Discover the fascinating history and strategic significance of Roman Citadelums in this captivating review of ancient military fortresses from the Roman Empire.
Roman strategy and city builders have long since inexplicably ceased to be a hot topic, at least for development studios, who have forgotten about the classical Mediterranean period in search of other kinds of adventures. Don’t get me wrong, games like Manor Lords have made a place in my heart and have stolen hours of my life, but where are the classics Caesar or Imperivm Civitas ? Well, in a response that I hardly expected, much less one that came from Spain, Citadelum appeared on my PC a few days ago , a project from the Abylight studio that seeks to mix mechanical and structural classicism with an understanding of city builders and management games so well measured that it surprises.
I have had the opportunity to follow the Catalan studio’s growing trajectory – at least in its development, not publishing, aspect – since Prison Tycoon: Under New Management, followed by One Military Camp , which made it clear to me that the national team hides more than its games may seem at first glance. Something that, in fact, has happened again with Citadelum, a project that I saw as a simple and direct city builder , and that in fact it is, and I have come across a game that appeals to the classic at the same time that, like an onion in a very well-measured reference to a certain DreamWorks film, hides several layers, each one more complex than the last, and that end up forming a project to take your hat off to .
First of all, it has a rewarding building system.
The idea is so simple that it is clear that Abylight has not thought of reinventing the wheel, and there is nothing wrong with that. The Barcelonans assumed that Citadelum should follow the path taken by other greats of strategy and urban management , and they hardly deviate from that path. With this new project, we will manage a city in the middle of the Roman Empire and our objective is as simple as not letting it fall into ruin .
To do this, Abylight has learned the ABCs of this type of game . Starting with a maximum forum, the cornerstone around which we will build our city, the national studio offers us a simple and effective construction system based on two clear pillars: the maxim that your upward trajectory has an impact on what you can build, and simplicity as a flag. Starting with the first of these two foundational pillars, Citadelum divides its good list of buildings according to the needs and their impact on our city, but expands it as we improve its boundaries. The greater the acceptance of the citizens and the greater the job offer, the more reputation levels we will gain that translate into new and more important buildings.
As you can see, Abylight is not far from the rest of the projects, but if you think that this foundational pillar is shaky, don’t worry, it is based on the second and most important one: its simplicity is a matter of study. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a city builder with such clear ideas when it comes to building . Unlike games that seek complexity and a meticulous construction system based on time, with Manor Lords forcing us to wait perhaps days to see a house built, Citadelum aims to be direct and that the idea that is going around in our heads about how to expand or improve the city can be realized instantly . Again, the Catalans do not rediscover anything; games like Imperivm Civitas limited the construction time to the maximum, but what Citadelum does is help make the games fast and frenetic .
These games are divided into nine missions that will take us to different places in the Roman Mediterranean, from Alexandria to Hispania , with predetermined maps and a small narrative shadow behind them, based entirely on Roman historiography. These missions include some small chores, nothing strange, rather typical tasks that you would do in a normal game, but with an associated reward; they are rather a slight excuse to change the air in already limited games. However, Citadelum also offers something that I have missed lately: a sandbox mode . Without ties, without time and with total freedom you can launch yourself into each of the nine aforementioned maps without the weight of a task to perform, although under the same conditions – type of soil, enemy soldiers or difficulties when negotiating with Rome – as in these missions.
Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer mode . Far from being a lack of risk, Citadelum is not a project that needs an online mode like other strategy and management games. In fact, the very core of its game world —and we will see later— completely prevents any kind of idea that includes more than one player. But it makes up for it with a map and mission editor , based on the aforementioned tasks, which seeks to feed off its community, where we can download and share maps and missions through Steam Workshop.
Mythology? Yes, but in moderation
One of the most curious details as I was slowly discovering the layers of this particular onion that is Citadelum, is its mythological side. Mythology is rooted in the Roman Empire to its very last consequences, I know. Already in those Imperivm Civitas, the possibility of building temples in honor of different deities, although as a more visual than playable mechanic, allowed to gain acceptance by the citizens by making it clear that the critical gaze of the gods was on their heads. The same happens in Citadelum, where the construction of temples to Jupiter or Mars has an impact on the satisfaction of the villagers, but also on that of the gods themselves.
Citadelum expands its horizons in this case towards a very Age of Mythology concept with clearly demarcated boundaries. It’s not that you can use them to fight against another faction, but Abylight is original when it comes to approaching this mechanic, exploring the possibilities of that divine acceptance and the greed and envy of a pantheon of gods that looks like a schoolyard. This means that the more you flatter a god, the more jealous the others will become, to the point that achieving the supreme worship of a particular god can be detrimental to us in a very funny way. If a god has a huge affinity with our city, he can walk around it like an all-powerful being whom we must honor; but if, on the contrary, there is an angry god , he can also walk around, causing havoc by destroying buildings and creating chaos.
It is a mechanic as deep as it is laughable , where we can see the good hand of the Barcelona studio when it comes to combining myths and logos in a clear and recognizable way. But what can be done to get along with everyone? Favoring one god or another is something that you will end up doing after several minutes of play, since their support is crucial for good growth. For this reason, Abylight has added a good list of micromechanics in the temples themselves. For example, we can celebrate festivals that last hours or even half a day, which will make us earn more of a god’s favor, or perform human or animal sacrifices to those same deities. This, in fact, has a certain historical basis, since in the early years of Rome, before the Empire, human sacrifices were not strange; something that ended up being replaced by the sacrifices typical of circus games.
The best thing of all is that nothing is eternal, everything changes. The approval or hatred of the gods is ephemeral and the more time passes between one holiday to Mars, for example, and another, the faster their smile will disappear and we will become little ants in their eyes. This adds a very welcome degree of iteration , where we can never escape the “game of thrones” of the gods, while we manage our city with a firm hand in a string of mechanics and needs that never become heavy or annoying for the player.
A nice list of microtasks and tasks to spice up the game
As I mentioned, Citadelum is one of those games that, the more you open it, the more it surprises you with its simplicity. And the fact is that, although the Catalans fly the flag of the basics with an urban system that is not tremendously complex , it hides a good system of micromanagement. Instead of working on a web of small tasks, causes and consequences, and impossible links between buildings, Citadelum goes for the classic and divides the impact of a building into a radius of action. This means that we won’t have to rack our brains with incomprehensible systems. A pharmacy will have a radius of action of several meters, leaving the villagers who are within that radius satisfied. Outside that circle, they do not fall within the tasks of said healer, so you have to build based on proximity and impact on the city .
Even here there are small details that keep you from looking away from the screen. This radius of action applies both to the buildings and to the quality of life of the villagers. Placing a fish shop will lower the residential charm of a domus, so the logical arrangement of the city on the map is necessary . Also, one of those details that many current city builders , based on past eras, have left aside, is the possibility of making our city pretty. Citadelum gives us the opportunity to spend hours building, in the purest style of those games by Haemimont Games, for the simple and mere fact of pleasing the eye. The paths are built based on squares, and next to them we can spend hours placing trees, statues, gardens, hedges and the like in a somewhat more restrained artistic display than its contemporaries, with a more cartoonish visual section than the rest, but with substance.
Building must also be done around the idea of an enemy invasion, as Citadelum is not a game that is afraid of a good clash of swords. Instead of placing barbarian cities on the same map, Age of Empires style , the scenario is entirely limited to our construction and expansion. For this reason, Abylight has been extremely clever and, instead of leaving aside the war component of the game, has divided its project into two types of scenarios: those focused on construction, and an overworld in the style of Civilization , where we will manage , democratically or militarily, our relationship with the neighbors .
Although raids occur less frequently than expected, especially in the first set of maps, we will find small population centers of barbarians ready to raze our city. We are not talking about a scale similar to that of Total War and, in fact, raids are based on randomness, but we can find ourselves besieged by these unholy barbarians. Citadelum opts for a combat system that perhaps should have been nourished by the ideas of Expeditions: Rome or the more recent Ara: History Untold . When we form our legions against an enemy, we can move the units in the style of the Creative Assembly saga when they enter combat. It is, perhaps, the least developed and most forgettable mechanic in the game . Abylight knows that it cannot offer depth in this aspect, so the clash of swords is limited to a simple give and take, waiting to finish off the enemy, which could have been replaced by an automatic victory or defeat system that would have maintained the same impact on the player.
5 things you should know
- Although it has missions, their duration is infinite.
- It has a quick and simple build system, perfect for beginners.
- Even in its simplicity, it hides a good system of tasks and management to keep us active.
- There is a general ‘overworld’ where we can trade and fight, but the combat system is the least impressive.
- It has a great map creation system and allows you to import community missions.
Citadelum, the new strategy and construction game from the Spanish studio Abylight, revives the nostalgia of the classic “city builders” of the Roman era, combining simplicity and modern mechanics. Its construction system, focused on expansion and reputation, allows for quick and agile games, with missions that take the player to different points of the Roman Empire. The best thing, and almost the biggest surprise, is how it incorporates its curious mythological component, where the gods have an active role in the city, influencing both the construction and the dynamic with the citizens.