We Love It's Guide to…
Lead Roman settlers from village to metropolis, balancing citizen needs, supply chains, demanding gods, and engineered waterways.
Released 26 Mar 2026
Redirect Rivers
Build Roman Aqueducts
Raise Tiered Dams
The glory of Rome is at your fingertips in this city-building game where you must appease the gods, enact laws, and develop complex supply chains to meet the needs of your citizens.
Developed by Lion Shield · Published by Hooded Horse
After the Roman Empire falls into decline, you lead a small group of citizens to establish a new settlement. Develop it from a modest village into a larger city by planning neighborhoods, services, and workplaces around the needs of a growing population.
Manage production and distribution across chains of raw materials and finished goods, supplying residents with essentials and amenities such as food, pottery, wine, and entertainment. Build temples to honor the gods and complete their requests to gain points for unlocking technologies, while making decisions about taxation and expansion.
Shape the landscape with dams, canals, and aqueducts to redirect water for farming and city services. Water flow, soil fertility, rainfall, and flooding affect how your settlement develops, while raids can put buildings and citizens at risk.
Players who enjoy the game often praise its distinctive water systems and the planning they bring to city-building, along with the satisfying growth of settlements and production chains. Some also appreciate the Roman setting and a progression pace that lets them expand at their own speed. Recurring criticisms focus on fiddly cart logistics, frustrating or unclear god demands, and water systems that some players find difficult to predict; several reviews also describe limited goals or repetition later in a playthrough.
As the once-great Roman Empire falls into decadence and decay, you lead a small band of citizens in search of new lands hoping to build Nova Roma – a bastion for all that was once good in the Empire. Starting from a humble village, you must appease the gods with grand temples, sate your citizens’ many needs, and build a society that will be the envy of the world for millennia to come.
A wise city planner knows how to harness the world around them. Erect massive dams and aqueducts to control the flow of water as you reshape the land into artificial watersheds and reservoirs, paying close attention to how your actions impact soil fertility, or how a particularly rainy season might flood your city. Seek distant resource deposits and build infrastructure to transport raw materials and processed goods across massive stretches of untamed territory. Will you strike a delicate balance between the growing urban sprawl of your city and the risks of rapid expansion? Or will your hubris risk the wrath of the gods and nature itself?
Contend with a growing list of needs and desires as more people flock to your city – from pottery and wine to bread and games, it is your responsibility to keep the people happy and safe. Watch them grow into artisans, gladiators and thespians, and guide them through life as they spend their days toiling, and their nights enjoying the fruits of their labor.
As you consider matters of taxation and technological advancement, do not forget the powers that stand above you - build grand temples to the gods, avoiding their wrath and seeking their blessings to bolster your capabilities and ensure the continued prosperity of Nova Roma.
Featuring intricate water and weather simulations and the ever-present threat of divine intervention, Nova Roma explores the cultural, and social trials of the era. Take charge of your small Roman town and grow it into a bustling metropolis that will stand the test of time!
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
|---|---|
| Steam Deck | Playable |
| Achievements | 36 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller required | No |
| Demo | View demo on Steam |
| Website | Official website |
