Anno 117: Pax Romana - An Addictive Roman Empire Building Experience

Anno 117: Pax Romana, the latest addition to the popular city-building game series, isn't just a familiar recipe; it's an incredibly addictive experience. This top-down strategy game places you in the role of one of Rome's trusted governors, striving to expand your great empire by gathering essential resources, building efficiently, and assembling armies to defend your ever-flourishing city.

This serves as clear evidence that Anno 117: Pax Romana, despite relying on the classic city-building game formula, has successfully captivated players. By the end of the designated preview playtime, the player felt disappointed at not being able to continue for just one more round. There's so much to explore in this comprehensive game, and while there's a clear learning curve to overcome and some aspects that need improvement, it possesses the familiar appeal of games of this genre that makes you want " just a few more minutes."

Core Gameplay Mechanics and Characters

The first chapter, in its first and second parts, focuses on introducing you to the basic controls, getting to know the key characters, and laying the groundwork for what will soon become a sprawling Roman enclave. First and foremost, you get to choose your fully voice-acted character. These characters are an innovative addition to the Anno series, and while the player wasn't fully engrossed in the dialogue all the time, they appreciated having a central character and storyline to follow. This story acts as a linear guide while you freely design your city, striking an enjoyable balance between defined objectives and creative freedom in building and planning.

There are two main characters here, Marcus Nucratus and Marcia Tertia. After an opening cutscene briefly describing the current state of your Roman Empire, you take control of your governor and are tasked with gathering essential materials such as fish and timber to kickstart your nascent settlement.

Building System and Resource Management

For building resource-generating structures ("production and resource buildings"), you get a toolbar at the bottom of your screen with several different menus, including a construction menu. These menus can be initially confusing, and the player sometimes found themselves in the wrong one. Once you select the type of structure you want to build, such as something from the timber industry, a grid will appear on the ground. If you're already familiar with city-building games, you'll recognize this as your building grid. Place a structure near the required resources, connect it to your settlement's main trade hub (which acts as a central point for trade and exchange of goods), and watch your loyal citizens efficiently carry out your orders.

Since city building is the heart of Anno 117, this pivotal grid system needs to be right for the game to be enjoyable and rewarding. Fortunately, it's a polished and largely intuitive system. You can easily rotate buildings, connect them to strategic roads, and helpful hints will appear based on the bonuses or drawbacks certain buildings grant others in their vicinity. You can also pick up and move buildings without penalty, which the player found to be a very useful quality-of-life feature for urban planning.

As you progress through the game, you unlock more possibilities. There are extensive research trees to explore, various religious bonuses to choose from, and all sorts of new buildings to discover and employ. And your settlement is far from the sole inhabitant of the vast region. Using your equipped ship, you can sail the vast seas in search of resource-rich lands, discovering new enemies to overcome and potential allies to forge alliances with.

Story Progression and Early End-Game

The third part of the first chapter progresses at a fast and exciting pace. While you previously only had to worry about your city's growth and prosperity, a terrible tragedy now grips the hearts of Romans everywhere: the Emperor has suddenly died. He was murdered by a slave at his daughter's birthday celebration, and now some unruly usurpers are moving to seize the Roman throne. You surrender your former flagship as property to the new Roman Empire in these troubled times, take the deceased Emperor's remains to the ruins of the ancient amphitheater for the funeral ceremony, and face exile to Albion (Roman Britain) as you try to set things right and restore stability.

Final Impression and Expectations

Here the preview playtime ended for the player. Given the enjoyable time spent in Anno 117: Pax Romana, they are excited to play it again upon full release on November 13, 2025. Although the game has a significant learning curve and the dialogue isn't always the most exciting, it would rank highly among the best city-building games they've played recently. They could easily spend long hours in late-night gaming sessions with this engaging title, increasing their resource production, and transforming the land into a magnificent Roman Empire.

However, it takes some time for the game to truly take off and reveal its depth. If you just want to jump into a game and have a great time from the moment you hit "play," Anno 117 wouldn't be their first recommendation. It needs some time to grow on you and fully captivate your attention, but when it does, you'll become incredibly addicted and immersed in its world.