Nova Roma
A Roman city-builder where water and divine favour shape survival.
Nova Roma is a city-building and management video game from developer Lion Shield and publisher Hooded Horse. It entered early access on March 26, 2026. Players build and grow a new settlement while overseeing production and logistics. The game places a strong focus on water management, including dams and aqueducts, and flooding can occur if infrastructure fails or water flow is handled poorly. Interaction with Roman gods is also central: players can construct temples and work toward goals tied to divine favor, with disasters happening as a consequence of angering the deities.
The project was first shown at the PC Gaming Show 2023. PC Gamer noted it follows Lion Shield’s earlier city builder *Kingdoms and Castles*, with disasters highlighted as a key gameplay element. A free demo arrived on Steam on December 5, 2025, before the early access launch on March 26, 2026.
Coverage of the demo before early access release emphasized disaster mitigation and infrastructure planning. PCGamesN pointed out the tension between expanding and risking the gods’ wrath, calling divine displeasure-related disasters a standout feature. CivFanatics described the game as mixing standard city-building and resource management with environmental manipulation and mechanics for pleasing the gods.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Nova Roma
- Developer
- Lion Shield
- Publisher
- Hooded Horse
- Genre
- City-building, management simulation
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Windows
- Released
- 26 March 2026 / (early access)
- Engine
- Unity
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Nova Roma was revealed during the PC Gaming Show 2023 as a project from Lion Shield and publisher Hooded Horse. PC Gamer described the project as following Lion Shield's earlier city builder Kingdoms and Castles and emphasised disasters as a gameplay focus. A free demo was released on Steam on 5 December 2025, ahead of the early access launch on 26 March 2026. Coverage of the public demo generally emphasized the game's focus on disaster mitigation and infrastructure planning. PCGamesN highlighted the tension between expansion and the risk of provoking the gods, describing disasters tied to divine displeasure as a notable part of the demo experience. CivFanatics similarly described the game as combining conventional city-building and resource management with environmental manipulation and mechanics related to pleasing the gods.
Reader's Guide
Nova Roma's significance lies in its integration of classical city-building mechanics with a dynamic water management system and a divine favour mechanic that ties player actions directly to potential disasters. The game builds on Lion Shield's previous work in Kingdoms and Castles, but shifts focus toward infrastructure planning and the consequences of failure—particularly through flooding when dams or aqueducts are mismanaged. The tension between expansion and divine displeasure, as noted in early coverage, creates a strategic layer where players must balance growth with appeasing Roman deities through temple construction and objectives. This combination of environmental manipulation and religious mechanics distinguishes Nova Roma within the city-building genre, offering a blend of conventional resource management and risk-driven gameplay. The early access release on 26 March 2026 followed a demo that received attention for its disaster mitigation focus, setting expectations for a title where careful planning and respect for the gods are equally critical to a settlement's survival.
Did You Know?
- The game includes water management systems such as dams and aqueducts, with flooding possible when infrastructure fails.
- Disasters in the game are tied to displeasing Roman deities.
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