"Nova Roma" appears to recreate the Pax Romana period of the Roman Empire (a time of peace during which city building flourished), with the culture, politics, and important architecture of the time.

The Nova Roma trailer released at the PC Gaming Show shows the colorful forum and colosseum that will be built, as well as some interesting mechanisms that will spice up the gameplay. Water seems to play an integral role in the development of the city, for example, a flood caused by a dam break destroys a settlement under construction, followed by the construction of an aqueduct that carries water to a subdistrict to supply a fountain.

This new city builder by Lion Shield, the development team behind the "very charming" Kingdoms and Castles, shows similar delights. The changing colors of the city as the seasons change work well with Nova Roma's complex weather simulation system. The trailer depicts a very "Caesar 3"-esque development in which Jupiter, the god of thunder, strikes lightning down on buildings and carefully constructed dams because they have been neglected for too long.

It will be interesting to see how "Nova Roma," which promises a complex supply chain system, handles its interaction with citizens. How will it please the commoners while at the mercy of the political whims of the patricians?

"Nova Roma" will be available on Steam and the Epic Games store.

City builder fans have no shortage of options right now: from the beavercore aesthetic of "Timberborn" to the gentle feudalism of "Farthest Frontier" to the inspiring realism of the highly anticipated "City Skylines II," we recently have recently played some of the best that the genre has to offer. So the pressure is on for Lion Shield to deliver something that will set us apart, but this announcement trailer is certainly promising.