Rome is Everywhere in Gaming — It’s Time for Assassin’s Creed to Return There

Ancient Rome seems to be everywhere in gaming these days, save for major consoles. There, the last real example of a big, bold, Roman experience was Ryse: Son Of Rome — an ambitious, authentic, and beautiful game that nonetheless failed to live up to (admittedly lofty) expectations. But looking around the wider world of gaming, it’s clear that Rome still captures players’ attention.

In the mobile arena, there are actually a few impressive games that deal with the Roman Empire in various ways. The most notable may be ROME: Total War — an adaptation of an iconic, if somewhat old school, strategy game. This is a beloved title that captures the combat and conquest aspects of the empire. In fact, it’s good enough that its sequel actually took the top spot on this list of the best video games about Rome (though we’d still take the original).

There are some slightly more modern games about Rome in mobile app stores also, though. Gods Of Rome emerged a few years ago as a clear response to hit fighting games like Injustice: Gods Among Us and Marvel Contest Of Champions — except rather than revolving around superheroes, it involved deities and heroes of Ancient Rome. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a fun bit of mobile gaming for those who like the genre. Meanwhile, for those interested in a touch more history than myth, I, Gladiator is an excellent combat game that takes you back to the ancient arenas.

Beyond mobile games, we see Roman influence in online casino games as well. For those who may not frequent the genre, it has actually become quite common for slot, jackpot, and casino arcade game designers to turn to history for themes. More often than not, the games themselves all resemble one another. But the historical themes, characters, and concepts they’re built into have infused the entire casino genre with variety. All of this has led to a number of popular Rome-inspired slot games, such as Spartacus: Gladiator of Rome, and a whole Age Of The Gods series (which is a little more toward Greek, but involves the deities shared by the two ancient empires).

Right now though, the highlight in this category may well be Slingo Centurion. “Slingo” games blend bingo and slots together and have been popularized on Foxy Games. These games have caught on because they are essentially a more entertaining version of both slots and bingo. A handful of Slingo games are making the rounds in the online casino space right now — including titles based on Monopoly and the TV show Friends. But Slingo Centurion stands out as a title with the prevailing historical theme and adventure setting in this budding category.

And then of course there’s the PC space, where there have always been strategy games that have at least touched on the Roman Empire. There are actually countless examples (Roman combat games really helped to lay the foundation for simpler, earlier strategy games). But right now, Civilization 6 comes to mind as the real standout — the latest in an incredible series, and a title PC Gamer features as one of its greatest strategy games of all time.

Frankly, we could go on, but the point is clear: Rome retains a hold on gamers across all categories and genres. And yet, it’s been largely missing from the console space for a decade, with the exception of the aforementioned Ryse: Son Of Rome.

The last time a meaningful console game took us back to Rome, aside from in Ryse, was in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. This is a 2010 game that helped to establish a series that today is recognized as one of the most impressive in the gaming world. But though it was partially revived in 2016’s “Ezio Collection” of remastered Assassin’s Creed titles, it now looks and feels like a game from a past era.

Compare Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood to the quality of world-building and gameplay we’ve seen in more recent titles, and it’s clear that the setting needs to be revisited. Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey took us to Egypt and Greece, respectively, and did so in some of the most complex and beautiful detail we’ve ever seen in adventure games. And now, the recently released Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is transporting gamers back to the ancient world of Vikings in even more impressive fashion. Unfortunately, even with the latest updates such as the new River Raids mode, this twelfth major installment of Assassin’s Creed has disappointed many with the lackluster free content.

Overall, however, recent titles simply represent a different level of gaming — and yet, they skipped over Rome, which would have made for a nice progression from Egypt and Greece. That’s not to lament the leap to Valhalla, which by all accounts is still an interesting addition to the series. But with Valhalla now released, Assassin’s Creed fans can resume their favorite tradition of musing over where (and when) the series might take us next.

This time, the question may not be particularly complicated. Given the outdated nature of Brotherhood, combined with Rome’s clear ongoing popularity in the wider world of gaming, the next move for Assassin’s Creed should be to bring history’s greatest empire back to life on modern consoles.

For more articles on all things video games, be sure to explore our articles and podcasts here at Handsome Phantom.

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