Memoriapolis is a strategy city-builder that allows you to create an empire that will last thousands of years.

In most city builders, I end up feeling like a mayor or an urban planner. Memoriapolis is a game that launched early access today on Steam. I feel like a god emperor, because the city you manage will grow and expand not just for a few decades or centuries, but over millennia.

This new strategy city builder is a little bit like Civ. You do some traditional survival city building stuff by setting up farms, quarries and woodcutters. You also set up trade routes, expand your buildable area, and harvest resources.

I played some Memoriapolis last week and it is doing some interesting things. You don't need to micromanage as much as you do in other city builders. However, this can be a double-edged blade. You don't have to build roads or define the boundaries of farms and residential areas. Just place a farm, and your tiny farmers will start plowing fields and planting crops without you. Neighborhoods will rise around your city centre on their own. It has a nice organic feel and it is fun to watch your city grow. But, one of the joys for builders is making those small decisions themselves.

You will need to manage your city’s resources from food to lumber and ensure that your city is prosperous and attracting more citizens. In my game, my city was home to a dozen different factions including Spartans and Carthaginians. I also remember a few others from my school days. Each faction has their own interests and desires that can be reflected by the city you are building. You can build a gladiator or arena to please a military faction, such as the Ludus Magnus. A college will appeal to the eggheads, like the Hippocratic Doctors. You can tax each faction separately, giving you another way to appeal to them (or piss them off).

These factions are also important when you want to pass laws after building your senate. I wanted to pass the "Love Your Neighbor' decree because of the growing tension between the different religious groups in my town. But since my four most influential factions are all military, they were not too keen on the love stuff, and the chances for it passing were low. However, they were happy to vote in favor of a citywide curfew. I'm certain that appeasing military leaders will never come back to bite my, ever.

You can also participate in world events. Macedonia asked if I would help it besiege Amphipolis - without checking my history books, I will assume that it is an aquatic city with fish people - in exchange for a prison full of slaves. This didn't sit well with me so I defended Greece and received a new building to add to the list. Later, my assistance emboldened the Greeks to attack Rome. I was on their side. I'm sick of hearing about Rome. It's time to sack it! These events can be costly and have other effects. By staying friends with the powerful Greeks my city's security rating and citizens morale both went up. I'm also concerned that the Greeks' hysterical behavior across Europe could have negative effects on me in the future.

As my city grew, I began to build a Wonder called the Sassi di Matera. This Wonder requires massive amounts of resources. I had started trading early, building a market and establishing routes between off-screen towns (except for the one I lost when I let Rome fall), so I was able to buy all the materials that I had never researched or produced myself. You can advance to the next era by building a wonder. Your city will continue to grow.

Memoriapolis has a unique feel, as you make more important decisions about your city's overall direction instead of focusing on roads, parks and decorations. I wish I could zoom a little closer to my city. There's some animation on city streets, but my city doesn't feel very alive. I don't think I'll be able to follow people around like in Cities: Skylines. But it would be nice if you could look a little closer at places like the arena to see what's happening.

Memoriapolis was released into early access today on Steam. 5PM Studio, the developer behind the game, says that the plan is for the game to remain in early access between four and six months. However, this timeframe could be "dependent" on community feedback.