Anno 117 Review – The Same But Less

Anno's reputation trumps itself. Each game in the strategy series has a core foundation centered around a production queue, developing your citizens, and building your empire over various time periods.

This formula has remained essentially unchanged since Anno 1602 was released in 1998. I've poured hundreds of hours into Anno throughout my life, so I'm happy to report that Anno 117: Pax Romana lives up to its legendary name. Ground combat is back, but it doesn't dominate the proceedings. The production queues are as delightful as ever, and the city's slow expansion across multiple islands is just as satisfying as it was in '98. Anno is back, baby.

Pax Romana, Roman Peace

Anno 117: Pax Romana is set in ancient times for the first time, and as you'd expect from the series' legacy, the setting is stunning. Modeled after a Roman island in the Mediterranean, Latium is a sun-baked landscape of craggy cliffs and wide beaches. Albion, in the style of Celtic Britain, is a lush green landscape of loess and lush wetlands. Both games have their own unique identities, with unique AI opponents to play against and musical soundscapes to draw you in.

In Latium, Libertes needs sardines, garum, and porridge. In Albion, Waders need eels and cockles. The elite citizens of Latium, known as the Eques, have a craving for cheese, but this can only be obtained from oak grown in Albion. Rather than treating the two regions separately, Anno 117 forces you to create an empire that spans two regions, linked by a single vision.

Despite initial fears that moving between locations would be inconvenient or frustrating, it's pretty seamless and you won't be constantly splitting your time between the two regions. In general, you can leave either Latium or Albion to protect itself while you set up a new production queue somewhere else.

Unfortunately, conflict is inevitable when the Roman army meets determined resistance from Celtic rebels in Albion. As with previous Anno games, war is entirely optional. You can spend your time peacefully building two massive island empires, or you can easily eliminate all enemy AI if you want a completely peaceful sandbox experience.

The ability to build roads at diagonal angles feels very simple, but it transforms the existing efficient grid into a much more aesthetically pleasing architectural style. The city of Anno 117 is without a doubt the most visually interesting and beautiful city I've ever seen in Anno.

The first few problems start to appear…

Why is the minimap a square map inside a circle? It's a really small issue, but I really liked it in the end.

Despite how well 117 introduces two separate regions, there are still one or two sticking points. There is no important information in the UI. There is no easy way to track how many resources are flowing between my regions, and no way to know how many citizens are benefiting from those resources. In general, the UI feels oddly sparse and often leaves me scratching my head every time I navigate the resource menu. It's not as lacking in sophistication and individuality as Civilization 7, but its muted gray tones and simplicity make it feel a bit bland.

I think you'll eventually get used to the new layout and menu changes. But even after using the 117 for a few hours, I still find it difficult to get used to it.

This is both a user experience issue and an issue with spending dozens of hours in Anno 1800. I'm used to other games, and by now the change feels a little jarring. I think you'll eventually get used to the new layout and menu changes. But even after using the 117 for a few hours, I still find it difficult to get used to it.

The interactions between Latium and Albion also feel a bit forced. Going back to the cheese story, it can only be produced in Albion. This doesn't make much sense to me, and while I'm trying to see the game as a video game with all the nuanced mechanics you'd expect, I still don't understand why the Romans can't produce cheese on their home island of Latium.

Pecorino Romano is one of Italy's most famous cheeses and has been produced around Rome (in the region known as Latium) for thousands of years. Building trade routes between regions is satisfying and provides an additional challenge to the gameplay, so I understand why it was done this way. But I feel like it could have been integrated in a more interesting way. When I want to cheesy a game, I don't mean this…

It may have been like this when Anno 1800 launched, but I've gotten so used to playing the various DLC packs that I've forgotten what Anno was like at launch. Several enforcement mechanisms between regions that will be further fleshed out later.

On a more positive note, you can choose to stick to Celtic traditions or Romanize the Celts. This is an excellent gameplay mechanic. Once you reach the Aldermen tier of citizens in Albion, you can decide to tier your citizens into Romano-Celts, which require more materials, resources, and luxuries in Latium. This creates a complex web of transactions that make you feel like a real-life governor.

Ground combat is simple but effective

Ground combat was a feature of older Anno games, especially the 1404 game, which had an encampment mechanic. Recent Anno games have moved away from land combat, but 117 brings it back in a way that's comprehensive but not overwhelming. This is an interesting mechanic that is largely optional, not Anno: Total War. Even in the campaign, you can decide to end the conflict with the Celts diplomatically by completing quests such as reuniting Voada (the Celt leader) and her imprisoned brother.

There are several types of units, such as Archers, Auxilia, and Siege Engine, that have a kind of rock-paper-scissors unit interaction. It's basic, but there's nothing quite like watching a massive Roman fleet cross the choppy seas of Albion, land on the beaches, and storm a Celtic fortress. Combat is implemented in a way that doesn't bother players who don't want to play with the mechanics, but has enough depth to satisfy those who want to build a large Roman army.

Another 1,000 hours in Anno…

There was a lot to learn and a lot to adapt to in Anno 117: Pax Romana, but I had a lot of fun along the way. Performance on my 4090 i9 system booted smoothly, with very few frame drops or crashes and loading times and menus were all smooth.

DLC is guaranteed, and Anno is a game where you get a lot. The first plan of additional content will take the game to Egypt and is expected to be released later this year. Take it however you will, but as a long-time fan of the series, I'm not too upset about them releasing more DLC post-launch.

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