Pax Augusta Review – Complex History Come to Life

Pax Augusta on PC

History teaches us lots of things, and more often than not, we find ourselves thinking we can do better. Whether that’s down to hindsight, hubris, or an actual level of expertise, that thought exercise has always remained theoretical. But for history buffs, particularly those with a keen interest in the Roman period, solo developer Roger Gassman and Senatis are providing an opportunity to prove your mettle with city builder Pax Augusta.

Positioned as a passion project for Gassman, it is easy to see just how much this means to the developer. The focus on the minutiae takes the experience to a whole new level, and not necessarily one that aligns well with, well, actual gameplay. Growth is organic and slow, a reflection of reality, and the main challenges are time and resources, rather than the more typical city-building problems that often draw attention to certain aspects of a game in the genre.

This is evident even in the tutorial, which is a must for anyone new to the game, considering the complexity of the underlying systems. Building roads, houses, and amenities, watching a fledgling economy grow, and then moving on to bigger things is how progress is measured in Pax Augusta. Eventually, you’ll move on to bigger and greater things and get a hang of just what a city needs to function back in the day.

Yet, at the same time, the tutorial fails to teach some fundamental basics, such as finances and production chains, sufficiently, forcing players to take two steps forward and one step back. If the point is to demonstrate just how taxing it is to grow something out of nothing, it definitely nails the brief; however, in terms of a game, that’s hard to sell.

Should you persevere, there is no doubt that witnessing your city come to life is an awe-inspiring experience. As different classes of people come to settle down, the demands change, the scale increases, and things get increasingly more complicated and impressive in the same measure.

There are numerous things to consider, and buildings can be further enhanced in a modular fashion by incorporating additional amenities. Think gardens or arcades like in the houses of Manor Lords, and you get the gist. Now add layers and layers to that, and that’s a taste of the incredibly dense settlements that you can build towards at the zenith of your rule.

It has never felt more fitting to admire what you have made possible, and that recognition also comes from others. The emperor is a vital figure to please, promotions are to be chased to unlock even more building options, and you can extend your reach with additional settlements.

This scale is impressive coming from a single person working on the project, and is well worth appreciating. But it also means other things will fall through the cracks. The aforementioned difficulty in getting into the game notwithstanding, the barrier to entry is also present in the UI and quality of life in general.

It can be awkward figuring out how to navigate, whether for specific buildings that require something or for accessing the larger world map. Menus are missing options that seem like no-brainers, advisory and warning pop-ups can be difficult to dismiss, and pathfinding bugs are common enough to warrant frustration. It’s one thing for progress to be halted because of my own actions; it is an entirely different matter if it’s due to the game.

Performance is also a significant issue. Crashes and bugs can happen quite a bit, and once you have a big town, things can slow down to a crawl, which is definitely not ideal. That’s not to say that these issues cannot be fixed, but it will take time, and for a full release instead of an Early Access title, players’ patience will be in short supply.

Outside of the gameplay elements, Pax Augusta delivers on its promise of helping aspiring leaders build the Roman city of their dreams. Going from humble beginnings to a megapolis is no mean feat, but it’s mainly because the game tends to work against you. There is potential, and a project born of passion is always worth supporting. At the same time, it is always working against the clock, just like the sun setting on a once great empire, as better things loom on the horizon.

Pax Augusta is available now on PC.