. Scheduled for middle 2020, the game is projected to be released for the PlayStation 4 consoles. Loosely based on the Egyptian mythology (and partly Mesopotamian), it is set in Ancient Egypt, with heroism as central motif. The player controls the protagonist, named Imhotep, a priest of the god Osiris, who sees his land invaded by the Sea Peoples. After the death of his father, despite his best efforts to save him, Imhotep sets on a journey to save Egypt and the rest of the known world from a menace that threatens it.

The gameplay of Hero of Egypt, being similiar to God of War, focuses mainly on combo-based combat, achieved through the player's main weapons - a khopesh (sword) and a shield - and at least a secondary weapon acquired later in the game. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options. It also features puzzles and platforming elements.

Gameplay
Hero of Egypt is a third-person single player video game viewed from a fixed camera perspective. The player controls the character Imhotep in combo-based combat, platforming, and puzzle game elements, and battles foes who primarily stem both from historical Ancient Near East and from Egyptian mythology, ranging from the soldiers of the Sea Peoples, bandits, the Assyrian empire, Egyptian traitors and minor henchmen, to undead soldiers and mummies, phantoms, shadows, magicians, giant snakes, and the usual boss opponents - a barbarian chief, the Assyrian king, a traitor priest, the Sphynx, a dark magician and Seth the Egyptian God of Chaos. Platforming elements require the player to climb walls and ladders, jump across chasms, swing on ropes, and balance across beams to proceed through sections of the game. Some puzzles are simple, such as moving a box so that the player can use it as a jumping-off point to access a pathway unreachable with normal jumping, but others are more complex, such as finding several items across different areas of the game to unlock one door.

Throughout the game world, the player finds shrines colored green, blue, or yellow, each shrine containing orbs of the corresponding color:
 * Green orbs replenish part of Imhotep's health.
 * Blue orbs replenish part of Imhotep's magic.
 * Yellow orbs provide experience for upgrading weapons and magic—allowing new, more powerful attacks—and replenishing the Rage meter, which, if full, allows for the usage of the Armor of the Pharaoh. Yellow orbs are also collected by killing foes and destroying certain inanimate objects.

The player can also find Eyes of Horus and Royal Uraeus in unmarked shrines. Each Eye of Horus or Royal Uraeus (10 in total of each) increase Imhotep's health bar and magic bar rispectively, and, in turn, his power.

Combat
Imhotep's main weapons are a khopesh (a traditional Egyptian sword) and a typical Egyptian shield. In-game, the khopesh is naturally used in attack, and the shield can be used to block all kind of attacks, be it melee or ranged. Later in game, Imhotep will acquire three new weapons: the Spear of Anhur, the Bow of Neith and the Flail of Osiris, which all offer alternative combat options. Imhotep also learns to use four magical abilities: the Uraeus of Wadjet (a giant snake than can attack enemies, and burn and electrify them when upgraded enough), an Army of Mummies (which can include mummy swordsmen, archers and spearmen that can assist Imhotep), the Fury of Geb (which consist in various punches from the ground) and the Thunder of Amon (which allows Imhotep to shoot lightning bolts from his fingers, which can damage both individual and multiple targets). Four relics also appear in the game: the Wings of Isis (which allow to fly on new platforms), the Sun Disk of Ra (which temporarely blinds out nearby enemies), the Sight of Nekhbet (which allows to aim to hidden targets) and the Clay of Khnum (which allows to build statues to the Gods, thus unlocking secret contents). Last but not least, after some upgrades, Imhotep gains a special ability called Armor of the Pharaoh, which provides temporary invulnerability and increased attack damage.

In combat, a quick time event (QTE) feature, also called context sensitive attacks, is initiated when the player has weakened a strong foe. The player performs a sequence of actions on the game controller shortly after an image of its circle button appears as an on-screen prompt. This allows for limited control of Imhotep during a QTE cinematic sequence, which, if successful, ends the battle; failure usually results in damage to the protagonist.

When the game is completed, a challenge mode—ten trials called the Challenge of the Gods—is unlocked; this requires players to complete a series of specific tasks (for example, "Kill all the mummies before time runs out). The player may unlock bonus costumes for Imhotep, behind-the-scenes videos, and concept art of the characters and environments, as rewards. Completion of each difficulty level unlocks additional rewards.

Prologue
"At fifty years of age, Merneptah, the great Pharaoh of Egypt, he knew that his days. He went to the great temple of Abu Simbel, to ask the god Ra, if it was not possible to prolong his reign, at least to ensure a prosperous heritage."

"To make his request, the Pharaoh had chosen the exact moment when the sun penetrates into the deepest part of the temple."

"Hail to thee, Amon Ra, Lord of the Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt, you who are residing at Karnak, Usimare Setepenre is before Thee, O God. Give me your heart, lend listening, watching over my death. Assure a legacy worthy of my work."

"And the answer of God was:"

"You will reign until the season Akhet of your thirtieth year, and the Pharaoh that will follow you will be just, strong and brave. But, so what happens, you will need to erect an obelisk, the most majestic monolith of hard stone of all time, before the Shemu season."

"A single architect throughout the Kingdom of Egypt, Pazair, was able to accomplish this exceptional feat. Work began, but soon began to experience strange incidents in the yard. And it was just the beginning of a long series of misfortunes that would have risked destroying Egypt forever..."

- Thoth, as the Narrator

Imhotep, protagonist of the series, is a young priest of Osiris and lives in the Egyptian city of Busiris, patron city of Osiris himself.

Egypt is ruled by the wise and intelligent Pharaoh named Merneptah. On his fifth years of reign, Merneptah has managed to achieve an incredible victory against the Hittite army of Mursili V at Qadesh. In his eighth year of reign, howerer, he also managed to achieve a peace with the Hittite empire itself as well, peace that has evolved into an alliance against common enemies, Assyrians and Babylonians above all else.

The game is set in 1025 BC; it's Merneptah's twenty-sixth year of reign, and since the Pharaoh is still without any child and heir, he asks Amun Ra, the King of the Gods on Egypt, to make sure that his heir lives on his heritage. Amun Ra will do so only if the Pharaoh manages to build a majestic obelisk, before the season of Shemu has arrived. Pazair, the most trustworthy architect of all Egypt, is the best suited for this task, but not only the construction site has its first problems; soon the whole Egypt slowly sinks into misery, as a black mage manages to find an extremely prohibited artifact, and wants to use it to destroy Egypt.

One night, an old man, wandering alone in a nearby desert outside the city, feels something strange: a cold blizzard surrounds the whole area. What it seems a nightmare, a vision or just a natural phenomenon, the old man discovers it is actually the arising of some desert demons. After repairing himself, the old man looks around and sees not only an apocalyptic scenario, but also an human figure, accompanied by a dozen of men. After a ritual, which eventually reveals the mysterious figure as a black mage and a servant of Seth, said figure enters the tomb, and when he gets out, he reveals something hidden under a red carpet: it's the Jar of Osiris, the source of all life and death, its power so tremendous, wrong hands could use this Jar to destroy he world. One of the black mage's henchmen dares to touch the Jar, and dies asphyxiated via the orange smoke from the jar. The black mage then gets rid of his other companions, considering them worthless to even hear about the power of the jar, and incinerates them, reducing them to charred skeletons. The old man, undetected, manages to escape.

Imhotep
Imhotep is the protagonist of the Hero of Egypt saga.

Kalash
Kalash is a syrian merchant, or so he want others to believe. Officially, he serves as a spy at the services of Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king. Howerer, he actually hides his hate for the Assyrians, as they are full of hatred. He'd rather live in the paradisiac Egypt, where the Pharaoh rules wisely and gives abbondance to his people, than serve as a lackey of the Assyrian king. He thus betrays Ashurbanipal, and helps Imhotep, the protagonist, as well as the Hittites with their capital Hattusas, under siege by the Assyrians themselves.

Kalash is an overweight and wealthy man, and he actually cares for his brothers. He's also an expert on deception as he manages to disguise himself as a hittite potter, and to kill some Assyrian officials, including one of the most prestigious ones.

Tanit
Tanit is Imhotep's love interest. She has a mother and a father, Sekhet and Keku. At the end of the game, after the defeat of Seth, she marries Imhotep, and they will have a child.

Menreptah
Menreptah is the Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. He is a wise and powerful man who controls the powerful Egyptian empire, which stretches from the far Nubia to the Upper Syria. Various years ago, after a bloody fight fought at Karkemish, the Egyptian and the Hittite empires have stipulated a peace traty, which had evolved into an alliance against common enemies.

Hattusili
Hattusili is the king of the Hittite empire. He is titled as

"he who defeated the Arzawa, he who submitted the Lukka, he who bestowed the ruin of the Mitanni. Because of him, Ugarit now bows before him, the Thracian tribes pledge their serviges to him, and the Urartu kneel before him."

- Text from Gory to Hattusili

Thanks to this description, Hattusili may be described as a powerful lord.

Achish
Achish is one of the strongest warlords among the Sea Peoples, and is the king of the Philistines tribe. As such, he is one of the leading generals of the Sea Peoples' invasion of Egypt, in which many innocent people, including Imhotep's father, lose their lives. In the first parts of the game, Imhotep manages to wound his face, forcing him and his troops to flee, and leaving his allies at the mercy of the Egyptian army. He will plot his revenge invading Egypt once again, but this time with a more powerful army.

Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal is the king of the powerful Assyrian empire. He dreams of destroying the Egyptian and Hittite empire and rule over their lands. As tradition for all Assyrian kings, Ashurbanipal is a very cruel and ruthless king. He will lead the siege of Hattusas indirectly with a large army, and then will personally guide his assault on Egypt.

Tuya
Tuya is Tanit's mother and wife of Keku. When her daughter discovers her husband's true intentions, she pretends to help her escape, but she actually makes sure that he kidnaps her, so he could use her soul as a sacrifice to Seth, the God of Chaos.

Keku
Keku is husband of Sekhet and father of Tanit.

Seth
Seth is the Egyptian God of Chaos, and the final boss of the game. Wishing to take his revenge upon all Egypt and its Pantheon for choosing Horus instead of Seth, he tries to find a way to rule all Egypt, and destroy it. He finally manages to find his servants in the form of Tanit's parents, Keku and Sekhet. While Keku manages to steal the Vase of Osiris, his wife Sekhet offers herself as a medic chief of Memphis.

Egyptian Khopesh
The Egyptian Khopesh is the standard weapon for all Egyptian soldiers. Through there are soldiers in the ranks of the Pharaoh's army that also use axes or spears, this unique weapon guarantees a great attack strenght, expecially in the hands of a good warrior... and Imhotep is surely a good warrior, if not even better.

The Egyptian Khopesh comes along with the Egyptian Shield, and can be activated by pressing the up button on the joypad.

Level 1

 * Cost: n/a
 * Power: 100%
 * Basic combo: Just a regular combo. Square, square, square, square, square
 * Strong combo: Slow but powerful combo. Triangle, triangle, triangle
 * Shield basher: Useful for damaging enemy defenses. Hold triangle
 * Lift: Allows to gain more height while in air. X, X
 * Rage of Horus: A quick and powerful combo ending in a fiery finish. Square, square, triangle

Level 2

 * Cost: 1'500 orbs
 * Power: 150%
 * Dash attack: Ground dash attack. R1
 * Ground attack: Air attack that drives Imhotep quickly to the ground. R1
 * Ascension of Horus: During an attack, it simultaneously launches Imhotep and enemies into the air. L1 + X
 * Offensive of Horus: Slam enemies back to the ground with this powerful attack. L1 + X

Level 3

 * Cost: 2'250 orbs
 * Power: 200%
 * Strenght of Shu: Slow but powerful combo. Triangle, triangle, square.
 * Valor of Horus: A counter attack after parrying your foe. Square after R1
 * Vegeance of Horus: A counter attack after parrying your foe. Triangle after R1
 * Dance of death: Useful combo for critical damage. 75% critical chance. Square, square, square, square, triangle.

Level 4

 * Cost: 3'750 orbs
 * Power: 250%
 * Mad fury: Multi-hit dash attack. R1, R1, R1
 * Fury of Nut (air): A Multi-hit air attack ends with an explosive finish. L1 + triangle
 * Fury of Geb: A Multi-hit attack that targets a single enemy. L1 + triangle

Level 5

 * Cost: 9'000 orbs
 * Power: 300%
 * Deadly dash: An useful attack that passes through some enemies and damages them, samurai style. 100% critical chance. R1 (any time you want) + hold Square
 * Curse of Osiris: See Armor of the Pharaoh.

Egyptian Shield
This large Egyptian Shield is made of wood, copper and rawhide. Despite not the perfect defense against organized armies, this shield guarantees a very good protection of the weilder. Howerer, if imbued with enough power of the Gods, this shield can offer great protection even from inhuman beings.

The Egyptian Shield comes along with the Khopesh. To activate it, the player needs to press the up button on the joypad.

Level 1

 * Cost: n/a
 * Defence: 100%
 * Block: Allows to block incoming attacks. R1
 * Denied attack: Allows to shove an attack just before the enemy attack connects. L1

Level 2

 * Cost: 1'500 orbs
 * Defence: 150%
 * Temperance of Horus: A counter attack after parrying your foe. R1 after R1. Requires Level 3 Khopesh Sword.

Spear of Anhur
The first time Imhotep uses this powerful weapon is against Achish, chief of the Philisteans and one of the strongest warlords among the Sea Peoples. Despite not managing to kill him, he still wounds his face, slashing his right cheek and instilling fear in him. Howerer, on the second round against Achish, Imhotep manages to kill him with this same weapon.

To activate the Spear of Anhur, the player must press the down button on the joypad.

Level 1

 * Cost: n/a
 * Power: 100%
 * Strenght of Anhur: A fearsome combo ending in a powerful thrust that sends enemies flying back. Square, square, square
 * Wrath of Anhur: fearsome combo ending in an explosive finish that launches enemies. Square, square, triangle, triangle
 * Aim: Draw your spear and take aim at enemies. Hold R1
 * Phalanx Offensive: Unleash a series of rapid strikes with your spear. L1 + square
 * Deflection: Allows to shove an attack just before the enemy attack connects. L1

Level 2

 * Cost: 3'750 orbs
 * Power: 150%
 * Spirit of Anhur: Throw your spear into the ground, sending your enemies flying back. Hold R1 + triangle
 * Vegeance of Anhur: After a successful parry, press square to do a powerful counterattack. Parry and square
 * Temperance of Anhur: After a successful parry, press triangle to do a powerful counterattack. Parry and triangle

Level 3

 * Cost: 8'500 orbs
 * Power: 200%
 * Treacherous Impaling: After an evade, allows to impale an opponent from behind. Evade, then square
 * Treacherous Slash: After an evade, allows to shash an opponent from behind. Evade, then triangle

Level 4

 * Cost: 11'250 orbs
 * Power: 250%
 * Hellish barrage: Bombard your enemies with spears from above. Jump, hold R1 + square
 * Vegeance of Anhur: Allows to shot an explosive spear blow in air, damaging any enemy in range. Jump, hold R1 + triangle

Bow of Neith
The Bow of Neith is received from Neith, the Goddess of Fate herself. To obtain this weapon, Imhotep must complete three courses: a labyrinth created by Thoth, a magic contest with Seshat and a battle with numerous messengers of the Gods.

To activate the Bow of Neith, the player must press the left button on the joypad.

Level 1

 * Cost: n/a
 * Power: 100%
 * Flame Burst: Fire a flaming arrow, arrows are quite weak but can be fired at an incredibly fast rate. L2 + square
 * Fiery Inferno: Hold Square to build up energy for a powerful flaming arrow that can scorch your foes. L2 + Hold square

Level 2

 * Cost: 2'500 orbs
 * Power: 200%
 * Rapid Fire: The gusts of wind can be shot more rapidly as the square button is pressed.
 * Lethal Vortex: Hold L2 and then press triangle to release a fire whirlwind that launches enemies into the air. L2 + triangle

Level 3

 * Cost: 10'000 orbs
 * Power: 300%
 * Storm of Neith - Hold L2, and then press circle to command a raging fire tempest with a large area of damage. L2 + circle

Flail of Osiris
Few objects are as closely associated with the rulers' dominion over Egypt as the crook and the flail. The crook and flail are sometimes thought to represent two of the functions of the king: the crook stands for the shepherd, carer of the people, while the flail as scourge symbolizes the punishments deemed necessary to sustain society. Traitors, howerer, can use these symbols to destroy Egypt... at least not if Imhotep manages to stop these traitors.

To weild the Flail of Osiris, the player needs to press the down button on the joypad.

Level 1

 * Cost: n/a
 * Power: 100%
 * Agony of Osiris: Basic flail attacks. Square, square, square, square, square
 * Flail grab: You can use it to grab enemies and slam them on the ground. L1 + triangle
 * Bane of Osiris: While evading, press triangle to attack with a powerful overhead slam. Evade, then triangle
 * Justice of Osiris: Spins the blades of the Whip, either by itself or at the end of a combo. Hold square

Level 2

 * Cost: 3'000 orbs
 * Power: 200%
 * Flail earthquake: Allows to jump and provoke a great earthquake. Jump, then hold triangle
 * Judgement of Osiris: Whip an enemy, delivering a deadly shock. Jump, then L1 + O
 * Sorrow of Osiris: Allows to grab enemies and launch them in the air, and them slam them repeatedly on the ground, provoking shockwaves on nearby (weak) enemies. L1+ square, triangle x5

Level 3

 * Cost: 12'500 orbs
 * Power: 300%
 * Flail terror: This thunderous combo is pratically perfect for groups of enemies. Hold square, triangle
 * Fury of Osiris: Allows to execute a powerful combo that emanates a powerful shockwave. Jump, then hold circle