If you think the citizens in city builders are grumpy and needy, try pleasing a bunch of jealous Roman gods

If you think the citizens in city builders are grumpy and needy, try pleasing a bunch of jealous Roman gods | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these City Builder The city builders of 2026 will let us build in some wild places, including a Pokémon-style world filled with collectible creatures Roguelike Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven presented a great opportunity to make the game harder, but the devs promise they weren’t ‘necessarily trying to stress players out’ City Builder ‘Brutally honest’ city builder Microlandia gets brutally honest crime simulation: ‘It’s a spectrum of consequences that can become a death spiral every single day’ City Builder Manor Lords’ dev is experimenting with a new trading system that allows for ‘deliberate economic strategies’, including establishing monopolies on resources Strategy Terra Invicta review Strategy Heart of the Machine review: A fascinating grand strategy RPG that starts to buckle under its own ambitions Sim Peter Molyneux’s Masters of Albion looks like three games in one, but it also looks like none of them is any good Sim Masters of Albion is a ‘Best of Peter Molyneux’ greatest hits collection in one game, but I fear it might not measure up to the games that inspired it Life Sim Starsand Island is the first can’t-miss cozy game of 2026 and it’s already taken over 20 hours from me Roguelike I’ve just found a new cutesy Balatro, but instead of a deck of cards you get to tend to a garden and harvest flowers MMO Social sandbox MMO Pax Dei is free to play this weekend, which is perfect for solo survival game enjoyers like me who are curious about all the community features Life Sim Life sims are in a slump and the only way out is becoming strategy games again Sim I’m a Wizard, But I Dig combines my love of Minecraft strip-mining, casting spells, and little blob creatures in one big magical mining sim Sim I thought Fishing Shop Simulator was a joke after I saw mechs in ancient Rome, but after two hours with its demo, I’m hooked Sim I didn’t expect to kidnap alligators, save Woodstock or give people dysentery in a game called Transport Fever 3—but here we are Popular PC Gamer ClipsCrimson DesertMarathonBest PC gearGDCQuizzes Games City Builder If you think the citizens in city builders are grumpy and needy, try pleasing a bunch of jealous Roman gods Features By Christopher Livingston published 24 March 2026 In city builder Nova Roma, the gods can make life easier for you—just don’t turn your back on them. 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Let their neighborhood flood and next thing you know they’ll be asking for ways to respectfully dispose of the bloated corpses of the dead. There’s just no way to please them!Strap in, governors, because demanding citizens are just a small challenge compared with the crowd of needy gods you need to keep happy. In city builder Nova Roma, the Roman Empire has fallen and you and a handful of villagers slink away to start a new civilization in a pristine land. The gods are coming with you.I began my new civilization on a lovely island split in two by a massive waterfall and river, a perfectly picturesque spot for a hopeful little city. I gave my earnest little villagers their first in a long series of chores like chopping trees and gathering stone to construct our first buildings: hovels, farms, wells, and quarries.Article continues below You may like The city builders of 2026 will let us build in some wild places, including a Pokémon-style world filled with collectible creatures Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven presented a great opportunity to make the game harder, but the devs promise they weren’t ‘necessarily trying to stress players out’ ‘Brutally honest’ city builder Microlandia gets brutally honest crime simulation: ‘It’s a spectrum of consequences that can become a death spiral every single day’ But there’s another i