Anno 117: Pax Romana Hands-On Preview: Trying to drain British swamps

When I last played Anno 117: Pax Romana back in May, I managed to build a rather nice Roman city with all the trimmings, including amphitheatres and toga-clad magistrates. Unfortunately, at the same time, I completely ruined the economy, so I was a little nervous that Ubisoft had actually saved my game and the disaster would continue at Gamescom. Fortunately, I was allowed to start afresh, and even far away from the otherwise idyllic Italian surroundings. I was given responsibility for a new settlement in the northernmost province of the Roman Empire, Albion, based on the British Isles. On second thought, perhaps it was a form of punishment after all.

Once again, I had to go through the familiar core loop, building production chains consisting of collection, processing and production facilities that secure the necessary resources and products. However, there are new challenges in Albion. For example, mud has to be collected in the impassable wet marshland. Fortunately, my roads in the swamp automatically turn into narrow wooden bridges, but this is probably not where I will build my next inn. Instead, I'll build a small plant that turns the mud into bricks.

"The islands are smaller. They are more uneven and there are many hills," says game director Jan Dungel about Albion. "The weather is completely different with a lot of rain and it's often foggy. We're inspired by Britain, and in the south of England there are many marshlands. It's a natural environment for the Celts, as they find much of their food and building materials there. They even walk on stilts through the fields."

However, there is another option other than adapting to the environment. During my half hour with the game, I don't get very far, but a presentation video shows how you can actually drain the swamps to make the landscape a bit more Roman. And it's not only in relation to the environment that you are presented with this dilemma - should you try to adapt to the environment or should you adapt the environment to your Roman management style? The citizens of Albion are also anxiously waiting to see if you will preserve their local customs or throw them into a Roman toga.

"Imagine you are the Roman governor. You only know Italy, sunny beaches and fields. Here you meet a people who look completely different, with beards and tattoos, and they are very suspicious. If you just want to collect taxes and otherwise preserve their traditions, you can do that. Rome could be quite pragmatic and tolerant when it came to maintaining control over its provinces. But you can also Romanise them," explains Jan Dungel.

The first choice comes when I need to upgrade a household from level 1 to 2. By meeting your citizens' needs, you can upgrade them to a higher social status, enabling you to construct new buildings and gain access to new materials and goods. In Albion, you can choose between two upgrade paths that give access to different specialisations. The Celtic way of life focuses on small villages that take advantage of the marshlands, while the Romano-Celtic families prefer to live in larger towns and build aqueducts to drain the swamps.

I choose to follow the Roman path, but just like at home in Rome, it will never be the same in Albion, and I have instead taken the first step towards creating a hybrid culture. Incidentally, it is also possible to change your families' cultural affiliations later on.

A good workforce is the key to success in Anno 117: Pax Romana. Nothing happens by itself, and if you don't have workers to staff your various markets, farms and factories, you shouldn't expect any progress. In this context, it is also important that all buildings are connected by a well-designed road system, as goods and materials physically move between extraction sites, workshops and warehouses.

There's a lot to keep track of, but the interface works flawlessly, and even though it's been three months since I last tried my hand at being a Roman governor, I have no trouble finding the relevant functions. As I also highlighted in my first preview, I really like how production chains are grouped according to their output and these in turn are linked directly to the needs of the citizens. Graphically, the game also impresses. Albion is more bleak and harsh than sunny Latium, but it also has its own beauty, especially when the sun is low and casts red rays across the flat marsh water.

At launch, players will be able to take on both Latium (Italy) and Albion (England), and a province based on Egypt is planned as DLC. "And we might not end here," says game director Jan Dungel as he lists the game's locations. Considering that Anno 117: Pax Romana is set in the Roman Golden Age, where the empire stretches from Spain in the West to parts of modern Turkey in the East, the possibilities are many. For now, however, we're looking forward to the game's release on 13 November for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.