Anno 117: Pax Romana

Though not exactly gentle on new players, Anno 117: Pax Romana is not only one of the most stunning city-builders I have ever played, but it is also extremely rewarding.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is a veritable feast of improvements over not only its predecessors but the whole genre. There are occasionally obtuse moments, but these minor issues are overshadowed by improvements at every possible turn. If you’re looking for your next city builder, this is it.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is a gorgeous antique city-builder that sucked me in for dozens of hours as I planned out my next district or simply watched the bustle along my aqueduct-accented boulevards.

Polished city-building that goes the extra mile to create character and meaning to your block-dropping feats.

Anno 117 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but the addition of land combat and the ability to further customize your cities with diagonal roads and decorations brings even more satisfaction to the successful formula of a strategy series with a gameplay formula like no other.

Anno 117 is a competent city builder, but the game feels like a step down from Anno 1800 in almost every way except graphically. Steam Deck performance is pretty poor, not helped by non-working gamepad support.

While not particularly revolutionary, there's a lot to like about Anno 117. If you get your teeth into the game's complexity, you'll find yourself investing a lot of time into spreading Roman ways across your islands and growing your settlements from tiny villages to grand cities.