Imperator: Rome Reviews
Imperator: Rome packs more interesting strategic systems and detail into its vast historical sandbox simulation than its interface can fully handle, but they produce some excellent political scheming and warfare.
Huge, inventive and the reason I'm sleep deprived. It's brilliant.
The systems run as deep as ever in Paradox's latest effort, though the personality isn't quite there.
Imperator: Rome is grand strategy on a modest scale.
It strikes a great balance between retaining much of what makes a Paradox grand strategy game so time-consuming while streamlining its approach and interface.
Plutarch said of Alexander the Great: “when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.” If anything, my experience of Imperator: Rome has left me feeling the exact opposite: I want to weep, as I know I will never find the time to conquer everything this game has to offer.
Imperator: Rome feels like it's yet another step in Paradox's attempts to make the perfect grand strategy game. It pulls bits from Paradox's storied past in the genre and adopts it for the ancient era. Because of this, it doesn't feel like past releases where the game does one thing fantastically and falters in the rest of the mechanics but instead refines past mechanics into a marble bust of megalomaniacal fun. Ave Imperator: Rome!
A good game with a lot of depth – just what one would expect from Paradox. Play it through once or twice just for fun, then grab one of the strategy guides that will be popping up to more fully appreciate the mechanics.
What Imperator: Rome does, it does impeccably well. Like Paradox games have been doing for years now, it will devour hours and whole days of your life, and you will give them willingly.
As Imperator grows in scale from its Clausewitz cousins, so too it grows in depth and ultimately in unwieldiness. But there's a grand strategy with aeons of play in it for you.Phil Iwaniuk
Imperator Rome is a monument of the strategy game. Surely one of the most complete games from Paradox. It is a real journey for the mind and it will make you experience Greek-Roman antiquity as in way that has been too rarely been used in video games before. A pure jewel.
Review in French | Read full review
Imperator: Rome combines the quirks and mechanics of multiple Paradox titles, but it lacks the charm and depth to stand out on its own. It wore the trappings and regalia of Marcus Aurelius, yet, once removed, out came Commodus instead.
If you're a history buff and you're not put off by the sea of numbers, this game will be a joy to play.
Imperator: Rome's audience is inherently limited, and it's shoddy tutorial and lack of game modes won't attract new players, but if you dig managing ancient empires through a series of menus, you'll probably have a good time.
In its current state, Imperator: Rome is a somewhat hollow experience. If you're a patient fan of grand strategy and don't mind dealing with the terrible UI, you'll enjoy what's available. The game will no doubt improve massively over time. Ave Rome!
Imperator Rome is a great example of an entertaining historical game developed by Paradox studios. I was able to manipulate the fates of great empires and easily engage in wars, coups or intrigues. It's a difficult game to review because you want to play it all the time.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Rome: Imperator is one of Paradox's biggest and best games - it also has a bigger focus on military expansion than their other games.
Imperator: Rome is the new Paradox's grand strategy, an absolute certainty in the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A very Paradox game, in both a good and bad way. It has all the hallmarks of a good game, and I look forward to seeing continued development as time goes by.
Imperator: Rome truly has the depth and versatility to become one of Paradox’s finest.