Anno 117 Pax Romana marks the first time the long-running city-building franchise dives into a fully ancient historical setting. Developed by Ubisoft Mainz and published by Ubisoft, the game launched in mid-November 2025, with the PC version unlocking globally on 12 November 2025 and the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions landing on 13 November 2025. It promises deep economic simulation, political choice, and province management — all wrapped in the golden age of Roman expansion.
The question is simple: can a franchise known for its PC-centric design deliver the same layered strategic joy on PS5, or do the cracks of empire show a little sooner on console?
Welcome to Pax Romana – Choose Your Province, Choose Your Fate
From the moment you begin your governorship, Anno 117 pushes you into the heart of Roman administration. You choose between provinces like the more established Latium or the rebellious frontier of Albion, and this choice dramatically shapes resource availability, cultural challenges, and long-term economic paths.
As governor under the watchful eye of Rome, your job is to stabilise, expand, and enrich your province. Whether you take a peaceful administrative approach or crack down on Celtic resistance with military pressure, the empire expects results — and the people expect a competent leader.
Gameplay – Classic Anno Depth with a Roman Twist
Fans of the franchise will instantly recognise the rhythm: build settlements, meet citizen needs, unlock advanced tiers, establish trade routes, and balance production chains with military, cultural, or diplomatic pressure. It feels immediately familiar, but the Roman flavour gives it a fresh identity.
Your early settlements start as small Roman encampments, but eventually grow into bustling cities full of villas, insulae, markets, forums, pottery workshops, and wine presses. Production chains are long, interconnected, and immensely satisfying to optimise. Watching a simple clay pit feed a pottery workshop that in turn satisfies an entire social class scratches the exact itch an Anno game needs to scratch.
The cultural differences between provinces are also more pronounced than past entries. Albion pushes you to manage Celtic influences, resource limits, and political tension, while Latium allows for more traditional Roman expansion. This duality adds replay value and a sense of diversity to each new run.
PS5 Performance – Stable but Mixed in Presentation
Technical performance on PS5 is stable, with smooth city-building even as your settlement scales. However, critical reception for the PS5 version is mixed when it comes to visuals, interface, and control ergonomics.
Some reviewers — and honestly, I’m right there with them — feel that the UI can get a bit overcrowded. You can tell parts of it were born on PC, with dense menus and a few too many layers that require extra clicks when you’re on a controller. Digging through the deeper economic screens with a thumbstick sometimes feels a little fiddly, almost like the game is gently nudging you toward a mouse and keyboard.
That said, not everyone shares the same gripe. I’ve also seen plenty of praise for Ubisoft Mainz’s efforts to make the experience work on console. The radial menus, the quick shortcuts, and the general layout show clear thought, and a lot of players feel the PS5 version handles complex strategy surprisingly well. Visually, too, it pops on a 4K TV — bright landscapes, crisp buildings, and a presentation that really sells the Roman world.
The bottom line? The PS5 version plays well, but how comfortable you feel with it is going to depend heavily on your background. If you’re a PC strategy veteran, some parts of the UI might rub you the wrong way. If you’re used to console management games, you’ll likely settle in just fine.
One last thing: the PS5 does support keyboard and mouse. Plugging them in shifts the experience noticeably closer to the PC version and makes navigating the interface far smoother. It’s absolutely worth trying if you want the “true” Anno feel on console.
Campaign – A Helpful Introduction, but Not a Grand Epic
The campaign structure acts more like an extended tutorial and narrative tour through the game’s mechanics. It provides charming characters, a guided progression, and several province-specific dilemmas that introduce you to economic, political, and cultural systems.
However, critical opinion is split. Some enjoy the campaign’s steady pacing and approachable structure, while others feel it lacks deeper storytelling or emotional investment. It gets the job done — introducing systems and grounding you in the setting — but it’s the sandbox mode where the game truly spreads its wings.
Sandbox & Replay Value – The Roman Empire Never Ends
Once you’re free from the campaign’s structure, Anno 117 becomes a beautifully open-ended strategy playground. The variety of provinces, randomised maps, production specialisations, trade networks, and cultural balancing acts gives the game substantial replayability.
Do you build an efficient economic powerhouse? A military stronghold enforcing Rome’s will? A cultural melting pot bridging Roman and Celtic traditions? Or do you obsessively rearrange your city layout until every road, statue, and aqueduct aligns perfectly?
Whatever your approach, the sandbox is where the true addictiveness kicks in.
Visuals – Pleasant, Functional, but Not Next-Gen Jaw-Dropping
The PS5 version delivers clean environments, attractive lighting, and lively animations. Cities look impressive as they scale, and watching citizens move through Roman streets is a joy.
That said, the visuals do not push the PS5’s limits. Textures, LOD transitions, and fine details sit closer to a high-end PS4 Pro title than a cutting-edge PS5 showcase. It still looks good — just not stunning.
Final Thoughts – A Strong Roman City-Builder with Console Caveats
Anno 117: Pax Romana succeeds where it truly matters: deep city-building, satisfying economic chains, and an absorbing progression loop. The Roman theme elevates the experience, giving it style and historical flavour that make the grind feel fresh and engaging.
On PS5, the game is absolutely playable and often enjoyable, with stable performance and a lot of strategic depth. But whether it feels great or just good depends largely on your preferred input method. Controller adaptation is competent but not perfect. Keyboard and mouse users will have a smoother ride.
If you’re a strategy fan limited to consoles, this is one of the strongest city-building titles available. If you own a capable PC, that version remains the ideal way to experience the full finesse of Anno’s interface.
A small post-launch note: a minor controversy arose around a few instances of placeholder AI-generated artwork, which Ubisoft addressed and planned to patch. It does not affect gameplay, but is worth mentioning for transparency.
Anno 117: Pax Romana Trailer
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The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
The review was written by me and edited by my partner.
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