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Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 in first-person? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as my own reaction upon finding out this concealed mode. Allow me to step away from my empire’s management, entrust it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and go for a joyride around the classical city.

Unlocking the First-Person Mode

As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should you press a covert button sequence — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam 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, but I wasn’t sure it would work before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode can be somewhat unstable occasionally).

Roaming the Roman Cityscape

After extracting myself, I wandered the busy roads across my settlement and explored shops, taverns, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to witness my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected all kinds of details that would escape notice from the top-down view: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Further Than Mere Wandering

Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to view crop lands, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.

Visual Quality and Atmosphere

Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe separate follicular elements, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. 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 nightmarish entities these days.

Experimentation and Customization

Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).

Comedy and Population Encounters

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed the first-person view, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”

The Thrill of Transportation

Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).

Fighting Restrictions

The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration