Theos : Cities of Myth, the Spiritual Heir to Zeus Worthy of the City-Builder Pantheon

Your polis comes to life under the gaze of the gods

Today, we step back in time to an ancient era, that of Greece. Dotemu, in cooperation with Triskell Interactive, following their success on the remake of Pharaoh : A New Era, have teamed up once again to bring us Theos : Cities of Myth. While Pharaoh took us through the Egypt of the ancient gods, here we are propelled onto the Greek coasts, rediscovering Athena, Dionysus, Zeus, and Poseidon. A city builder, combat phases, and inter-city trade : the same DNA, refined formula. In Theos : Cities of Myth, we will develop a mother city, manage child cities under the aegis of their own deity, open trade routes, and from time to time face hostile cities reminding us that peace must be earned. As part of a partner press review, I got my hands on the game thanks to a key provided by Dotemu. And the least we can say is that this return to ancient Greece was well worth the detour.

From Pharaoh to Theos : the passion of French studios

First, one thing must be said : I love Pharaoh, Caesar, and Zeus : Master of Olympus, the titles released between the very late nineties and early two-thousands. I played them all in my youth, over and over again. So when I learned that remakes by our French creators were in the works, I simply could not miss out. And when Theos : Cities of Myth started making noise, I even paused trailers most of the time to carefully dissect everything I saw.

I can also tell you right away that I found Pharaoh : A New Era quite exceptional in its design, updates, and overall quality of work. On top of that, within their Discord, we could all see together that the developers genuinely listened to players and patched the game in the right direction across updates. Today, while some studios pretend to listen, others truly do, and for me, that remains a major strength.

A crystal-clear tutorial, and THE feature that changes everything

I therefore started my playthrough of Theos like everyone else : with the tutorial. It is very clear, simple, and fast. If you are a veteran of older games, you will not feel lost at all.

However, a huge and wonderful new feature makes its appearance : the ability to manually place the patrol route for each of your buildings, and that, frankly, is a very welcome addition. You likely remember that back in the day, managing character routes was quite a headache, requiring road blocks at numerous intersections to confine them where needed. Often, this resulted in a somewhat labyrinthic city, causing serious trouble if you were not meticulous.

All of that is now a thing of the past : for your firefighters for instance, by clicking on the building, you can now define the complete patrol route of your firemen. Do this right after placing the building, and you are set for the future. It is true QOL that everyone will love !

Tutorial combat : between chess and tower defense

After learning how to organize our city and open trade routes, we conclude the tutorial with combat phases. They resemble a game of chess or a tower defense. You are transported to a small map where you can place walls and towers, alongside the troops trained in your city. Once ready, you trigger the battle which unfolds before your eyes, though it is not a pure auto-battler : you can reposition your troops during combat to adapt to the situation, as enemies emerge from various points across the map. Making the right unit choices and placing your defenses correctly leads straight to victory !

A superb campaign : reliving my best years of Zeus

A total visual crush

With that part completed, we launched straight into the campaign. And right there... I relived my finest years playing Master of Olympus.

Admittedly, I remained quite stunned by the graphic quality and detail the developers poured into each building and unit. The game looks genuinely gorgeous, so much so that I zoomed in on every single asset to watch the city come alive close up. There are always lovely little details to observe : citizens at work, musicians playing their instruments, city guards patrolling streets, and hidden animals scattered everywhere. This creates a wonderful living dynamic across the game.

The buildings themselves look stunning too : every tile features rich detailing, crafted statues possess distinct identities, and color choices achieve perfect harmony. Honestly, I could not have hoped for a better resurrection for this style of game. The environments mirror those we played on 25 years ago. Huge hats off here, it is top-tier work.

Every city has its deity, and they must be cherished

Across missions, we must develop our mother city and subsequently manage new ones. Each city serves a specific god. These deities grant substantial bonuses, which requires keeping them satisfied. Building a powerful, flamboyant place of worship step by step becomes necessary. The rewards match the effort : blessed buildings, army buffs, production buffs... so pamper them well, as it is fully worth it !

From time to time, you can also recruit kinds of demigods who wander your streets and assist during missions, provided you meet specific objectives to draw them in. Finally, by properly developing your culture, certain philosophers and illustrious figures join the fold, further enriching city life.

Micro-management supported by clear indicators

A primary challenge involves micro-management : correctly positioning buildings and residential blocks, balancing production to prevent warehouse overload with raw materials, and keeping trade rational and tailored to needs without draining city funds. Everything must flow smoothly so the city breathes at its own pace.

Fortunately, many indicators assist you : production speeds for every farm or clay pit are displayed, warehouse capacity is visible in real-time, and sidebar buttons display the city's status instantly. You can check stocks, workforce status (unemployment or labor shortages), divine favor, mission objectives, and active trade routes across your entire settlement. Everything is clear and transparent.

Soundtrack : lacking a bit of punch

Regarding music, unfortunately, I found it lacked a bit of punch and identity. I wondered if players today will still remember these tunes in 25 years, whereas I can still hum every single track from Pharaoh. I have some doubts, as I would have preferred more impactful, intoxicating compositions.

As for sound design, something feels missing as well : I would have welcomed richer audio effects, hearing more ambient life to achieve total immersion. While zooming in reveals subtle water rippling, the audio feels slightly underwhelming given the dense visual animation. Even simple touches would help : zooming in on a character playing the harp could trigger a few notes, or hearing purrs and meows when zooming in on a cat. A more fleshed-out sound design would bring an extra layer of polish to the game.

A long, smooth... and educational campaign

The campaign proves relatively long, though proper resource management speeds progress up over time. Early on, while searching for specific information, I lost some time, but after two or three missions everything clicked, delivering that fluid, smooth experience.

The mythological layer represents a huge plus, and I will keep repeating it : if you are a parent, instead of putting your kids on Roblox or Call of Duty, introduce them to games like this. They will learn a tremendous amount about ancient civilizations, gaining valuable historical knowledge through play. Rare games nowadays still strive to teach cool, interesting subjects. In the late nineties, many titles shared this approach, and my generation soaked up history and geography simply by playing. Another clear win for Theos : Cities of Myth.

Combat : the dark spot on the canvas

If I must point out a few disappointing aspects, it would be combat, which feels perhaps a bit too simplified : it gave me the impression of leaving a real game to step into a mobile title. I would have preferred battles taking place directly inside our actual cities rather than on a radically simplified map. Players still retain manual control over defense and offense, which is appreciated, but it pulled me out of the immersion somewhat.

Perhaps the developers will alter the formula later on, much like they managed with Pharaoh : A New Era ; keeping an eye on updates will be key !

Official trailer and complete gameplay

To give you a proper feel for the atmosphere, here is first the official gameplay trailer for Theos : Cities of Myth, released by Dotemu :

And to watch the game running under real conditions, here is my complete gameplay test video on the Little Big Campus channel :

Verdict : Triskell nails another landing

I believe I have covered the game thoroughly. In conclusion, I will say that Theos : Cities of Myth is a fine achievement and I congratulate the creators : you hit the mark, successfully reviving a little treasure that remained warmly stored in our hearts. This was accomplished with a fine touch of simplification, a talented art direction, and deep respect for the original work. This explains why I titled this article around nailing another landing following Pharaoh.

These two cult games convinced me that, unlike other remakes, older late-90s versions might no longer need periodic installation on my hard drive, as the new ones comfortably claim their space. When a game preserves its deep core essence while introducing the precise dose of quality of life missing from older machines, the result hits the bullseye.

The game launches at 19.99 € on its Steam page, discounted to 15.99 € until November 11. Whether you are a veteran whose hair is turning white (or disappearing), or part of a younger generation, Theos : Cities of Myth offers wonderful hours ahead, and for that price amid so many average releases today, it stands out as a great deal.

A huge thank you to Dotemu for the press key, and congratulations to Triskell Interactive for this fresh success in the genre. So, ready to found a city worthy of the Olympian gods ?

FAQ

Is Theos : Cities of Myth a remake of Zeus : Master of Olympus ?
No, it is an original intellectual property, though Triskell Interactive presented it in press briefings as a spiritual successor to Zeus rather than a direct remake. The formula stays faithful to Impressions Games classics while incorporating modern QOL features, including editable patrol routes.

Is the game available in French ?
Yes, the interface, menus, and subtitles are fully available in French among nine total languages. Only the game voices remain in English, with no French dubbing announced to date. Francophone players face no language barriers.

Is Theos : Cities of Myth available on consoles ?
For now, no : the game is available exclusively on PC via Steam, and no console port has been announced so far. Dotemu and Triskell Interactive have made no statements to that effect, even though the formula would suit a console version well.

Do you need to be a city builder veteran to play ?
Not at all : the tutorial is clear, simple, and fast, while numerous indicators help monitor city status in real time. It serves as an excellent gateway into the genre, especially since the mythology layer makes it very accessible to history enthusiasts.

What is the price of the game, and how long is the campaign ?
The game is available for 19.99 € on Steam, discounted to 15.99 € until November 11, 2026. The campaign offers roughly thirty hours of gameplay, alongside a sandbox mode for freely building custom cities, entirely in solo.