Anno 117 Pax Romana beats out its beloved predecessor as the series' best-rated game on Metacritic

The gladiator known by the mononym Ubisoft stands in the center of the arena, feet dusty with earth and skin flecked with blood. It has poured its heart and soul into creating another strategic historical sim, and only now will it know if the critics appreciate its efforts. The crowd in the Colosseum goes quiet as the Emperor of Critics stands. He produces his thumb. It points up. Or is down the good one? Forgive the slightly-tortured and probably-ahistorical metaphor, but I come bearing great news: Anno 117 Pax Romana is the highest-rated game in the series' history. In fact, it could be the best strategy game to release this year.

It's always best to take Metacritic scores with a pinch of salt, but they're generally useful for attaining a critical consensus of a game's release. It's still far better to touch base with the critics whose tastes or style most align with your own, but for a snapshot of whether or not a game is worth your time, it's not a bad metric to go on.

To that end, Anno 117 Pax Romana has garnered an impressive 85 on the platform, which has aggregated 39 reviews to reach that average. This is higher than any of its predecessors, including fan favorite Anno 1800 (81), Anno 1800 Console Edition (83), and Anno 2070 (83).

When it comes to other strategy games that have released this year, Civilization 7 reached an average of 79 on the platform, while the biggest strategy hits either just fall short or match Anno 117's impressive rating. Two Point Museum, for example, scores 84, and the esteemed Europa Universalis 5 scores 85.

With some mighty fine reviews under its belt, my excitement for Anno 117: Pax Romana is only growing. From the branching narratives and player-character options, to the empire that I can rebuild in my own image, this might be a dangerous game to install when I should be working…

For a man who ponders the Roman Empire so often it brings the average up for everyone else, I'm ecstatic that it's already being received positively. I'm holding my breath until it gets into the hands of players, mind, but if this comes close to the heights of Rome: Total War, I'll give Ubisoft the Emperor's thumbs up and allow it to exit the gladiatorial arena a free studio.