Anno 1404: Gold Edition

1404 is really the peak of the ANNO series. For those unfamiliar it's a city builder, but with less focus on placing houses and commercial structures properly, and more about producing goods that can require many different inputs, and shipping them in the right quantities to the areas that need them. It's a game of logistics more than it's a game of construction. But it's still really, really good. It's more like Factorio than SimCity, as a single hiccup in your supply chain will cause downstream consequences you won't know about until your Noblemen start revolting. And it is so oh so addictive. So infamous is its addictive potential the game will politely remind you of how long your current play session is lasting for. Then came ANNO 2070, which while decent, was marred by Ubisoft DRM. Then came 2202, which made it even worse. A close second is ANNO 1800. It is also very good, with more end game than 1404, but a tutorial and campaign so atrocious I almost stop playing the game entirely. However once I finished a sandbox I had no desire to play it more. Whereas with ANNO 1404 and its Venice expansion, there is tons of replayability with the scenarios and achievements. I'm not going to recommend this game for city builder fans because again, it's less about the building than it is about producing goods and managing supply chains. Automating a a network of trade ships delivering luxury goods to your populous that's all self running is a thing beauty and the pay off for all your hard work. Graphically it's aged wonderfully and still looks wonderful to this day. My only wish is some of the quality of life improvement from ANNO 1800 made it here. Namely blueprint mode and auto-refilling Norias/mines. At least there are mods for that.

First of all the Anno series is amazing and each game in it is worth playing, in my opinion. 1404 is the most modern historical Anno, besides 1800 and adds some nice modern touches to the series. For example there are now frequent missions from the NPCs. Keep in mind that like the rest of the series its more about building and managing the economy than warfare which is kind of basic, compared to other RTS games. Especially in 1404, where you have to manage 2 different types of settlements (west/oriental) to progress, while the control of ground troops is less like an RTS and more like Civ. There is GameRanger and the Annoverse Discord, where you have good chances of finding people to play multiplayer even now. I would recommend getting the GOG version, only if you care about it being DRM-Free. For anyone else who wants to play the best version of this game, currently I sadly have to recommend the Anno: History Collection (A:HC) from the Ubisoft store which includes 1602, 1503, 1701 and 1404 with many worthwhile updates: - Support for up to 4K resolution with UI that works -64-bit support for support of modern systems (feels smoother, less janky than the original, higher memory limit, so no crashing with big cities, when 2GB memory limit is reached) - Working friend system for easily creating and joining games (much easier than using GameRanger, Radmin VPN, Hamachi, etc.) and a low chance of finding public games - The people on AnnoVerse usully play the History Collection version of the older Anno Games, good luck finding people elsewhere (it did work once over gameranger) The only downside of A:HC is the DRM and Ubi play/connect client thing. I am disappointed that Ubisoft didn't release the History Collection as an update to GOG and split the already small player base. But at least they updated it, so if you want to play the best old Anno games, you can get A:HC from a cheap game key website for ~10€. I will definitely wait for a deep discount on Anno 1800.

While it isn't the History Edition (which works without the memory limitation that was imposed back when the game released, AFAIK it's still restricted to Ubisoft's DRM on their platform) this original version is still playable for countless hours on end just as I did for many years - and damn, even today, it's still my favorite! The Anno series are primarily an economical simulation in which you establish your empire, with a real emphasis on logistics; most lines of production are straightforward with a few intermediary products, in a world made of islands with different fertilities spread out between the Western world and the Orient. Building is limited by zones of control, defined primarily by the warehouses and markets you build which prevent other players/AIs to build in your zones unless resorting to militaristic action. The militaristic side is rather poor; land units are organized as static camps with a limited range of action (they can move out but need time to set their camp before acting) though it prevents being left helpless with a rolling army overwhelming an island in seconds. Naval units on the opposite are straightforward - single ship with varying slots for extra gear to improve their performance, from better sails to a boarding crew to capture other ships. Your populations, be they from the West or the Orient, can live anywhere but have different needs which must be satisfied by bringing to their island the necessary goods. Revolts can happen if you don't provide, but doing so allows them to progress from ordinary peasants or nomads to nobles and emissaries. The iterations that followed felt lackluster to me compared to 1404, and while 1800 offers an impressive wealth of features, 1404's campaign introduces you to characters that bring a bit of an actual storyline to the game, while the scenarios really provide different takes on the gameplay (from having zero revenue in taxes to finding yourself in barren lands). Try it, it's well worth it!

If you prefer base-building to constantly fending off enemies, this is a fine game. It helps that it's VERY very pretty with smooth water physics, little scrambling peasants going about their tasks, sea birds sailing around, the fog of war a pleasant map texture...etc Voice acting is top notch. There's a lot of missions, some completely optional, during campaign episodes. It's just a very Zen experience of instantly constructing your buildings, making supply routes for all the resources, sailing around trading and going on expeditions. It's just so comfy! Soft music, a variety of voice over lines whenever you zoom, your advisor constantly providing support, the sounds of the sea. Sign in if you like a nice balance of managing, exploring, and trading.

I adore this game, to the point where I almost dare not open it as I will lose days of my life being absorbed into it! If you are someone who likes systems, economies, micro management, tinkering... this game is your dream. The in game economy is wonderfully complex but also it makes sense. Of course your richer inhabitants are going to want nicer products, and with affluence they want items from abroad. But abroad means longer shipping lines, and more complexity - and what if a pirate interferes and blows up your shipping lines? But you are also building, ultimately, and you get a real sense of your community you are creating than games such as Sim City. It's great as you colonise more islands and really see your world grow. The enemy characters are fun, and full of character - even if they can be maddening with their ability to turn on you at a moment's notice. My only grumble is that the game does cheat. You can isolate an enemy's island and destroy their storage, so you know they can only have a finite resource of something. But they can keep on churning out ships indefinitely. This is frustrating when you want to bring a game to a conclusion as it just protracts things. But that one grumble is nothing to dissuade me from saying this is one of the finest games ever.