Review Expeditions: Rome Review IGN

A RPG where you are leading armies against King Mithridates the one minute and then having legal arguments with Cicero the next moment is like catnip to a history lover like me. While I tend not to root for Romans, the Expeditions: Rome challenge doesn’t make me feel that way. It is a nuanced, well-written portrayal of a turbulent era that was populated by complex characters and few “good guys”. It captures the spirit of the Late Republic that has fascinated us for thousands upon years. However, it does play loose with some historical details.

There are three acts that can take 20 hours, depending on how meticulous you like to be. Expeditions: Rome is a great place to sink your gladius. Sometimes, it’s too much. You can customize your Praetorian Guard in turn-based tactical battles or with legions in semi-random mass fighting systems. Commanders and tactics can be chosen to affect the outcome. There are single-use battle consumables, tactics cards and gear customization that you can create, as well as traditional RPG loot and tactical skills to level up. Many of the army stats aren’t ever actually explained either – for example, Legion Experience says it makes you fight better, but doesn’t go into more detail than that, and I would often lose a bunch for no discernible reason even in a battle where I didn’t take many casualties. The tooltips and in-game tutorials don’t offer much help.

It was great fun, even if I wasn’t sorting through piles and piles of identical armor or trying figure out mass combat. Tactical battles are an absolute highlight. They present a challenging task even on the default difficulty. There is plenty of opportunity to make a disaster a win with smart planning and the use of the four classes in unison. The shielded Principes are able to deflect ranged attacks from the front, while the spear-wielding Triarii attack from the second row. Meanwhile, the swift Velites outflank and do the damage. It was amazing to see the variety of scenarios available, from epic multi-stage sieges that result in injuries and deaths that carry over from map to another, making it impossible for me not feel bored. You can complete some maps without fighting if your strategy is right. One map I completed required me to stack speed buffs on my fastest archer, and treat it as a rush play in football.

I wish the mass battle was as thrilling. There are many things you can do to improve your chances of winning. In-between these decisions, icons will wiggle around and casualty figures be applied to either party based on hidden dice rolls I still don’t understand 60 hours later. Why is it that my side gets twice the number of attrition events despite having overwhelming numerical superiority and a logistics-skilled commander? Although I was happy with the number of levers that I had to pull, it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have a concrete understanding of how the system works under the hood.

Screens – Expeditions Rome

The thrilling adventure of conquering Asia Minor, North Africa, and then Gaul is full of unexpected twists. The city of Rome, with its vibrant antique glory, is visited by almost all of the greatest figures of the era. It is a historical playground that rivals Assassin’s Creed. It isn’t slavishly faithful to the sources but it does go out of its way for small details, such as the pronunciation of classical Latin.

You will need to think about how to keep your troops motivated, even when you have to ask them to do something risky. Interesting random events will also pop up as you explore – I particularly liked one where I found a village of women whose husbands had been killed by Mithridates and was able to arm them to harass his forces, which came in handy later. Different centurions will respond positively or negatively depending on your choices. These can be stoics, warlikes, mercifuls, or hedonistic. There are many choices that you will have to make, which may not be as simple as A or B dialogue choices. Also, there is almost no right or wrong answer. The voice acting throughout is excellent, too, with a historically accurate diverse cast including a Mauretanian ex-gladiator, an aged Greek warrior-turned-philosopher, and yes, even Caesar himself. Each one is fascinating and has an interesting backstory.