Roman Empire city builder Nova Roma will test your disaster management, from flooded aqueducts to the wrath of the gods

As much as I love laying out infrastructure and planning traffic routes, when I think back to the best city builders in history, from SimCity 2000 through to Cities Skylines, it's the times things went wrong that stick in my mind. Dealing with disaster is a crucial part of good town management, and newcomer Nova Roma will put those skills through their paces. The beautiful Roman Empire sim from Lion Shield and indie strategy publisher Hooded Horse has finally set a date, and we'll be getting our hands on it in January.

Lion Shield describes Nova Roma as a spiritual successor to its excellent Kingdoms and Castles, which earned itself a reputation as one of Steam's best simulation games (and a 93%-positive user review score) thanks to its detailed logistics model. The developer's next project looks to share a lot of that same DNA: casual enough for anyone to pick up but with the depth to keep you coming back, and with a unique and bold art style to match. In particular, the studio warns that you'll want to keep some good boots to hand, because it sounds like it's going to get wet.

Nova Roma sees you attempting to rebuild the Roman Empire on fresh lands in the wake of its dramatic collapse. Alongside the setting, water is one of its biggest additions compared to its predecessor. You'll need to manipulate and control its flow if you're going to see your settlements thrive. That means building dams and aqueducts, but you must do so with care; should something go awry you'll quickly find your city succumbing to floods.

Making things even more difficult are the barbarians lurking in the wilds, who will take any opportunity to plunder your villages. Even more threatening are loyal legions of the old Empire, who may show up in an attempt to drag your lovingly crafted Nova Roma back into the fold.

There's one more major wrinkle in proceedings; the gods. The Greco-Roman pantheon is present in full force, and you'll need to please them with grand displays of worship. You'll be able to complete quests to curry favor with various deities, but be warned; those you've left on the back seat may feel a little jealous, and you could find yourself on the wrong end of some wrathful vengeance, whether it comes by fire or flood.

Nova Roma will be released in early access on Thursday January 22 via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store, and it'll also be available with PC Game Pass on day one. You can wishlist it now if you want to be notified when it launches.

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