Anno is the Carmen Sandiego of 4X games: you never know where (or when) you’ll find it. After hopping back and forth a few hundred years at a time in Anno 1800 and 2205, this city-building franchise is going back (way, way back) to the Roman Empire. Anno 117: Pax Romana is in a weird place for a couple of reasons, and not just because Ubisoft gave us a live-action teaser instead of gameplay or some cutscenes to chew on. Though the franchise has been hit-or-miss, that hasn’t stopped it from delivering home runs. Here’s why Anno 117: Pax Romana could be the best (or worst) entry yet.
Rome is new to Anno, but that doesn’t mean it’s new in general. Civilization, Europa Universalis, Imperator, and even Total War have set games in and around the Empire. That’s both good and bad news. Obviously, games shouldn’t be banned from using a setting just because it’s already been explored elsewhere. That said, setting a strategy game in the Roman Empire is like setting an FPS in the battlefields of WWII. There’s always a new and interesting perspective to find, but you’re battling exposure fatigue. We’ve seen so many takes on the material that only special games stand out.
Of course, Pax Romana could be special. Anno has never been a mere clone of Civ or its siblings. Its take on city-building and economics has its own flavor in the 4X space, so it’s not fair to write Anno 117 off as “just another” Roman strategy game. Besides, if you’re the kind of gamer who reads Virgil for fun, another Roman strategy game is probably exactly what you want. It’s not set in a galaxy far, far away, but it sure is a long time ago, and that means opportunities for the devs to do something different. If we’re lucky, Pax Romana will retain what makes Anno great. Just with a little more Hadrian.
Anno 117: Pax Romana will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and
