The best Roman games for true Romans
Rome, sweet Rome, probably the most important forefather of western civilization, surprisingly is not featured in that many video games. Considered as one of the greatest civilizations and empires to have ever existed, you’d think Rome would be a popular setting for many different genres – in reality, it’s mostly strategy games of various kinds that make use of its rich history.
Sure, you’d expect the best Roman games to feature a great deal of military might, after all war is what forged the Imperium Romanum. But this civilization has left us a lot more to explore than just its martial glory, so we hope that once the industry is done sucking up to the Vikings it can turn its efforts to the Eternal City – just take any road, they all lead there.
Marching through Rome in a triumph was every general's greatest desire.
Creative Assembly
Now, friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your eyes, for here are some of the greatest games featuring Ancient Rome.
Rome: Total War
“Gods… I hate Gauls. My grandfather hated them too, even before they took out his eyes. Did you think I'd be out here on the frontier without good reason? Yes, Rome needs a strong frontier. No, Rome doesn't need unwashed barbarians at her gates! So, that's why I'm here, the leader of the Julii: to bring Roman order to stinking Gauls.”
Doesn’t this intro speech bring back memories? In Rome: Total War you control one of three great Roman houses and expand the empire at its borders while competing for public office back in the capital. Lead huge and overpowered armies with generals recruited from your family, who gain traits and followers as they age, govern, and fight, build great cities, and bide your time until you’re powerful enough to challenge the senate itself for the control of Rome – for the one who controls Rome, controls the world.
A remastered edition containing updated graphics and a few new features is available for this classic title as well.
Look at those visuals from the remastered version.
Creative Assembly / Feral Interactive
Ryse: Son of Rome
Now, while games like Rome: Total War are a mixed bag when it comes to authenticity (let’s not get into Ptolemaic Egypt using Bronze Age units and aesthetics), Ryse: Son of Rome is total and complete fiction – and thankfully it doesn’t pretend otherwise. Nevertheless, it’s pretty awesome. Featuring great graphics – it's a Crytek title after all – and a very fun combat system, it throws players into absolutely massive battles to save the empire from the barbarian onslaught. A spectacle.
Ryse: Son of Rome is a visual feast.
Crytek
Assassin's Creed: Origins
While not set in Rome itself, Assassin's Creed: Origins takes place in Ptolemaic Egypt, which at this point is a Roman vassal state ruled by the famous Cleopatra. The Roman presence is very visible in the game and you can even encounter notable personalities of the republic like Gaius Iulius Caesar, who helped Cleopatra secure her throne. It’s a shame that Assassin's Creed never explored the city of Rome itself during the height of its glory, but we can’t have it all, so let’s do it like Caesar and cruise down the Nile for a little vacation.
Ave Caesar!
Ubisoft
Shadow of Rome
Just like with Ryse, anyone knowing any Roman history will have to just convince their brain to shut off for this one. In Shadow of Rome, an action-adventure game by Capcom, you get to play through all that cool stuff the Romans loved to watch in their free time: gladiator fights and chariot races. You can even cut off limbs, grab them from the ground, and use them as weapons. Yeah. There are also some stealth levels, where you have to sneak around, hide bodies, and impersonate people.
It’s a wild ride, topped by the fact that the two playable characters are Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Gaius Iulius Caesar – the adopted son of the guy you’re thinking about. You might know him as Augustus, first emperor of Rome. Pretty sure they never fought as gladiators in an arena, but that's a small price to pay for some limb-swinging.
I must have missed this occasion when reading through the ancient sources.
Capcom
Expeditions: Rome
This tactical turn-based RPG also plays it loose with the facts, as your very presence can cause quite the difference in what ultimately becomes of the Roman republic, but the gameplay is in the right spot here. You can equip and customize your characters with whatever weapons, armor, and skills you prefer and then lead them out in challenging combat missions in Greece, North Africa, and Gaul.
While real history often has more interesting twists and stories to offer than anything modern writers can come up with, Expeditions: Rome actually is quite compelling in this department, putting together a great narrative.
Experience turn-based tactical greatness in Expeditions: Rome.
Logic Artists
Praetorians
Another tactics game set in the twilight years of the Roman republic – that is definitely the most popular era for game developers. Praetorians lets you play as Rome, a generic barbarian tribe, or Ptolemaic Egypt, which just like in Rome: Total War is presented in its Bronze Age incarnation for some reason. Gameplay-wise, though, Praetorians delivered deep and challenging tactical matches against the AI and other players as well as several long campaigns. While there is some recruitment and management in the game, it's focused heavily on larger scale battles.
A HD remaster for this title is available nowadays, making it playable on modern systems.
Be careful when marching through forests.
Torus Games / Pyro Studios
Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars
We’re finally going back a bit further in time. Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars (later renamed to Nemesis of the Roman Empire) depicts the, well, Punic Wars fought between Rome and its rival Carthage between 264 and 146 BCE. You might have even heard about a certain mad lad called Hannibal, who led his war elephants from Spain into Italy by traversing the Alps in winter – he was a genius Carthaginian general fighting in these wars and is featured in the game.
The Punic Wars had some fun gameplay ideas for the time, which integrated light RPG mechanics and a strategic map view on max zoom level.
Celtic Kings: The Punic Wars featured several different factions to play as.
Haemimont Games
Imperator: Rome
Though Paradox botched the launch of this grand strategy game, Imperator: Rome is an enjoyable experience nowadays after the developers pretty much overhauled most of the mechanics due to community backlash. If painting a map through sheer imperialism, building roads, murdering political opponents, and micromanaging the trade and population demographics of individual provinces is your thing, then Imperator: Rome has much to offer.
Big guys marching around a continental map? Must be a Paradox game.
Paradox
Caesar 4
Even this glorious city-builder can’t do without some combat, but Caesar 4 is the closest you can get to a peaceful game set in Ancient Rome. You’ve been appointed as governor of a new province and have to shore up its economy and defenses, building new cities and production chains. One might say that you’ll find cities built of brick and leave them behind in marble. Naturally, you’re not doing this out of the goodness of your heart, for you want to become the next emperor and practice makes perfect.
In Caesar 4 you can, in fact, build Rome in a day.
Tilted Mill Entertainment
Total War: Rome 2
We usually don’t include two games from the same series in lists like these, but since great games set in Ancient Rome are a rarity anyways it’d be a crime not to mention Total War: Rome 2. Though a buggy mess at launch, Creative Assembly put in the effort to turn this chariot around, supporting the game for years with well-received updates and DLC to unlock its full potential.
They even made Ptolemaic Egypt the actual Ptolemaic Egypt this time in a great victory for history enjoyers everywhere. Thanks to its long-term support and a bunch of fantastic mods such as Divide et Impera, Total War: Rome 2 is the ultimate strategy experience in this setting.
Oh, and if you can’t get enough of it, go ahead and play Total War: Atilla, which for some reason ended up being a standalone title instead of an expansion for this one. Not that I'm complaining. More Rome is always welcome.
Those are some long sticks.
Creative Assembly
Want to avoid sessions of the senate out of fear of getting stabbed to death? Understandable. Why not try the best space games instead? Nothing bad ever happens in space.
