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WILL YOU GIVE THIS ABANDONED PARADOX GAME A SECOND CHANCE?
Okay, so if you're here, you're probably wondering if the game is any good. Perhaps you've heard of people calling it one of the worst paradox games back in the day, or perhaps you played it on release and didn't like it. Well, for the longest time, I used to bang on the same drum. I played it on release and wasn't impressed. But things have changed.
So, what is Imperator: Rome, why didn't people like it and what changed?
Imperator is actually the sequel to a little-known old paradox game called Europa Universalis: Rome. It's kind of a mix between PDX's other titles. It takes the empire management from Europa Universalis, the character interactions from Crusader Kings and the population system from Victoria. It adds a few of it's own twists and packages it up into a game set in classical antiquity.
So, that sounds fairly promising, why did it flop on release? Well, the general consensus was that it had four major issues.
The first and most important issue was mana. "Mana" in PDX games reffers to abstract resources that are spontaneously generated (usually by national leaders), that are used to enact various actions. Most grand strategy players aren't huge fans of mana systems and Imperator on release had a terrible case of them. Mana wasn't just a game mechanic. Mana was THE game mechanic. Everything in the game was tied around how much mana you had. You felt less like a Roman ruler and more like a God, limited only by his mana pool. Researching technologies? Mana. Buildings? Mana. Want to convert a given province's population? Happens instantly with mana. How about teleporting them across the map? All doable with mana. While you had mana, you could instantly alter the fabric of reality. While you were out of mana, you were reduced to a passive observer of the game, waiting patiently for your mana to regenerate. This not only lacked realism and failed to create immersion, it was simply boring. You'd watch the game play itself until you got the mana to magically spawn in whatever you wanted.
The second issue had to do with the Roman political system - it wasn't accurately represented. Most controversially, the Roman Republic only had one Consul, even though the Romans were very particular about there always being two. In most other games - this would have been a nitpick. However, when you're making a political game called Imperator: ROME, getting the Roman political system wrong is a non-starter.
The third had to do with the interface - many found it confusing and unhelpful. I personally thought it was just OK, but then again I was used to EU: Rome, which many hadn't played.
Lastly, the game felt like a skeleton devoid of content. There was little differentiating playing Rome, versus Carthage, versus Egypt, versus a random Germanic tribe.
Well, players complaned and, to their credit, Paradox listened. Imperator 2.0, as they called it, completely overhuled the game. The interface was completely redesigned into what I believe to be one of the best and most beautiful grand strategy interfaces of all time. Rome got it's co-consul. New flavour was added. Lastly and most importantly - the mana met the fasces at the chopping block. I didn't believe it at first. It was so intrinsic to the game, and they did away with it.
Better - they didn't just remove it, they replaced it with the kinds of systems grand strategy players love - intricate systems, based off real, interactable elements that make the player feel like this world is more than just an excel spreadsheet. Technology now had it's very own tech trees, with progress tied to the abilities of characters you appont to certain posts, with certain technologies requiring you to have enacted specific policies or fulfiling specific conditions. Would you choose to appoint those that are most able, risking potential political issues and perhaps even treason, or those most loyal - sacrificing scientific progress in the name of stability? Well, those are the kinds of questions the new Imperator will pose to you.
Your pops are also no longer subject to your divine orders. They now acted how they should. If you wanted to convert a given population's culture or religion, you couldn't just press a button and have it done instantly. They would convert slowly and over time, if you provided them with both opportunities and incentives to do so. You could choose to integrate cultures, perserving their specificities, which would make them happy, but piss off all the other already integrated cultures, or try to assimilate them into your dominant culture. The success or failure of these policies depends on their size, geographic spread and your policies. You can encourage one or the other, but you can't force it. If you want to move a given population - guess what, you can't just magically teleport them. You can encourage or discourage immigration to and from given provinces, but you can't just beam half of Rome into Gaul with your magical powers. You would have to provide good enough conditions for them to wish to begin migrating - and then wait out as the process happens naturally. A locally dominant culture in a far away province won't just accept Romanitas. You'll either have to integrate them, or try and create colonies to attempt and get your own culture in there. The locals won't let you do this easily.
I could go on and on. The game is now nothing like it was. So how is it in general oday?
Put simply? Fun. If you like grand strategy, you should try Imperator. If you like other PDX games - you HAVE to try Imperator. Nowadays, it's a great game. If it had launched in this state, as opposed to the way it did, it would likely have been a major success. Sadly, it appears that most PDX fans didn't give this game the redemption it deserved. And so, Paradox axed it. Imperator is no longer officially supported...
..by paradox. But what if I told you that this game has an active modding community that is helping Imperator not just survive, but thrive? Well, it does. There are many mods for this game, but above and beyond all of them I would recommend the Invictus mod. It adds to many things to the game, while still staying true to the original vision and time period. Playing with Invictus, which still gets regular and beefy updates, makes you feel like Imperator is still actively being developed.
And perhaps that isn't as far away from the truth as might appear on the surface. Paradox dropped an update for Imperator in 2023, several years after officially announcing that they were dropping the game. Although they specifically cautioned that this didn't mean it was back into active develpment, we can see that PDX still has some interest in the game. Counting this, and with a loyal modding community to boot, Imperator still might have a bright future yet.
With that, and with this being one of the best-looking (seriously, it's beautiful) grand strategy games out there, Imperator: Rome is an easy recommendation for any grand strategy fan looking for his new fix. For players interested in getting into grand strategies, but wondering if they should finally go for it - Imperator is actually a pretty good place to start. It frequently goes on sale for very deep discounts, has a great tooltip system to help you understand what's going on and moreover, the starting condition of the game, in which there are few major powers on the map, allows you to have a pretty easy start by controlling a nation with just a few small provinces, which you will inevitably guide to great conquests later on in the game.
So, for both grand strategy players and those curious to the ganre being a solid "recommend", all that's left is for you to answer the question that we started out with..
WILL YOU GIVE THIS ABANDONED PARADOX GAME A SECOND CHANCE?
I know I did. And I didn't regret it. Not for a moment.