The eighth installment in the Anno series, 117: Pax Romana, takes players back to Ancient Rome, the franchise’s oldest historical setting. Another first for the series is that players can now choose between the provinces of Latium or Albion.

I chose the Albion map for my preview, which offers a more challenging experience, but also offers some interesting options, such as the ability to combine Celtic and Roman cultures to develop my city.

The Celtic kingdom is located in a swampy area, which often presents a major problem when trying to expand your settlement. Fortunately, many Celtic buildings require you to be built on muddy ground. Whether you convert your entire population to Roman culture or not, the start of your settlement will require you to place some of your production buildings on muddy ground in the swamp.

One thing I found very interesting about Anno 117: Pax Romana requires some of your buildings to have lower-level citizens, while others require higher-level population concentrations. You can increase the citizen level if you meet their requirements, or decrease it if necessary for some industrial buildings.

This adds an extra layer of strategy, as some industrial buildings now have both positive and negative effects on nearby buildings, as you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to develop your settlement more quickly.

It usually takes a few tries to learn everything about the buildings and how they work before you can really design the perfect city, but you can always demolish buildings at any time during the game to save the ones you really need.

My playthrough ended before I could do any sort of trading or diplomacy, but it’s exciting to see Ubisoft announce that they’re planning to focus more on these game features than they have in previous entries in the series.

Anno 117: Pax Romana features a new attribute system that ties the game’s resources to various benefits and drawbacks, and doesn’t affect happiness, population, or even income.

At first glance, Pax Romana may seem more complicated than previous Anno games, but what makes it so easy to understand is the gradual introduction of all the new features to players.

Conclusion

From what I’ve played, Anno 117: Pax Romana has proven to be one of the best entries in the series. The game looks gorgeous, and the day/night cycle makes it even more impressive. My only complaint is that some of the game’s features aren’t explained well, so newcomers to the series may have trouble developing their settlements at first.
Perhaps the fact that I chose the version specifically designed for series veterans has put me off by these explanations. Surprisingly, I was able to figure everything out pretty quickly, so I don’t think this is a big deal.

Despite choosing to play the more difficult scenario, I felt like I was playing a comfortable city-building game. The atmosphere and soundtrack completely removed the sense of urgency that can be found in strategy games that require you to quickly develop to keep up with the enemy.

Yes, Anno 117: Pax Romana is the most complex game in the series, but it’s also the easiest to play. If you’re a fan of the franchise or a fan of city builders, you should definitely check it out.

Thanks to Ubisoft for the opportunity!