The game Anno 117: Pax Romana, developed by Ubisoft Mainz and published by Ubisoft, is a strategic city-building game set in the Roman era, during the empire's golden age, putting you in the shoes of a local governor, and it does so wonderfully. Anyone familiar with the city-building genre, and of course the Anno series, is already accustomed to the usual tasks such as balancing resources, meeting the needs of citizens, and ensuring the growth of your province.
The game manages to create a sense of "being a Roman governor"—with the small details of civic life in the city, citizens walking the streets, markets, theaters, and infrastructure. This year, the game also adds an additional and ambitious layer: A combination of construction, economy, politics, culture, and even military elements to the degree you choose.
Moreover, for the first time in the successful series, we get a narrative campaign. You can step into the shoes of Marcus, a young man struggling with self-doubt after a surprising appointment as a Roman governor. Or choose the path of Marcia, whose mysterious rise to power as a female governor breaks the conventions of a male-dominated empire. Every choice you make, as well as the subsequent choices of the characters themselves, will affect the way your story is told in Roman history.
Already in the first part of the game, when you are on a small Roman island and must prove yourself before the emperor and his designated empress, you face difficult questions, each of which affects your standing with the emperor and, on the other hand, with your citizens. For example, you will have to decide how to deal with men who betray their wives, or a woman who chooses to maintain her faith despite an imperial decree, among others.
If you choose to gain favor with the emperor, you will receive significant benefits such as trade licenses and even the ability to settle additional islands without tax. Conversely, if you do not maintain your citizens' goodwill, you will face armed civilian rebellion. This balance is what keeps you building nonstop, often losing track of time. Other options available from the very beginning include choosing the god who will accompany you (with certain benefits, of course) and deciding which research to pursue. Each choice has a cost and completely changes the gameplay experience.
Those who enjoy historical campaigns, with many decisions that dramatically change the style of play, will greatly enjoy replaying the Anno campaign multiple times. Soon, you will gain the ability to build a fleet of ships, settle islands, and start developing an empire within an empire, where a sudden threat can come from either the emperor or wild rebels lying in wait.
For those who prefer to live freely without being constrained by scripted scenarios, the sandbox mode allows you to build your community as you wish, as long as, of course, you pay your taxes to the emperor. In terms of content, it is a very rich world with dramatic changes, such as local environmental influence systems. This year, every public or industrial building generates a specific effect that impacts citizens within its range.
Additionally, you can research different technologies to upgrade your buildings, the quality of soldiers, and of course, the citizens' quality of life. This year, you can also choose to play between two different cultures: A Roman ruler or an invader governing Celtic territories in the Albia region. Every choice completely changes your style of gameplay.
Anno is much more than a building game; it is a game that forces you to play strategically and diplomatically. Whether in the quality of your army or the sharpness of your tongue, you must manage relations with other governors and decide whether to obey the emperor or form an alliance to overthrow him—the power is entirely in your hands. Upcoming DLC packs will include a wild island with a massive volcano and untamed land with new resources, a new monument with chariot races for citizens' amusement, and a new province designed around vast deserts and a mighty river.