Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked as I was when I discovered this concealed mode. I must briefly leave overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana usually operates from a bird's-eye view. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was part of the previous Anno title, I felt excited to experience it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this option is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
After extracting myself, I walked the bustling streets across my settlement and visited markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to observe my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to Anno 117’s first-person mode beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited the moment I learned that besides being able to view farming fields, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, eye details, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like terrifying apparitions now.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and back. I then decided to hit certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You may carry a sword and shield, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.