Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as I was upon finding out this secret option. Allow me to briefly leave overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I was eager to experience it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this mode tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Once I crawled out, I walked the bustling streets across my settlement and explored markets, breweries, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to observe all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed numerous fine points I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that I could not just observe farming fields, but also access them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice any individual strands of hair, but you will see writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Yellow toga? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Shortly after I activated first-person mode, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A friendly native Celtic person then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and seeing opponents retreat, their arms flailing about, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
