Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.

Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction upon finding out this secret option. Excuse me while briefly leave overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.

Unlocking the First-Person Mode

Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is typically played from an overhead perspective. However, if you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to try it out in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (likely not meant to happen — this feature is a little buggy at times).

Discovering the Roman Cityscape

Upon freeing myself, I wandered the busy roads across my settlement and toured markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to observe all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed numerous fine points that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.

Further Than Mere Wandering

However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that not only could I observe farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access mud extraction sites, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.

Appearance and Mood

Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe separate follicular elements, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, eye details, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons these days.

Testing and Personalization

Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).

Humor and Citizen Interactions

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the first-person view, 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.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Thrill of Transportation

Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).

Fighting Restrictions

The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.

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