I Played ANNO 117: PAX Romana and It’s the Closest We’ve Been to a Perfect Empire

ANNO has been one of the biggest city-building games for years now. This is a game that is built for those who relish tinkering with the tiniest of details. The last installment in the franchise, ANNO 1800, set the bar incredibly high for their next sequel. The game was near-perfect and would have been my all-time favorite city-builder if it had a bit more combat and diplomacy. Many others likely shared this sentiment, as Ubisoft has attempted to address it in ANNO 117 PAX Romana, the upcoming installment in the franchise.

Thanks to Ubisoft, I got my hands on PAX Romana for an early preview, and here’s what I can share based on my first impressions of ANNO 117 PAX Romana.

ANNO 117 PAX Romana Feels Right and Plays Better

ANNO 117 PAX Romana is identical at its core mechanics to the old ANNO games. You drop into a random island, build your first woodcutter and sawmill, and then make sure every building is connected to your tradepost. Sounds familiar? The core gameplay loop may remain the same, but many things have certainly improved.

For the first time in ages, I barely had an issue managing the needs of my people on the first playthrough of an ANNO game.

For example, the main overhead menu brings all the needs of your citizens into one compact chargesheet. Although ANNO 1800 had a similar menu, it was way too complicated with multiple tabs. PAX Romana has simplified the management process, hashing everything down to output and demand graphs.

With simplified management, the game also adds a new research menu that lets you chart the path of your city. The research menu is tied to Knowledge Points, which you generate from specific buildings or by hiring specialists. Then, you can select which nodes you want to research first and queue them up in the background. The game will automatically research the nodes based on the queue you created. This allowed me to focus on designing my city, instead of being forced to open the research menu every 5 minutes.

But what can you research? This new feature acts as both a passive boost and a way to unlock new things. For example, I can research “Watch Towers,” which can then be built to increase security and happiness around my city. On the other hand, I can also invest in a passive boost that increases my workshop space or boosts my produce. Some research nodes unlock ships, others unlock new troops. However, not every node is unlocked from the start; some are tied behind specific requirements that you must fulfill in the game.

Pick Your First Horizon: Albion or Latium

The endless sandbox mode of ANNO 117 PAX Romana starts by giving players a choice between two worlds, Albion and Latium. Now, the campaign does take you to both worlds, but how you reach them is predetermined. For now, we will only focus on the Sandbox, which is the bread and butter of PAX Romana.

Albion and Latium are two different worlds with many environmental differences. Albion is the birthland of the Celts, while Latium is the homeland of the Romans. You will find swamps and aggressive governors in Albion, while Latium has an abundance of meadows and more trade-oriented compatriots.

Although the core gameplay loop remains the same in both areas, Albion is a bit harsher to manage. Other than that, there are slight differences, like you can select whether to develop your people the Celtic way or the Roman way in Albion, which is entirely missing in Latium. Also, some buildings in Albion can only be placed in the Swamp. This type of hard building restriction is also missing in Latium.

RTS Enters the Fold of ANNO City Building

ANNO games are not known for real-time strategy. ANNO 1800 had a decent amount of Naval Warfare, but it was far away from what we can consider a real-time strategy. PAX Romana, however, has taken a big detour in this aspect, not only reintroducing Naval combat but also adding land troops.

Players can create a Military Barrack and train archers and swordsmen, which then can be controlled in real time to fend off attacks or invade sovereign nations. The RTS aspect is also pretty fleshed out, with the game having a completely separate military research tree with new troops and military buffs. There are weapon smiths in the game as well that unlock stronger troops, just like your normal RTS game. Furthermore, each troop regiment can also be controlled separately to strategically attack enemies.

Now, there is a catch. Although you can create soldiers, unlike most other RTS games that simply create them out of thin air, PAX Romana requires you to actually have the citizens for the job.

I remember jumping the gun by queuing multiple soldiers, only to find half my workforce had just vanished into thin air.

However, unlike destroying their Tradepost led to a win in ANNO 1800, in PAX Romana, the attack needs to be much thorough and devastating. Now, for those who are not comfortable fighting enemies, rest assured, as the game can still be played without combat by tweaking the difficulty settings.

You Are Ruling a City, Governor, So Diplomacy Is Key

Another major addition in PAX Romana is the addition of proper diplomacy among your compatriots. Unlike simple gifts, tasks, and establishing trade routes, the game goes one step further by adding specific interactions with each enemy governor. Every interaction comes with multiple dialogue choices, and your chosen decision dictates their future actions towards you. Also, every character, whether an NPC or a Governor, is properly voiced. This makes the world feel more alive and actually makes you look forward to their interactions.

With the new interactions, you can also now declare war against other governors or even sign peace pacts. Everything you do affects your reputation, so make your choices carefully.

ANNO 117 PAX Romana Is “Almost” Perfect

Although I fairly enjoyed my time in ANNO 117 PAX Romana, there were enough issues that I cannot call it perfect. First, there is no first-person view option. This was one of the highlights of ANNO 1800, letting players run through the city and complete quests. I also enjoyed this feature in the Manor Lords recently, so I was looking forward to seeing the improved Ubisoft version in PAX Romana. Whether this feature would be added later, or simply not in the plans, is yet unknown to me.

Secondly, I couldn’t find an option to create city blueprints like in 1800. If that feature is added to the game, it surely is well hidden. If not, then it would be a massive letdown for many old fans.

Finally, the campaign was not very appealing. Even though you don’t look for a good narrative campaign in ANNO games, as the sandbox has always been the bread and butter, none of the older campaigns made me feel as awkward as Pax Romana.

PAX Romana Suffers from a Massive “Man-is-Bad” Syndrome

The campaign starts off by letting players select between Marcus and Marcia, both different characters with unique storylines and progression. Right after starting the story, you will get the feeling that every male character in the game is obnoxious, loud, or a warmonger. In comparison, the female characters are always noble, smart, and patient. I understand that the game is trying to create this tone that women were suppressed back during the Roman ages. But, simply putting every man into the same “bad behavior checklist” box does the very opposite.

The only exception among the men was Marcus, but for all the wrong reasons. Unlike other male characters, he was portrayed as a weak-minded and quickly panicking young man. This was supposed to work as a stark contrast to his father, a known Tyrant, but it only made the character feel terribly uninteresting and annoying. Compared to him, Marcia feels much better to play as she is confident and doesn’t appear like a fool in half the interactions.

However, I was only allowed to play up to a specific point in the campaign, so the story can get better after that, at least I hope it does.

Is ANNO 117 PAX Romana Worth It?

ANNO 117 PAX Romana does many things better than its predecessors, while not forgetting its core gameplay loop. Old ANNO fans can simply pick up this game on release and find that it fits like an old glove, while having more warmth and grip. I have spent hours in the endless mode, minutely designing two different cities, one in Latium and another in Albion, going all the way to the fourth tier. The new RTS addition scratched both my needs for city-building and a complex resource management simulator.

Overall, I have barely scratched the surface of PAX Romana, even after spending multiple hours in the game. There is still so much more to explore and reveal that will have to wait for my final review. Till then, if you enjoy ANNO games, then PAX Romana would be perfect for you. For those who are new to the franchise, this might be the best time for you to try it out.

So, what’s your take on ANNO 117 PAX Romana? Let us know in the comments below.