Anno 117: Pax Romana review

Playing Anno 117: Pax Romana has taught me two valuable lessons. Firstly, the Roman Empire’s worst emperor was Evil Sean Bean, and secondly, Ancient Britain’s economy was based entirely on eels and cockles. Okay, that’s not strictly true, but Anno 117: Pax Romana doesn’t claim to be 100% accurate. Instead, developer Ubisoft Mainz has delivered an excellent city builder, and the historical flavour is a major part of its appeal.

The premise behind Anno 117’s campaign mode is that you’re one of two Roman nobles who have fallen into the role of governor. I chose to play as Marcia, who’s married off to a husband she never actually sees, and I was quickly swept up in the complex drama storyline. It factors in subterfuge, strained diplomacy, surprise exile and more. Think Game of Thrones, with a Romano-Celtic twist.

That’s not to say its sandbox mode is an exercise in tedium, far from it. However you play, you’ll be stunned by just how deep this city-builder is. Beginning in the titular year, it features two island-based regions: the Roman realm of Latium, and Albion – essentially Britain, terrible weather included.

There’s naval and ground combat in Anno 117, but as the Pax Romana subtitle suggests, it encourages you to find diplomatic solutions and focus on expanding your city. The twist is that your mini-empire’s profitability is directly linked to how many citizens you have and how well you’re meeting their needs (food, clothes, entertainment and so on). By contrast, the facilities you provide – taverns, recreational areas and so on – can actually be a drain on your finances.

This can take a little getting used to, particularly if you’re new to the Anno series. My first playthrough ended with me out of pocket because I was letting the game lead me, but once I got into the swing of things, I had a huge grin on my face. It helps that the campaign also serves as a kind of expanded tutorial.

Despite that, even when you get to grips with Anno 117’s mechanics, it’s no cakewalk. Buildings have area effects, both positive and negative. One, for example, might boost the income of nearby houses, but will raise the risk of a fire. It’s a neat feature that nudges you to zone your city as it grows, but there are also benefits to throwing caution to the wind.

Income aside, the other reason to keep your populace happy is that you can upgrade them to the next social tier – i.e. from Liberti to Plebians. That, in turn, unlocks new innovations and buildings. Given you’re a stranger in a strange land, you also have the option to give your Albion buildings a more Celtic flavour.

The snag, however, is that specific classes are needed to render certain services. So, in Albion, it’s in your own interest to keep the Wader class around, just so they can fish for some squirmy foodstuffs. It’s quite an ethical (or should that be ethiceel?) quandary.

What makes Anno 117: Pax Romana especially satisfying, apart from the sheer joy of watching your city grow, is that you can zoom right down to street level and watch your subjects go about their daily business. Whether they’re ferrying logs to a workshop or raging angrily at their lack of reed-based shoes, your city truly feels alive.

I could go on, but Anno 117 has so much to offer, with its wealth of systems, that you’ll uncover something new, or at least some new way to approach the game, each time you play. The one snag is that, on occasion, a problem will arise, and it’ll be tough to track down the root cause.

For example, I suddenly found myself with a deficit of workers for no obvious reason. Anno 117’s multiple screens present you with a mine of information, but I was unable to uncover the issue. I could have kept looking, but it was simpler just to build new houses to compensate for the drop.

Combat largely takes a back seat here, but when you are at war, victory is satisfying enough and defeat rarely feels unfair. You don’t have the same degree of control as in a dedicated RTS, but you can dictate your squadron’s formations. And, once you put the research in, you’ll have plenty of units to play with.

Naval combat is more entertaining, particularly if you try your hand at tweaking your ships. Despite my best efforts to go native, Anno 117’s Boadicea analogue declared war on me, so I took great pleasure in nibbling away at her fleet with my own warships before she got wind of my efforts.

Each map sees you competing for power and space with other governors. A fun, if silly touch is just how finicky the other governors can be when it comes to alliances. Some of their negative perceptions are specifically labelled ‘petty’. The good news is that, on default difficulty, they’re not super aggressive.

If you’re playing on console or with a controller, there’s an unfortunate trade-off for Anno 117’s complexity. On console, it uses a system of radial menus, initiated by holding down the right trigger, but it’s a little too easy to fumble this and end up in the wrong menu. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it was the cause of a little frustration. If you have the option, it’s a game that benefits from being played with a keyboard and mouse.

Anno 117: Pax Romana’s in-game aide literally tells you to take a break if you’ve spent too long playing in one session. Once you’ve started crafting your empire, you’ll know why that warning is necessary. This is a seriously impressive city-builder which will have you hooked, no prior Anno experience necessary. It’s gripping, gorgeous and deep, and despite its less-than-perfect console controls, it rewards every minute you put into it.