Mario Bautista
Various historical settings from around the world and across the centuries have been rinsed by videogames at this point – feudal Japan, World War 2 Germany, ancient Greece, you know the ones. However, one that seems to be overlooked despite its rich history is the Aztec Empire. Well, Tlatoani is a new city builder that’s bucking that trend, and you’ll be able to try it out for free soon when October’s Steam Next Fest kicks off.
Yes, another Next Fest is almost here and that means a flurry of games getting free demos. Nice. Tlatoani is one such title, letting players get a taste of life as the ruler of the Aztec Empire by building and managing your own Mesoamerican metropolises. Of course, all the usual parameters of city building games are here – don’t expand too hastily and manage your finances, make sure your people are happy and have enough resources, set up trade with other cities, and protect your settlements from overworld events like natural disasters.
However, there is a neat little touch that makes Tlatoani stand out from the crowd, and that is the requirement for symmetry. Aztec architecture and design in general shows a remarkable obsession and accuracy with symmetry, and smart symmetrical design of your cities will be rewarded. “Honor the old Aztec traditions of building symmetrical cities. Align, mirror and balance your city’s buildings, roads and layout to achieve perfect symmetry and please the gods, or face the consequences of disorderly city design,” its Steam page reads.
In the game’s demo, titled Tlatoani Prologue, you’ll be able to play through three tutorial missions and three scenario missions to get a flavor for what’s in store when the game releases in early access on Thursday, October 31.
The Tlatoani Prologue demo will be free to all Steam users during Steam Next Fest, which runs from Monday October 14 to Monday October 21. To get ahead, you can wishlist it now and learn even more about it over on its game page here.
While nothing will scratch the Aztec itch quite like Tlatoani, here are some other amazing management games and strategy games that you can try while you wait for its demo and early access launch.
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