Bulletin: News on the gameplay of Anno 117: Pax Romana, a new Black Myth game, and more!

This week’s bulletin discusses the biggest historical announcements of Gamescom 2025, along with two new and upcoming games: Hell is Us and Mythmatch.

Gamescom – The New & Exciting World In The Famed Anno Builder Franchise

Ubisoft has developed a game that may look similar to the successful Anno 1800, but it offers plenty of new content and in-game systems to keep builder franchise fans hooked. Anno 117: Pax Romana now allows players to choose which region they want to start in: the luscious green hills of Latium or the wild marshlands of Albion. Placing production buildings in residential areas challenges players to be more strategic with their city’s layout, as the placement has a direct impact on the surrounding houses’ income. Albion offers the most new content compared to Latium, as the surrounding marshlands offer different foods, resources, and building materials than what players might be used to. The marshlands, and therefore the need for boardwalks, add another interesting layer of gameplay, causing players to be more mindful about the layout of their city and the gathering of resources from the moment they start their settlement. But perhaps the most interesting addition to this game is the cultural shift that presents itself when the player levels up their houses. Upgrading the houses in Albion allows the players to choose whether they would like their inhabitants to maintain their Celtic way of life, or whether they would like their inhabitants to convert to a Roman lifestyle, becoming “Romano-Celts.” This choice has an impact on the future of the player’s settlement. In the end, it is obvious that Anno 117 offers plenty of new content for gamers to play around with. The game will be released on the 13th of November 2025.

(Video credit: Ubisoft)

Gamescom – Giants, Monsters, And Ghosts, Oh My!

New content is added to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as the latest DLC, The Order of Giants, dropped on September 4th, 2025. The DLC contains a new questline as Indy goes on a search through Rome, where he encounters the remnants of the Mithras Cult, Emperor Nero, and most importantly, the fictional secret society of giants: “The Nephilim-order.”

The slightly funny-sounding but oh-so terrifying horror studio Bloober Team released their newest game Cronos: The New Dawn. The retro-futuristic game with an Eastern European flair has the player fighting nightmarish monsters in an apocalyptic wasteland that is the future, whilst also travelling back in time to industrial and politically unstable 1980s Poland to witness the cataclysmic event that caused the end of the human world as we know it. The dual timeline allows players to experience the crossover of Past and Present.

Continuing in a different part of the world, studio Game Science announces the development of Black Myth: Zhong Kui, which focuses on the mythological ghost-catching god of Chinese folklore and myth, who wanders between hell and earth. Like Black Myth: Wukong, this game is another single-player ARPG. The release date has not yet been announced.

(Video credit: IGN)

These Games Highlight The Thin Line Between Fiction & Reality

Although the games look starkly different, with one taking place in a country divided by civil war and overtaken by monsters and another in a cute, colourful representation of Ancient Greece, both Hell is Us and Mythmatch discuss serious topics, holding up a mirror to modern society’s problems. Rogue Factor’s Hell is Us (released September 4th, 2025) takes place in the fictional country Hadea, where the main character is looking for his parents. The 3rd person action-adventure game is lightly based on the wars that took place in the 90s, which is evident by some of the design choices that were made in the game. Rogue Factor knows that certain parallels might be drawn between the game and the current state of affairs in Gaza and other parts of the world by people who play the game, but technical designer Simon Girard has explained that the game is completely and utterly fictional. The studio understands, however, that the emotional impact of having to live and survive in a war-torn country, which is one of the key elements of the story in the game, might resonate with a lot of people. On the other side, we have Mythmatch (release date to be announced), which uses its cute style, funny script, and puzzle-solving narrative adventure gameplay to discuss institutionalised sexism and misogyny in the professional field. The player plays as Artemis, who, after she is rejected by the gods, goes in search of people who will accept and love her. The indie game developers Team Artichoke wanted to create a game that is not only fun to play for a large group of people but also conveys a message of belonging and power to the players. So while Mythmatch intentionally criticices modern society, although hidden underneath a soft surface, Hell is Us does it less intentionally, but nevertheless not less impactful.

(Image credit: Steam)

(Image credit: Steam)

Saying Goodbye To Rains Fall

Canadian First Nations (Oneida) actor Graham Greene, known in the gaming community as Chieftain Rains Fall from the award-winning game Red Dead Redemption 2, passed away on the 1st of September at the age of 73. Although the actor is best known for his performances on the big screen, his character in the fictional-historical game had a significant impact on players and was a beloved character by many. Graham will be missed.