Pax Augusta

About

Pax Augusta is a single player strategy game with a historical theme. It was developed by Roger Gassmann and was released on April 17, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Pax Augusta is a detailed city-building strategy game inspired by classic titles like Anno 117, offering deep gameplay crafted by a solo developer. It emphasizes careful planning, resource management, and expansion in a rich, immersive world. The game continually evolves based on community feedback and ongoing improvements.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 244 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

optimization8 negative mentions

Incredible detail and historical authenticity, making it a standout in the city-building genre.
The game offers a deep and immersive experience, capturing the essence of Roman city-building.
The developer's passion and dedication are evident, with ongoing improvements and community engagement.

Severe optimization issues lead to frequent crashes and significant performance drops, especially in larger cities.
The user interface is clunky and lacks intuitive guidance, making it difficult for new players to navigate.
Many bugs and glitches disrupt gameplay, including issues with saving and loading progress.

gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
70%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by innovative mechanics and a deep, systemic approach to city-building, which many players find promising and engaging. However, it suffers from significant issues such as clunky mechanics, poor tutorials, frequent bugs, and a lack of intuitive design, leading to frustrations like long load times and crashes. While the potential for a rewarding experience is evident, many players feel that the game requires further polish and refinement to be truly enjoyable.
- “There's a lot to like here; the detail is fantastic, it looks great, and gameplay design-wise, it does feel like a step forward from most other games in the genre.”
- “The gameplay is satisfying and scales well through the levels of the city you create.”
- “The level of detail put into the game mechanics is nothing short of genius.”
- “The tutorial is extremely bad at explaining how building should progress, and mechanics just seem clunky at best.”
- “But I've had to request a refund - massively long load times (transitions are not avoidable, e.g., visiting empire maps to get theater troops, etc.), and frequent crashes (entire cities and hours of gameplay can be lost) essentially make the game unplayable.”
- “There are so many gameplay issues that just need to be refined.”
optimization
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
71%
21%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, crashes, and high resource consumption, even on powerful PCs. While some users have noted improvements following updates, the consensus is that the game requires further optimization and bug fixes before it can be recommended for purchase. Overall, players express hope for future patches to enhance performance and address the current shortcomings.
- “Performance definitely needs optimization, but otherwise this is a great, solid game.”
- “Once it's a bit more optimized, I'll gladly change this to a recommended review, because it really does have a lot of promise and watching your citizens form up in your nicely decorated town really hits that 'planes/trains' fixation in my brain.”
- “While needing some optimization work, which will assuredly come as the solo developer is engaged and committed to his work, I am currently playing through the 'story' mode and have found it engaging and enjoyable.”
- “However, I think the optimization problems need to be addressed first before bigger maps are added.”
- “Game is great but at the present time unplayable after some hours due to the horrible performance which leads more often than not to a crash.”
- “At the moment, the game is not optimized enough to justify its price tag.”
story
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
77%
8%
The story mode of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing frustration over its save system and lack of direction, often leading to repeated restarts and a sense of being stuck. While some appreciate the engaging narrative and historical elements, others find the gameplay mechanics restrictive, particularly the inability to backtrack or recover from mistakes. Overall, the story mode serves as both a narrative experience and a tutorial, but it suffers from significant technical issues and design flaws that hinder enjoyment.
- “Story mode is what it sounds like and takes your character across Europe in your little cart (which can be pimped up), creating and managing cities before moving on to the next with some interactive decisions to make on your journey.”
- “I'm partly through the story mode at this point, and thoroughly enjoying my experience.”
- “While needing some optimization work, which will assuredly come as the solo developer is engaged and committed to his work, I am currently playing through the 'story' mode and have found it engaging and enjoyable.”
- “The save system in story mode is incredibly frustrating and almost enough to stop playing the game altogether.”
- “You cannot restart a city or a mission - if you fail or have no way forward, too bad - you have to restart the whole thing.”
- “I want to like this game, but there is a severe lack of direction for starting, and the story mode absolutely breaks if you do anything other than exactly what it tells you to do.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
61%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the extraordinary detail and aesthetic appeal that effectively convey the experience of building a Roman colony. However, some users criticize the art style for its inconsistency and outdated appearance, noting issues like a lack of color and basic user interface design. While the visuals can be stunning, technical problems such as lag and crashes detract from the overall experience, leading to a divide among players regarding the importance of graphics in their enjoyment of the game.
- “The graphic detail is extraordinary and the gameplay quite sophisticated.”
- “The graphics are great, and it really feels like you are trying to build a Roman colony.”
- “Caesar III is nowhere near this, even though I really like the pixelated graphics from then, but here it's executed beautifully in modern day graphics.”
- “However, the art style struggles with consistency.”
- “The lack of color (you can choose color levels but it's still too gray) is not helping the average looking graphics.”
- “All in all, it's a poor man's Zeus/Caesar with way less things to build and worse graphics.”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with many users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and performance issues such as lag and long loading times. While players appreciate the effort of a solo developer, the overall experience is marred by clunky mechanics and frustrating glitches, making it challenging to enjoy fully. Despite these issues, some users find the game promising and fun, hoping future updates will improve stability.
- “The game mechanics are clunky and the campaign buggy.”
- “The constant crashes and freezes make it entirely unplayable for me, and I couldn't even get through the tutorial.”
- “It's a one man developer and massive kudos to him, but it shows in the buggy and sometimes a frustrating game experience in its current state.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The music in the game is noted for its abrupt cut-offs, particularly when zooming in on the city, which disrupts the experience by clashing with ambient sounds. Additionally, there are reports of technical issues where the music continues to play even when the game freezes, indicating potential problems with audio management.
- “The music and sounds in the game create an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- “Even when technical issues arise, the music of the game remains a highlight, providing a captivating backdrop.”
- “The music cuts off when zooming in on the city, probably because it overlaps with the ambient city sounds.”
- “The moment I clicked the streaming button, both screens went dark and the PC froze, while I could still hear the music of the game; however, I was not able to speak to my friend.”
- “The music cuts out suddenly if you zoom in too far, with no fade in and out.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in industrial systems, but appreciate the modularity offered by the various grid sizes across the five housing tiers. This allows for creative city block designs and the addition of features like farming gardens and back houses, which can enhance the gameplay experience despite the repetitive nature of grinding.
- “Most of the industrial systems are tedious once you get them going.”
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “Leveling up requires an excessive amount of time and effort, which can be frustrating.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as a delightful surprise, particularly noting the irony of a Swiss developer creating an authentic Roman-themed experience. Players appreciate the cleverness and charm infused into the game's comedic elements.
- “A true labor of love and a funny coincidence that a Swiss created such an authentic game about Rome! ;)”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever writing that keeps you laughing throughout.”
- “I love how the game blends humor with gameplay, making even the toughest challenges enjoyable.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted as a deeply heartfelt tribute to its craft, resonating with players on a personal level and evoking strong feelings throughout the experience.
- “This isn't just a game—it's a wild, heartfelt love letter to the craft.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters left me in tears; I felt every moment.”
- “I was completely immersed in the story, and the emotional twists took me by surprise.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively captures the historical atmosphere of the Roman Empire during Augustus's rise to power, immersing players in a setting that feels authentic and true to the era.
- “I think it does a great job of providing an atmosphere that seems true to the history surrounding the Roman Empire as it becomes an empire with Augustus taking the reins.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is heavily criticized due to the prevalence of paid advertising and the presence of fake reviews, which may mislead potential players about its quality.
- “There is a lot of paid advertising out there and fake reviews about this game.”