Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Impressive First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction upon finding out this secret option. Allow me to briefly leave overseeing my civilization, leave it in a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, 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 from an overhead perspective. But, should you press a covert button sequence — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature can be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that besides being able to observe crop lands, but also access them. And even though I thought structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then experimented with various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought 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. Completely unexpectedly, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces during active combat and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.
