Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person View.

Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked as I was upon finding out this hidden feature. I must briefly leave managing my empire, leave it in a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.

Unlocking the First-Person Feature

In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. Yet, when you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the new release, yet I had doubts it would function prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode tends to be a little buggy at times).

Discovering the Ancient Streets

Upon freeing myself, I strolled the bustling streets of my city and explored shops, taverns, flower fields, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to witness my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Beyond Simple Strolling

Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that not only could I observe farming fields, but also access them. And even though I thought structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.

Graphics and Ambiance

Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting in a bench rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons now.

Discovery and Modification

Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).

Humor and Citizen Interactions

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Joy of Joyriding

Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).

Combat Limitations

The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration