If Greek and Roman mythology has taught me anything, it’s that the gods are petty and fickle.
Myriad tales support this claim: one need look no further than Homer’s Odyssey to see the vengeful and cruel antics the ancient Mediterranean pantheon got up to. One could only imagine the stress of being a citizen in such a world, much less the governor of an entire city, where one accidental slight against a huge pantheon of gods could lead to your entire civilization being wiped out by a flood, a firestorm, or some sea of monsters born from drunken relations or even pranks from the gods themselves.
If the thought of such a challenge appeals to you, then you need look no further than Nova Roma, a city-building sandbox that challenges you not only to build a new civilization under the jealous gaze of the failing Roman Empire, but to do so while juggling the various attentions of the gods.
With the premise of being a colony formed of freed Roman prisoners, you go out to start your own Roman Australia on a randomly generated chain of islands. With simulated colonists, each one physically filling jobs and each household needing a supply of specific goods to avoid unhappiness or outright death, it’s up to you to build a steadily growing city while juggling the needs of your citizens with the demands of the Roman pantheon.
Yes, Nova Roma has you interact with the actual gods of Rome and Greece, building temples that must be dedicated to each one specifically. Doing so provides a small buff to nearby buildings, which is nice, but is mostly done to avoid the jealous wrath of unworshiped gods. Yes, gods who are unsatisfied with your worship, either because you haven’t completed their tasks or because you haven’t built a temple to them, will smite your city with a series of disasters that will make the whole surviving thing harder to do. Their favor is also required to progress through the game’s tech tree, so it’s generally a good idea to stay on their good side.
I found myself genuinely impressed with Nova Roma‘s mix of complexity and easy-to-understand mechanics. The game features no real tutorial, tempering your progression behind building unlocks, god missions, and the basic needs of your citizens. Even without one, however, I quickly came to understand all of the game’s mechanics without needing them explained to me directly. While they were easy to grasp, the game wasn’t overly simple in the slightest; the simulation was easy to understand yet still demanded a fair amount of attention to work properly.
Expanding too fast without properly preparing your crops will see your people die and rot in the streets. Building too much will destroy your job pool, making it hard, actually, to get anything done. Ignoring the gods or favoring one too much will see you drowning in a literal flood, though those can also just happen in a particularly rainy season, so you should avoid building too close to the riverbank.
A bit more of a tutorial would be appreciated, however, as I can see how other players might not understand the mechanics as quickly or as clearly as I did. I also found myself restarting several times, not because I necessarily ruined a playthrough, but because new knowledge made the game easier to play, and I can see other players not wanting to do this.
Like Manor Lords, the game also features occasional raids from the jealous Romans who want to tear down everything you’ve built. Combat mechanics aren’t all that complicated, but the added defensive element adds a fun secondary game to challenge you beyond simple economics.
Nova Roma has a lot going for it, but being that it’s in Early Access, you can expect some bugs.
The most noticeable issue during my playthrough had to do with building placement and the game’s terrain. When placing buildings on the game’s uneven terrain, it’s supposed to flatten slightly, resulting in believable-looking placement. This isn’t currently working properly in the Early Access version of the game, and you’ll find buildings overhanging hills with mysterious gaps underneath their foundations. In a city-building game, half the fun is looking at the gorgeous city you’ve made, so this is definitely an immersion-breaking problem that takes away from the experience.
Other small bugs seemed to occur with how the game handled the transportation of resources. For example, at times, my charcoal production buildings would have no issues operating on their own. Other times, there would be no wood available for the building, despite a clear surplus. I think the game’s AI would occasionally fail to deliver goods to buildings, or the buildings themselves would fail to begin the production cycle for various reasons I couldn’t figure out. These were rare problems, though, and the game was overall functional.
Overall, Nova Roma is an interesting city builder that’s in a pretty solid state for an Early Access game. It has some work to be done, with both minor and major bugs needing to be polished, and some key content, such as more gods, currently missing from the game, but I would definitely suggest checking it out if it’s caught your interest. I’ll personally be keeping my eye on the full release to see what the final product has to offer.
Pros:
- A unique premise for a city-building title, combining city management, defense, and fickle-god worship
- A strong mixture of Roman history and mythology, with heavy attention to historical and fantastical detail
- Systems that are both complex but easy to understand, challenging but without long tutorials
Cons:
- Some minor bugs in the current Early Access build, varying from visual to mechanical
- Something of a steep learning curve, where the lack of direct tutorials can make your first game or two a little awkward
TryHardGuides was provided a Steam code for this PC Early Access Review of Nova Roma. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page!
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