Anno 117: Pax Romana

I wanted to fall head over heels for Pax Romana — it has the Anno DNA, but with Roman marble and aqueducts. The core loop is addictive, yet the launch feels split: brilliant mechanics rubbed up against cut content, AI art controversy and online drama.

At heart this is pure Anno: settle islands, chain production, optimise routes and watch a city come alive. New to the series are diagonal building grids (finally!), aqueducts that need downhill planning, a meaningful tech/research tree called Knowledge and the first passable land combat—more tactical, but workforce‑hungry. Buildings now have area effects and specialists to tinker with, which makes planning feel like solving a pleasingly fussy puzzle. The Roman/Celtic regions look fantastic and the Colosseum mechanic adds late‑game goals. Diplomacy, limited wars and naval combat sit alongside the economic grind; the pacing often improves on 1800 with fewer dead minutes. That said, the campaign was reportedly cut short before release and ends abruptly, which leaves story fans rightly annoyed. Performance and UI still show rough spots—missing QoL from past Anno entries, occasional FPS hitches with raytracing, and multiplayer/desync issues tied to Ubisoft’s always‑online approach. If you love sandbox city‑building and can tolerate some launch wobble, there’s a lot to enjoy and a solid foundation for future DLCs.

Anno 117 is an ambitious, often brilliant city‑builder with genuine new ideas — but its launch is marred by cut story content, AI art controversy and server/MP issues. Great bones; needs time and patches to reach its full potential.