You'll love it if:
- You are a fan of the Anno series
- You are new to city builders or the Anno series
- You like optimizing production chains
Not for you if:
- You want huge military battles and dominate only through war
- You look forward to playing something else the coming months
- Hate the Romans
With Anno 117: Pax Romana, Ubisoft Mainz has delivered our favorite game in the Anno series. Bringing what fans love about the series and making it the ideal first Anno game for newcomers at the same time. Anno 117: Pax Romana brings the iconic Roman civilisation at the tips of your fingers to build your own Empire through diplomacy, industry, or war.
Sadly, the preview version didn’t allow screenshots on a wide screen, so the images in this review are courtesy of Ubisoft and promotional material.
TL;DR
This is an excellent first game for new players with an emphasis on storytelling. It has a gradual ramp-up of features and difficulty, and freedom to experiment with. While also pleasing veterans like ourselves by not being too linear and just going for our own goals at our own pace. Zero performance issues and a ton of customisation options for gameplay make this the best game in the Anno series.
Anno 117: Pax Romana – Capite Diem, Cape Mundum
This review is just going to be glazing over how good Anno 117: Pax Romana plays and how well it runs. If the score and TL;DR didn’t convince you, please read on. Anno 117: Pax Romana offers more story and choices that shape the rest of the story.
There are multiple endings and two starting characters that decide how your story will ultimately go. Not only does this invite replayability, but if you get lost in Sandbox mode and need some vague direction at all times on what to build, this mode is perfect for you.
Fret not, because Sandbox Mode is still here, and you can even skip the full story mode and dive straight in. Even in Sandbox Mode, the basic tutorials pop up as they become relevant at that time. So veteran players can dive straight in and get notified when a new feature might hinder the inevitable growth of their Empire.
Fabulae Praeteritae – Story
Anno 117: Pax Romana starts with either Marcus or Marcia. Marcus is appointed Roman Governor and takes the tough decisions that need to be taken. Marcia gets unwillingly married to a Roman Governor who seems ill, and you, as a woman, have to stand tall in a world governed by men. Both stories rely heavily on the choices you make throughout the story to further the narrative in a certain direction. Influencing how your compatriots and foes look at you.
We chose to take the Marcia route as it seemed more intriguing and felt like it had a different approach to how Anna 117: Pax Romana would be played. The story took an interesting spin when Marcia had to keep up the facade of actually working under orders of her sick husband. And trying to uncover his illness and the intrigue that comes with trying to unveil the secrets of the Emperor who houses your husband.
Overall, the starting experience was quite predictable, and we have several hundred hours under our belt in Anno games. But nothing in the story mode stopped us from ignoring the current objective and going crazy with building an optimized industry and thriving city. Up until we hit a point where resources or tech were missing to progress, and after that, we interacted with the story and continued doing its objectives. Getting a nice stream of story content back to back and being immersed more fully in the story and the choices we made.
On the topic of choices and story, certain choices change the direction the narrative takes. While others that we thought would have an impact ultimately came to the same resolution, Ubisoft Mainz has confirmed multiple endings that come from your choices. Unlocking more in-game portraits, deities, and decorations is tied to milestones you can complete in both modes. Adding a reason to replay Anno 117: Pax Romana with a singular goal or direction that can change the whole run.
Dilata Ad Omnes Fines – Gameplay
Anno 117: Pax Romana brings the classic Anno experience, where you start small on your island and build up from a small hamlet to a thriving multi-island empire. Build the basic houses and supply the needs of villagers to upgrade their housing to the next tier of Roman citizens. Unlocking more needs, buildings, and industry chains to build.
Use diplomacy to swoon your opponents with gifts, treaties, and trade, or build an army and show them the strength of Roman steel. Either playstyle is viable for grabbing that sweet victory, and the systems in Anno 117: Pax Romana don’t hold you back from pursuing either of them. The extensive research tree can be intimidating at first, and you might want to pursue a certain unlock you want, only to realise you aren’t even close to gathering fifty tonnes of concrete at all.
The only real thing we missed was the floating icon over a production building that showed it was turned off. In moments of crisis, we went around and started closing production chains of higher-tier needs as our lower population was dwindling. Freeing up those workers to work in essential buildings at that time. After the crisis was averted, we got back to systematically turning them back on, but it’s really easy to miss.
Then we have the Roman vs Gaelic culture feature that has you choosing a direction for your Empire. Either go for a Roman culture or adapt a more Gaelic lifestyle. Both with unique buildings, pros and cons, but most of all, totally different needs. Completely changing your playstyle. You could even go for a mix of both if you want a harder playthrough.
Vivi Cultus – Living Civilization
The design of the islands, buildings, workposts, units, and boats is so intricate that your island feels alive and bustling. All the tiny workshops have villagers going about their labor. When celebrating one of the Roman deities, the streets are filled with festival goers and fanfares carrying statues.
Add in the global illumination setting that adds ray tracing to the lights and sunbeams, and you can get some insane scenic shots of your cities. Even without ray-traced lights, the game still looks amazing and has a ton of options to fiddle with. From graphical settings to gameplay settings to make your experience of Anno 117: Pax Romana the one that really fits your needs best. Opening up the series for a wide range of players to enjoy.
On the Multiplayer side, we think Ubisoft Mainz has gone crazy. While we weren’t able to test it in the preview phase. We can confirm that the story mode is co-op with up to three players now. The classic PvP mode is here, but also a co-op mode where you can team up with up to three other players to govern a cluster of islands together over both regions. A newer player can play in the easier region while you build in the harder region. The biggest selling point for the most chaotic run would be the hybrid mode, where up to 16 players can divide and conquer in the 4v4v4v4 mode.
Yes, cross-platform multiplayer is also there if you are friends with the person via Ubisoft Connect. There is no competitive mode with matchmaking or a ranking system. Anno has never been competitive in that way. But Anno 117: Pax Romana really brings multiplayer to the series.
Conclusione – Anno 117: Pax Romana
Anno 117: Pax Romana is, for us, the best Anno game in the series. A true testimony to the greatness of Roman culture, the oppression the Romans brought in their campaigns to claim greater lands. And it really highlights the golden era or Pax Romana that made their culture as big as it is to this day for fans, films, games, and fanatics of viaducts. If you are a fan of Anno, Anno 117: Pax Romana will bring the bread and games for many hours.
Thank you, CD Media, for access and time for this early review.