izigame.me

What I expected was a simple surface level Rome Xcom, which would've been good enough on its own. Instead this game went way above my expectations.
I will first talk about what makes this game much more than it seems. Two reasons would be the depth of story and characters and the second would be the depth of setting.
This game is a story game and it definitely shines with well written characters from both fictional to real historical figures. Each character is complex and grows throughout as there are many twists and turns. The story kept me immersed the entire time and the choices definitely matter. I found myself carefully reading each dialogue option as every single thing I say can have an impact. I found myself really growing onto my friends in the game and I was deeply emotionally invested and my choices reflected my attachment rather than minmaxing best outcomes.
The second high commendation would be their attention to historical detail. It's clear they had a dedicated historic team as I learned so much about not only Roman history, but from Europe, Asia, and African history and culture as it related to Roman interactions. I learned about how each culture followed their traditions and religions, what Romans enjoy doing in their free time, how a legion works, how the senate is conducted, various foods and drinks consumed at the time, how servitude worked, etc. I have never seen a game imbue so much historical storytelling (outside Assassin's Creed series) in simply how the locations are set up and random dialogue from NPCs without needing to rely on encyclopedia reading. I absolutely felt like I was in Rome as it was.
One thing that I did not expect to commend this game highly on is how they treated the female player character. In every modern game where you can choose between a female and male character, there is basically no difference other than a few lines of dialogue. Take Assassin's Creed: Odyssey for example, another game that takes historical accuracy seriously when it comes to worldbuilding, except in the case of the main character, where a male or female leader basically feel the same. I suppose it comes from a place of inclusion, to say they're not so different and everything can be accomplished by both. It may be more true in current society and it was absolutely not the case in Rome. Expeditions: Rome is the only game I've ever seen that was not afraid to show how different life was for a woman and a man in that time period. Constantly I was blocked in important story moments because I am a woman. Men don't trust me, I cannot own land or hold political office, I need to be married to be taken seriously. This doesn't come from a place of making the game sexist for the sake of it, it comes bringing awareness of how unjust life was for the woman in the period. That is to say, the game also doesn't limit what you are capable of because of your gender. You can still accomplish many things a man can accomplish, but you need to work harder and outstrength and outwit the men to get there, and overcoming that hurdle becomes even more satisfying when you come out on top. I think it can be seen as inspirational to see how capable women are in this game despite their society trying to push them down as much as possible, and doesn't sugarcoat the injustice. The story changes based on gender, just as how your life would be different in Roman society based on your gender.
The XCOM like combat is there, and fairly satisfying, most characters being melee means you don't have to deal with accuracy like XCOM and allows you to plan out your moves better. I played this game on hard difficulty and it absolutely was difficult, there were moments I was ready to give up playing missions over and over again, but I managed in the end in a satisfying way. The skill progression trees are interesting and the game rewards you for experimenting with different skills early so in late game you know exactly the best build for each class (each class basically becomes the same when leveled up enough since the skill tree is limited) It's absolutely satisfying when you finally beat a mission that feels unbeatable and does a great job of making things feel hopeless to make victory sweeter.
There is a overworld legion command and camp logistics and this is easily the worst part of this game. You command legions in battles in a much shallower way than it seems at first. Later on you just end up clicking, more green = good and it became a hassle after just a few battles. Having to load to enter camp very frequently to do logistics tasks severely breaks the flow of the game. I did appreciate there were just enough varied roles for tasks for your followers, though I do wish there was more. I wish this part was more fleshed out as I can see why these logistic elements need to be in the game, much of the rest of the game choices (managing your resources and logistics) relate to these.
Overall, if you like XCOM like combat, history, and decision making branching stories with several companions and well written stories I strongly recommend this game.