It’s hard not to get excited by the release of a new Civilization game. There’s just something so grand about this particular grand strategy franchise, appealing to a crowd beyond the traditional tactical gamer. It’s the foray into humanity’s past and the ability to shape that lineage from ancient civilisation to modern times. However, with 6 mainline games already in the catalogue alongside countless expansions, what’s left for this series to explore?
Safe to say that Civilization VII, whilst still absolutely feeling like a Civilization game, also makes some considerable changes to the franchise formula. This isn’t an iterative release, it’s a reworking of concepts and ideas with a firm goal of maintaining player focus and making some of the more complex mechanics more approachable. It could be that your dedicated player would still prefer the strategy found in previous iterations. But for those of us appreciating something fresh, Civilization VII delivers and reinvigorates.
Thankfully I got to spend a couple dozen hours with the new release and whilst I’m appreciating what I’m experiencing, there still feels like a whole lot more to discover.
Visually, Civ 7 opts for stylised realism when compared to its more cartoonish predecessor. I’m far from a visual aesthetic elitist, but I do appreciate this new title’s look and feel. It’s a crucial element of this game because the discovery of the world and the formation of your civilisation are so core to the game’s appeal. This is a world that feels alive. Early ventures into the fog of war reveal gorgeous topographical details as cliff faces jut over desert oases and rich natural resources shine from the heart of dense rainforest. There’s a lot more dimension to the verticality of the landscape and large rivers open up new opportunities for naval navigation. It’s a world that’s just fun to inhabit and the detail is simply enhanced when you zoom in. The same can be said for your cities as well, with each new building or land improvement further establishing your metropolis of industry.
Key details differ Civ 7 from its predecessors including the lack of Barbarians. In this latest release, the concept of Barbarians and City-States have been consolidated with Villages. A Village can start either friendly or hostile and with enough Influence can be turned into a fully-fledged City-State which you can Suzurein. It’s a smart conjoining of two ideas and helps to lay some of the fundamental groundwork of this game’s design philosophy—feeling more streamlined as well as more consistent. Consistency works here by removing the random element of the Barbarian. In Civ 6, a start could be crippled by aggressive barbs or you could be totally left alone, allowing you to focus on city growth. In Civ 7, whilst a hostile Village can send units your way, they are much more predictable and can’t surprise you time and time again with a new Barbarian Village spawn.
“…helps to lay some of the fundamental groundwork of this game’s design philosophy—feeling more streamlined as well as more consistent”
That consistency carries over to the tile yield as well. In my time with Civilization VII, I never felt the urge to restart a game because of an unfavourable starting location. Tundra and desert tiles feel less punishing, removing those potentially crushing early-game frustrations.
The game continues to streamline by removing worker units, tying tile improvements into your city’s natural growth. There seem to be fewer decisions surrounding your cities’ many production options, removing a lot of the micromanagement and allowing you to focus on units, exploration, and combat.
Changes to combat took a minute to learn, but they too eventually felt improved. Commanders allow you to form troops of units, construct fortifications, and attack in unity. They are also your only way to gather experience and promotions. A clearer tutorial would benefit first-time players, though I’m sure a plethora of resources will be made available shortly after release.
Whilst I don’t want to get bogged down in simply commenting on changed features when compared to Civilization VI, the concept of Ages definitely needs to be mentioned. The game is played across 3 Ages, acting as a small reset point as you progress. You can select a new Empire at the start of a new age, with the preview allowing us to comment on the first two ages—the Antiquity and Exploration Age. As someone who historically struggled to finish their games of Civilization, I have to praise the idea here. These natural milestones within a game help to refocus and create mini-goals to work towards. It certainly doesn’t completely remove that feeling of dread and the slowdown associated with managing multiple cities and units further into the game. But it does go part of the way in reducing that overwhelming feeling that can arise when you’re deep into a match.
Ages also help bolster that aforementioned design philosophy of consistency. Start off a bit behind? That’s okay! The next Age is your opportunity to reset and get back ahead.
“Civilization as a series has always felt transparent and earnest… yet something here just feels slightly too gamified for my taste.”
Civilization VII also has meta-progression allowing you to unlock new things for future games. This is an interesting choice and one that I feel may be met with division. On the one hand, it’s nice to feel as though you’re being rewarded for a game well-fought. On the other, it’s unfortunate that not everything is immediately available to you. Meta-progression can thankfully be turned off for multiplayer matches, not that I got to play any during the preview period. However, there’s still a sacrifice that was made. Civilization as a series has always felt transparent and earnest, holding true to its convictions. Yet something here just feels slightly too gamified for my taste.
Fans may also notice a distinct lack of map types and map sizes when starting a fresh world. This will no doubt be fixed with future updates, both paid and free, but creates a slight downgrade feeling when comparing any new Civ game to its predecessor. Regardless, I would have loved to have seen some more options here with a base-release game. It’s also possible that these are locked behind some meta-progression, but that’s far from ideal as well.
Regardless of some minor curiosities, my excitement for Civilization VII is still certainly very high. These early impressions may well change and evolve over time as I look to sink plenty of hours into what could easily be my next obsession. The game is releasing on February 11 to PC and consoles. For those interested in finding out more information, you can head to the game’s official website or keep an eye out for our review in the lead-up to release.
About the Author
Elliot Attard
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Beer aficionado, PC gamer, TV show binge-watcher, music lover, and elite member of high society - Elliot possesses all of the qualities needed to project his word thoughts straight into your eye holes.
