New Citadelum campaign will (maybe) let you conquer Scotland

It has been a bit quiet lately around Citadelum, the Roman city builder released by Abylight Studios last October. 

Where several reviews (including mine) praised the developer involvement during the beta testing phase, it seemed like they took a well deserved holiday after the release. Which of course, is all fine and dandy. I've never developed nor published any game, so who am I to judge?

Since the public release of Citadelum, things have been quiet in the Abylight Discord server. That all changed yesterday though with the announcement of an upcoming FREE DLC for Citadelum!

Conquering Britannia

Everybody who's has been taught a little history at school knows that the Romans did a bang up job of conquering Great Britain. For about 300 years they were in control of the entire island.

Well... almost the entire island. The only thing they didn't manage, was to rule Scotland. To quote a famous character from a famous movie:

"They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!"
- William Wallace, Braveheart

Anyway, the Romans did conquer pretty much all of Britain, or Britannia as it was called back then. Which is great, because it brings great inspiration for a new free DLC for Citadelum! This is the announcement one the game developers pushed out earlier today: 

Prepare yourselves, legionnaires! We’re proud to reveal the title of our upcoming free DLC, The Last Conqueror of Britannia! ⚔️🌟

Step into the epic saga of the Roman conquest of Scotland, where the legions face unyielding resistance, untamed landscapes, and the ultimate test of their resolve. This is a chapter of conquest, glory, and the enduring legacy of Rome as it pushes to the edge of the known world. 🛡️

What do we know so far?

Announcements are always interesting. While they don't always reveal a lot of information, some things can be deduced from them. 

In this case... well, not so much. 

We know the title will be 'The Last Conqueror of Britannia'. This makes sense, the British isles were a part of Roman history and while not included in the base game, definitely deserve their own campaign. 

The most interesting thing about this announcement is the mention of Scotland when saying 'the epic saga of the Roman conquest of Scotland'. Because we all know, there never was a Roman conquest of Scotland...

Your legions will face 'unyielding resistance', which will have to mean a lot of fighting. This is great news, as the Roman campaign included with the base game could be played without much of aggression. 

The 'untamed landscapes' might point to more difficult maps to settle, without large open areas to build a city on. 

What I want to see

After playing over 100 hours of Citadelum, there are a few things I would love to see with this new content update. 

First, better battle mechanics. If this campaign really revolves about conquest and fighting the Scottish, the battle system needs a lot of improvement. Those tribes were technically far less evolved than the Roman legions. You can't just expect a 10 v 10 battle to result in equal outcomes.

Reports by Roman historian Tacitus indicate that in The Battle of Mons Graupius, 20.000 Romans fought against 30.000 native inhabitants. 10.000 Scots were killed, while only 360 Roman soldiers died. Of course, we only have the reports of the victors to go on and as we all know, history is written by the victors...

I would love to see better production and consumption system with more attention to the location and a sense of reality. I know it's a game, but listen.

The invasion of Britannia was a huge undertaking, costing massive amounts of food and materials to build and sustain. Hundreds of football fields worth of forest had to be cut down to get enough wood for forts and defences, yet in Citadelum trees will never run out. Legions deployed to the field require tons of food and wages, yet in Citadelum, they live for free and only breath air. 

And lastly, I'd be overjoyed to see a new kind of objective added to the gameplay: timed deliveries. The Roman leaders of Britannia must have regularly been sending back tributes of goods only available in these parts of Europe as well as receiving goods only available on the main land. It would be great to have this incorporated in the game somehow.

Release of The Last Conqueror of Britannia DLC

When will this free Citadelum DLC, the Last Conqueror of Britannia, be released? 

Unfortunately, this is not known yet. Only the title has been released to the public. And of course, the best thing: it is going to be free!

We'll keep an eye on things for you. Until then, enjoy playing Citadelum over on Steam, play the Rise of the Roman Empire campaign or dive into the community generated content!