Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 in first-person? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked as I was the moment I learned this hidden feature. I must temporarily abandon managing my empire, delegate it to a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from a bird's-eye view. But, should you press a covert button sequence — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode is a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I wandered the lively avenues of my city and visited stalls, alehouses, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to see the fruits of my labor through a fresh lens. I observed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that besides being able to view agricultural plots, but also access them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, eye details, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then experimented with some number buttons 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. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
