Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
MSRP $70.00
“Sid Meier’s Civilization VII succeeds at making one of the most storied strategy game franchises still feel fresh.”
Pros
Makes a frightening style approachable
Lots of emergent storytelling potential
Excellent narration and soundtrack
More partaking meta-progression
Cons
Overly rewards aggressive play
Individual civilizations are much less memorable
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Nailing the 4X Fundamentals
History within the making
It comes with Ages
Polished presentation
Civilization video games all the time seize me proper from the primary flip due to the potential they maintain. I can have methods for my marketing campaign in thoughts, however I’ve to dynamically react and reshape my plans as I uncover new areas, develop my cities towards particular assets, and meet different civilizations that would grow to be pals or foes. Sid Meier’s Civilization VII does nothing to sully that unbelievable core formulation; actually, it discovered a strategy to give me that feeling a number of occasions over.
If you’ve performed a Civilization sport earlier than, you’ll typically know what to anticipate from Civilization VII because the core constructing blocks of this Firaxis franchise haven’t modified, though Firaxis retains discovering intelligent methods to maintain that formulation contemporary. In the case of Civilization VII, it does so by leaning into giving gamers the instruments to craft emergent tales of their very own.
Games at the moment are break up into three Ages, every of which might present a contemporary begin and new alternatives for gamers as their efforts are reborn into a brand new civilization. While Civilization VII actually favors those that play aggressively, and a few elements of its narrative supply aren’t as impactful as they might’ve been, I nonetheless had a great deal of enjoyable conquering the world, partaking within the area race, and extra.
Civilization 7 – Official Reveal Trailer | gamescom 2024
Nailing the 4X Fundamentals
Civilization VII is a 4X technique sport, which means that its core sport loop duties me with exploring the land round my beginning metropolis, increasing my territory via conquest, exploiting the assets my metropolis encompasses, and exterminating any opponents I encounter. Concurrently, I’m researching applied sciences and civics to boost my civilization’s capabilities and specializing in a cultural, navy, scientific, or financial Legacy Path to attain victory.
Depending on the civilization and leaders I selected, there are even additional permutations in my talents and the out there models and buildings to create. As I’ve expertise with earlier Civilization video games, I settled proper into this and shortly turned a continent conqueror. While 4X video games sometimes have an approachability downside, that’s not true for Civilization VII. There’s not as a lot to micromanage right here as there’s in a sport like Ara: History Untold; commanding models, increasing my cities, and constructing buildings all feels intuitive.
There’s a flurry of informative tutorials to decide into and an enormous glossary I can sift via at any time if I’ve a query about one thing particular. On high of that, there are tradition, navy, science, or financial advisors who provide tips about which buildings or models to construct and what targets to finish. While following exactly what they advisable meant I wouldn’t maximize the potential of my civilization, that wasn’t required for victory.
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Instead, these suggestions present me with a transparent path to success; that course of may make even novice gamers really feel like strategic masterminds when enjoying Civilization VII. If you’ve bounced off the likes of Ara: History Untold, Frostpunk 2, or Humankind resulting from their complexity, I’d nonetheless advocate giving Civilization VII a shot as an enlightening gateway into the 4X style.
History within the making
While Civilization VII feels approachable from an professional and novice perspective, it boldly evolves the sequence’ formulation in stunning methods, primarily via the Age system. Playthroughs of Civilization VII are break up into three distinct ages: The Antiquity Age, the Exploration Age, and the Modern Age. I needed to make my means via these ages so as, with a transition taking place at any time when I accomplished sufficient Legacy Path targets.
The Antiquity Age encompasses the beginning of the sport; that’s the place I based my first metropolis, engaged in some smaller skirmishes and wars, and settled on pursuing a navy victory. In the Exploration Age, I expanded my empire, taking on the continent I began on and breaching the brand new world. In the Modern Age, playthrough victory got here into sight, and I began a mad sprint towards that because the expertise and civics I used to be researching began to really feel extra relevant to the fashionable day.
Age transitions cancel out any wars in progress, offering me a contemporary begin to work via each time. I discovered the Exploration Age the longest and most grueling to get via, however I had essentially the most enjoyable with the highly effective applied sciences of the Modern Age. Each Age has its personal assets, civics, applied sciences, models, buildings, and narrative occasions; extra importantly, I additionally performed as a distinct Civilization in every Age.
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Civilization VII’s boldest change is likely to be that gamers are not accountable for one civilization your entire time. Instead, leaders and civilizations are chosen independently, and gamers select a brand new civilization with every Age. I may begin my playthrough as Persia and finish as Prussia. It’s a neat concept, and it feels extra just like how Humankind dealt with its civilizations than how Civilization VI did. It places a big twist on what’s in any other case a reasonably acquainted formulation, and the consequences of this determination ripple all through the remainder of Civilization VII.
It comes with Ages
There are professionals and cons to this method. It actually provides to the distinctive feeling of every Age, and seeing the wonders and ageless buildings I erected for a earlier civilization in a single Age to the following was rewarding. It additionally provides visible selection, so issues don’t look stale ten hours right into a marketing campaign. That mentioned, I typically felt extra indifferent from the civilization I selected than I did in earlier video games.
In my favourite sport within the sequence, Civilization V, I felt like I used to be bringing my particular civilization to new heights with every passing flip. Playing Civilization VII felt extra like mastering a personality in a hero shooter, as I discovered methods to greatest make the most of their buffs with the particular talents of my civilization every Age to maximise development. That’s a bit of disappointing, so I hope particular person civilizations grow to be extra memorable as I proceed to play this sport. While I may not have felt as hooked up to the person civilizations I managed, I did really feel extra concerned within the private narrative of my playthroughs than ever earlier than.
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Taking cues from video games like Frostpunk 2, narrative occasions are frequent and infrequently ask gamers to make decisions for various rewards. These added extra taste to my playthroughs, as did the emergent moments that arose based mostly on the alliances I cast and the wars I waged. This feeling was solely enhanced in multiplayer after I may speak to the folks behind different civilizations as they handled their very own emergent skirmishes, narrative occasions, pure disasters, and extra.
Another shortcoming of Civilization VII, particularly on decrease difficulties, is that taking a militaristic method feels overpowered. Whenever I singularly pursued military-focused objectives in a playthrough, my energy would shortly snowball, and I’d really feel assured in an endgame victory by the center of the Exploration Age. Victories had been potential after I determined to pursue different Legacy Paths, however I felt like I all the time wanted a powerful navy regardless. Civilization video games have all the time rewarded extra aggressive play, however Civilization VII, specifically, is likely to be too finely tuned to favor that.
Polished presentation
There’s room for Civilization VII’s gameplay to enhance and develop over time, however it is going to accomplish that from a powerful core. Firaxis additionally received’t have to do a lot to the touch up the presentation of Civilization VII, which is terrific. Gwendoline Christie is my favourite Civilization narrator but, as she places ardour and grandeur behind every bit of narration she reads.
The soundtrack is fantastic, incorporating every kind of devices and sounds from world wide to create a soundscape distinct from some other one I’ve listened to in a technique sport. I usually play video games like this with headphones off, however I’m all the time tempted to place them on every time I boot this sport up.
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I even have a cause to return again to the sport exterior of liking the way it performs now due to the meta-progression Firaxis added. By finishing challenges throughout playthroughs — like doing a sure variety of unbiased actions — gamers earn expertise for Foundation and Leader Paths. Progressing via these unlocks participant card customization choices and Momentos that can provide leaders small buffs throughout gameplay. Currently, Civilization VII options no microtransactions associated to this technique, and I hope it stays that means, because it’s good to get some small rewards for committing a lot time to the sport.
Civilization VII is a sport I see myself spending plenty of time enjoying sooner or later, even now that this assessment is completed. Firaxis discovered inventive methods to make the well-polished Civilization formulation really feel contemporary with all of the adjustments the Ages system brings with it. I’ve solely scratched the floor by way of the sense of discovery that it might probably provide, and that isn’t even accounting for all of its anticipated post-launch DLC. Civilization VII is a worthy bearer of this franchise’s identify, and I’m intrigued by the entire potential locations Civilization can go from right here.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII was reviewed on PC with a code offered by the writer.