Citadelum takes city builder and strategy to mythological heights

It's been a few months since Abylight spoke exclusively to Gamereactor about their next project in the halls of Gamescom 2023 in Cologne. At that time, Citadelum hadn't even determined its official name, but its Head of Marketing, David Martinez, already left us some very interesting key points about the design of the title, in which we will take the management and systems of the city builders to impose ourselves in this title based in Ancient Rome, in a time before the constitution of the Empire. The full Gamescom interview, by the way, can be found with subtitles below.

And now that we are already in 2024, the window foreseen for the game's release, we had the opportunity to attend a presentation of the game, this time guided by Miguel García Corchero, Creative Director. In it we were able to learn more about the design of Citadelum, which has been structured in three different layers, each one dedicated to a game system, and how they complement each other to create a perfect formation.

The first layer of gameplay in Citadelum would be that of a deep and varied city builder, the fruit of the studio's experience (this will be the third game of the genre developed in a row), in which we will have to build and expand a small Roman village from a few houses to become the epicentre of power in the region. From basic systems such as water and food (building aqueducts and farms) to production buildings and services that meet the needs of the population, be it medicine, culture, religion or, of course, military development, we will have to develop the basic systems such as water and food.

But we should not only focus on our city, because Corchero went on to explain that the second layer of the game is based on management through a world map with a view of other cities and settlements. With those that are neutral, we will be able to establish trade routes to exchange resources. With those that have an enemy flag, the only thing left is war.

For these battles we will have to train and maintain our legions and then send them into pitched battles. There will be a number of unit types, and their disposition on the battlefield as well as their training and the orders they receive in combat will be crucial to victory.

But even when you have economic and military power, you must not lose sight of the favour of the gods. For here the deities of the Roman pantheon are very real and can offer their favour or bring down their wrath, either on a whim or because of our decisions in the game. The third layer of Citadelum is based on this system in which we try to control the interference of the gods so that they favour us in our objectives. To do this, we will have to search for and retrieve relics from around the world, which we will then offer on the altar of the god we want their favour. Of course, while one god may feel revered and loved, another may feel disadvantaged and forgotten. And it is not wise to tempt the wrath of the gods.

Corchero also left us some important information to know what to expect in Citadelum, and the main one would be its magnitude. We are talking about a title that will be "10 times bigger than One Military Camp", the studio's previous work. It will feature three campaigns, spanning the territories of Italy, Hispania and Africa, and will continue to have strong community support. Abylight can boast one of the best relationships with its player base, and with them in mind, Citadelum will include modding tools for fans to design their own scenarios and campaigns. These tools are the same as those used by devs in development, so the possibilities will be endless.

Although Citadelum is still scheduled for release in 2024, the studio is holding off on giving a firm date for now (development is still ongoing). They are working on getting Steam Deck verification and are hopeful about the development of a console version, although this will depend on the reception from PC players.

Also, along with the presentation, we were offered the first official trailer of Citadelum, where you can take a first look at its systems, and also a gallery of images that you can find below.