Confused on Steam Play and Proton? Be sure to check out our guide.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Kingdoms and Castles is a great city-builder but it seems Lion Shield want to do something a bit different, so they've revealed Nova Roma. It was announced at the PC Gaming Show.

Clearly building upon the work they did for Kingdoms and Castles, they're aiming a bit higher here with a whole bunch of new mechanics but it still looks a bit familiar. You will need to adapt to heavy rains that will causing flooding and damage, keep up with the needs of all your citizens through food and entertainment and even deal with the gods. If the gods aren't happy with you, then you might find they unleash punishment on you. With it being based on a Roman theme it will explore the cultural, political, and military trials of the era.

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

Features:

  • Innovative new water mechanics that can be manipulated via infrastructure.
  • Complex supply chains requiring constant expansion into resource-rich countryside.
  • Population needs that range from food and finery to coliseums and games to keep the people entertained.
  • Intricate city management through laws, edicts, and a tech tree.
  • A new day/night cycle.
  • Confront the dangers of the world, whether it be barbarians, gods, or the jealous machinations of the old empire.
  • Bigger, better maps, better terrain sculpting, and much more!

From the press release:

“We’re honored to be working with Lion Shield on its next project,” says Tim Bender, CEO of Hooded Horse. “Kingdoms & Castles is a gold standard in city-building games, and we’re excited to publish the Roman-themed successor.”

“We’re pleased to work with Hooded Horse on Nova Roma, “ says Pete Angstadt, Creative Director and co-founder at Lion Shield. “We're building on everything we learned making Kingdoms and Castles and hope to create the best ancient Roman-era city builder we can, set in a world informed by both history and mythology."

You can follow it on Steam. It should have Linux support just like their previous game.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
11 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
11 comments
Page: 1/2»
  Go to:

Purple Library Guy Jun 13, 2023
Y'know, so many of these non-modern city builder things are vaguely medieval that it had never even occurred to me--architecture wise, Rome was so much cooler for this kind of thing.
kaiman Jun 13, 2023
Upon reading the headline, I was going to write that maybe they should turn Kingdoms and Castles into a proper game first before starting on the next one.

But after reading the article, I'd rather play Nova Roma instead :-).

It's not that I didn't enjoy Kingdoms and Castles for an evening or two, but it didn't really offer much once the city was established and fortified. Nova Roma sounds like it might have more complex and/or varied production chains and then also other mechanics that might make the game entertaining for a bit longer.
Cyril Jun 13, 2023
From the GOL homepage, I though it was an engine reimplementation of Zeus: Master of Olympus, but no.
benstor214 Jun 13, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: Purple Library GuyY'know, so many of these non-modern city builder things are vaguely medieval that it had never even occurred to me--architecture wise, Rome was so much cooler for this kind of thing.
Well, there is Caesar I-III (and Pharaoh/Cleopatra, Zeus/Poseidon) or more recently Nebuchadnezzar… also Builders of Egypt/Greece/China. Lastly the Pharaoh remake “New Era”.
Frankly, I can’t say anything to which is architecturally the most appealing as that is highly subjective.
Purple Library Guy Jun 13, 2023
Quoting: benstor214
Quoting: Purple Library GuyY'know, so many of these non-modern city builder things are vaguely medieval that it had never even occurred to me--architecture wise, Rome was so much cooler for this kind of thing.
Well, there is Caesar I-III (and Pharaoh/Cleopatra, Zeus/Poseidon) or more recently Nebuchadnezzar… also Builders of Egypt/Greece/China. Lastly the Pharaoh remake “New Era”.
Frankly, I can’t say anything to which is architecturally the most appealing as that is highly subjective.
It's not even a matter of appealing. I think medieval castles are awesome looking.
It's more like, the Roman era had a much stronger government that made various public buildings. Amphitheatres and circuses, dams and aqueducts, public baths . . . none of this stuff had a medieval equivalent. And they're all monumental and impressive. Plus they presumably have in-game functions, making the game more interesting.
Something about the trailer, with its aqueducts carrying water and its hippodromes having races and its circuses showing gladiators murdering each other for public entertainment just drove home that distinction for me.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 13 June 2023 at 10:58 pm UTC
hardpenguin Jun 14, 2023
Heck yes, Kingdoms and Castles was really good and got excellent support. I can only expect quality here!
benstor214 Jun 14, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter
Gladiators murdering each other? I guess we all find inspiration in different things 😄

But I get what you mean. Roman society was highly organised and roman cities were build by plan. They even copy/pasted whole cities across Europe. One could say the Roman empire had a system for city-building… it is a perfect setting for such games.
Cyril Jun 14, 2023
Quoting: benstor214
Quoting: Purple Library GuyY'know, so many of these non-modern city builder things are vaguely medieval that it had never even occurred to me--architecture wise, Rome was so much cooler for this kind of thing.
Well, there is Caesar I-III (and Pharaoh/Cleopatra, Zeus/Poseidon) or more recently Nebuchadnezzar… also Builders of Egypt/Greece/China. Lastly the Pharaoh remake “New Era”.
Frankly, I can’t say anything to which is architecturally the most appealing as that is highly subjective.

Don't forget Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, quoting Wikipedia:
QuoteEmperor is the last of the series to use the same 2D-sprite game engine as seen in the earlier titles, and the first to introduce a multiplayer option.
It's only available on GOG!
Thought I played a lot Zeus and Pharaoh, but not this one even though I have it in my collection.
14 Jun 18, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
I enjoyed Kingdom & Castles. I agree it was short, but that's OK because it didn't cost much.

I came into this article thinking I could skip the next one, but the trailer changed my mind. As long as it releases on GOG again, I will most likely buy it.
Kuduzkehpan Jun 24, 2023
Sweet add on for Linux Gamers. i like nice graphics with high quality mechanics. always.
And İ like to see Ottoman architecture too. even with support of famous builders as architech Sinan, and so on that would be awesome addition to the game mechanics.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.