Citadelum

About

Citadelum is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Abylight Barcelona and was released on October 17, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Citadelum" is a strategy game where you must build and manage a settlement, gathering resources, training legions, and expanding territory through tactical combat. Experience advanced armies and explore the world to find mythological objects, while protecting your city with towers and walls. As you grow, establish trade routes and manage your economy to ensure the survival and prosperity of your population.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 370 reviews

gameplay23 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

Citadelum successfully captures the nostalgic feel of classic city builders like Caesar III, providing a familiar gameplay experience with modern graphics.
The game features a unique god mechanic that adds an interesting layer of strategy, allowing players to appease deities for bonuses or face consequences for neglect.
The combat system is engaging, allowing players to control armies in battles on a separate map, adding a tactical element to the city-building experience.

The gameplay can become repetitive quickly, as missions often feel similar and lack unique challenges or objectives, leading to a sense of monotony.
The graphics, while modern, can be inconsistent, with some elements like trees and god animations appearing outdated or poorly designed.
The game lacks depth in its economic and resource management systems, making it easy to achieve success without much strategic planning.

gameplay
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
7%
The gameplay of Citadelum is a blend of classic city-building mechanics reminiscent of the Caesar series, enhanced with modern graphics and some new features. While the game offers a visually appealing experience and a solid foundation for city management, many players find the mechanics to be overly simplified and lacking depth, particularly in combat and resource management. Despite its engaging elements, such as god mechanics and a rewarding gameplay loop, the overall experience can feel repetitive and frustrating due to confusing mechanics and a lack of significant improvements over its predecessors.
- “The gameplay loop is rewarding and doesn't come across many roadblocks.”
- “Citadelum does a fantastic job of taking inspiration from Caesar 3 and implementing modern mechanics and graphics while keeping the same spirit behind the management basis.”
- “The city management mechanics are solid, with a great balance between resource gathering, building, and expanding your settlement into a magnificent Roman city.”
- “The gameplay is simply broken.”
- “If, after two hours of gameplay, I am still frustratedly clicking on individual buildings with 20-40 tiny goods icons and a number, with no idea of what goes where from where and how the supply streams work, it's missing some immersion chances.”
- “All buildings, all troops, all mechanics are available in all missions, making campaigns very boring.”
story
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
81%
8%
The game's story is criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many missions feeling repetitive and disconnected from a larger narrative. Players note that while there are numerous missions, they often follow the same formula, leading to a monotonous experience. Despite some enjoyable elements and potential for community-created content, the overall campaign lacks engaging challenges and a compelling storyline, making it difficult for players to remain invested.
- “The game has a great storyline with plenty of action-packed maps and challenges.”
- “Citadelum comes with a 10 mission campaign provided by the developers, following along with the rise of the Roman Empire.”
- “The missions increase in difficulty and it's fun to build up your city every mission, each time going just a little bigger than the last.”
- “Every mission is the same; there's no challenge at all.”
- “The campaign is presented very rudimentary and boring; after half of the second 'tutorial' mission, I went to sandbox.”
- “The big problem, in my opinion, is that the missions so far seem very similar, lacking specialized objectives and zone-specific resources.”
graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
51%
5%
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many players praising the beautiful art style, detailed building interiors, and overall aesthetic appeal that evoke nostalgia for classic city builders like Caesar III. However, some critiques mention issues with optimization, camera angles, and the need for improvements in certain visual elements, such as the combat interface and anti-aliasing. Overall, while the graphics are considered a strong point, there are suggestions for further enhancements to elevate the visual experience.
- “The graphics are stunning - I often just spend 10-15 minutes just watching the little settlement I've created come to life.”
- “The game also shines with its stunning graphics, bringing the beauty of ancient Rome to life in a way that feels immersive and rich in detail.”
- “I love the graphics, the gameplay.”
- “The gods interface and Olympus visuals need improvement.”
- “The brown aesthetic and blurring at the screen edge gets really tiresome, and the camera field of view is a bit low.”
- “The optimization is a little poor, and the graphics could use some tuning; anti-aliasing and shadows seem off.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its atmospheric quality and ability to evoke a Roman theme, while others find it lacking originality and memorable elements, likening it to stock music. Despite the varied opinions, many appreciate the soundtrack's thematic ties to the game's setting, though some feel it doesn't fully capitalize on its potential. Overall, the music is described as decent but not exceptional, with a few standout moments that resonate with fans of historical city-building games.
- “First of all, I love the graphics, the music, and the UI.”
- “Has a wonderful soundtrack that captures the Roman feel.”
- “The UI is clean, the pacing is chill, and the soundtrack makes you feel like a Roman emperor.”
- “The soundtrack is nothing to write home about.”
- “The Roman-themed soundtrack has loads of potential, and that is not here.”
- “The music is boring and forgettable.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
42%
29%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the variety of graphics options and find it generally playable, many report performance issues, particularly on higher settings, leading to overheating and stuttering. Despite these concerns, a recent update (v2.0) has reportedly improved performance significantly. Overall, while the game is enjoyable, it still requires further optimization to enhance the experience for users with varying hardware configurations.
- “This game has a lot of graphics options and feels optimized!”
- “Edit- v2.0 released on 11 Apr 2025 fixes all the below criticism on performance.”
- “The game is very clean and polished for a release (no game-breaking bugs, good optimization and cute graphics).”
- “The optimization is a little poor and the graphics could use some tuning (anti-aliasing and shadows seem off).”
- “Unfortunately, the game is not optimized. With my computer (i9-11900k, 32GB RAM, 3060ti), I can only play this game on normal settings at 60 fps. My GPU was at 85%, and if I set higher settings, it loads at 100% and my computer starts freezing.”
- “On low settings (with no anti-aliasing), the game is playable, but any attempt to switch to medium or high results in sluggish performance and GPU overheating.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the farming and management elements, others find them tedious and repetitive. The gameplay can feel overly simplistic and sometimes frustrating, particularly during combat and city management, leading to a sense of monotony after extended play. Overall, enjoyment of the grinding largely depends on individual preferences for resource management and exploration.
- “After about ten hours, I found it tedious.”
- “With simplistic enemy encounters, defending your city becomes tedious rather than exciting.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed positively, with many players noting a high replay value due to sandbox options and varied gameplay experiences. However, some comparisons to other titles suggest that it may lack depth in certain areas, leading to a less compelling replay experience for some users. Additional content or challenges could enhance its replayability further.
- “Very good value for the money as well as a lot of fun with lots of replayability options.”
- “Replay value is high due to the nature of the game.”
- “Unlike Caesar III, there isn't much replayability and it feels somewhat bland.”
- “I think more content or challenges can be added to improve replayability, for instance.”
- “I'm about 3 hours in; I'd estimate there is probably 10-15 hours of gameplay, with replayability of all missions thanks to the sandbox options.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
The game's atmosphere effectively brings the Roman setting to life, creating an immersive experience with a vibrant city feel. While the sound and music contribute positively to the ambiance, they do not reach the high standards set by renowned composers like Andrew Hulshult or Austin Wintory.
- “It made the whole city feel alive, and the atmosphere really sold the Roman setting.”
- “It has decent and atmospheric sound and music.”
- “Sound is the same - it works and draws you into the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere really sold the Roman setting, making the whole city feel alive.”
- “The sound works to draw you into the atmosphere, but it doesn't compare to the likes of Andrew Hulshult or Austin Wintory.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional glitches that require rebooting, indicating that it is still buggy and lacks stability.
- “My only complaint is the game glitches out occasionally and has to be rebooted.”
- “- still buggy.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some users miss the charming wit found in "Zeus," others appreciate the fresh comedic elements introduced in "Caesar," noting that the gods are portrayed as funnier characters.
- “Nice ideas from Caesar; the gods are much funnier now!”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game compelling, as it challenges traditional strategies and encourages a more hands-off approach, leading to unexpected and rewarding outcomes. This unique gameplay experience evokes a sense of satisfaction and emotional investment in the game's mechanics.