Citadelum

Citadelum is a great city builder, and it absolutely sings on Switch 2 thanks to the console's mouse controls. After this, console city builders will never be the same again.

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A classically-styled city-builder that will test your ability to meticulously place and plan your building layouts, but that may lack the depth or intensity to attract a broader audience

Citadelum is a strategic city building game with a classic Roman setting, in which you as a player develop a settlement into a mighty Roman empire. In addition to in-depth gameplay, the game can certainly be played differently again and again due to the continuously changing gameplay.

Citadelum is not a game for the impatient. There is no room here for impulsiveness or easy victories. It requires calm, a plan, and focus. But it rewards you. It offers an experience that doesn’t end with victory, but continues through growth. Every city you build is yours. It bears your mark, your structure, your balance. And when it’s destroyed, you have the chance to rise again and build a bigger one. A wiser one. A stronger one. That is the philosophy of an empire. And in this game, it flows from every wall. For strategy lovers, it’s a must-play; for fans of Rome, too; and for those who just want to watch and enjoy the building process, all it takes is a little courage, and you, too, can become an emperor.

Citadelum had immense potential to be an extraordinary game, but only if it had more complexity and variation. Abylight Studios made a decent attempt to engage newcomers to this genre by adding a stylish look to a retro genre, and they might still accomplish that if they keep working on the game's features.

Citadelum takes the genre and adds new life to it by weaving divine interaction into the core of city management. Fans of games like Caesar, Pharaoh, and Zeus: Master of Olympus will feel right at home with the classic city-building mechanics. Still, the addition of the gods and the interplay between religious favour and urban expansion sets this game apart. The game’s unique three-layered approach—city-building, strategic expansion, and divine interaction—offers a depth of gameplay that keeps things interesting across multiple playthroughs. While the auto-battle mechanics might not satisfy those looking for deep military strategy, they work well in the broader context of the game. Citadelum is a must-play for fans of historical city-building games looking for something fresh and challenging. In conclusion, if you’ve ever wanted to play a game that lets you defy the gods—or curry their favour—while building the Roman city of your dreams, Citadelum is the game for you. Unfortunately, the game draws on and expands on elements from older titles yet lacks the depth needed to make it more appealing than its predecessors. For this reason, I award it a Thumb Culture Silver Award.

This is the kind of indie game that I would love to see succeed, and the next steps post-launch, both in terms of ongoing development and community support, will be crucial in determining whether it’s remembered as a Justinian or an Honorius.

Citadelum brings city building to the next level, and although some ideas feel a bit like busywork, at the base of it all is an exceptional sim experience.

It captures the additive nature of classic city builders of the past and iterates upon them successfully. It's almost a comfort in how familiar it is, yet it never feels stale or repetitive. Instead, Citadelum builds on tradition through innovation and emerges as one of the most satisfying games of the year.