Civilization 7 Review – A failed revolution with a whole bunch of problems

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In the realm of strategy games, particularly 4X turn-based ones, the “Civilization” series is highly valued by its enthusiasts for delivering quality installments. To date, none of the main releases have fallen short of expectations. Each new version has contributed something fresh to the established formula, albeit in a way that may have puzzled a small number. Regrettably, that tradition seems to be shattered with the arrival of “Civilization 7,” which deviates from this pattern.

This game appears to have veered off course, potentially leading to cul-de-sacs. Additionally, it seems to overlook key aspects that contributed to the extraordinary success of Sid Meier’s series. To make matters worse, this game is not yet fully complete and could benefit from several more months of refinement before reaching a satisfactory level of quality.

New age, new me

Discussing “Civilization 7”, it’s natural to first reflect on the developers’ promises after its announcement. They positioned this latest installment as a departure from the established formula, aiming for a revolutionary change to breathe new life into the Civ series. This was meant to be achieved through various innovative mechanics, such as the age system and crisis events. Instead of one continuous game, this version has been split into three distinct ages: Antiquity, Modernity, and Future Ages. Moreover, each playthrough offers a new civilization to lead, providing unique advantages, units, and buildings. This design was intended to ensure that the game remains engaging, particularly during late-game phases.

In essence, how does this system function in reality? Frankly, I find it hard to explain succinctly other than saying “it can be intricate.” Traditionalists of civilization might not embrace it, but if you’re open to novel ideas, it could prove quite fascinating. Regrettably, its execution leaves much to be desired. Here, I attempt to rephrase the given sentence: The mechanism of ages strips away one of the key aspects of Civilization, which is the sense of a sandbox-like environment.

In the latest version of Civilization 7, each session is broken down into three distinct phases. Throughout every phase, or age, you’ll have the opportunity to found new cities, advance scientifically and culturally, manage your economy, and engage in conflicts with other nations – all familiar aspects from previous installments. However, this time around, Legacy mechanics are introduced, which are essentially a series of tasks or ‘quests’. These tasks, divided into four categories (scientific, economic, military, and cultural), offer significant bonuses for the next age if completed. The game does mention that this feature is optional, but it’s essential to understand that the benefits derived from the Legacy are substantial, and neglecting them could lead to challenges in the subsequent era, especially since AI opponents are always aiming to complete these quests.

As a fan, I find myself wishing for more flexibility in these games, as the objectives seem overly specific each time. Instead of being general, they’re like a checklist that requires building a certain number of wonders, assigning a specific number of specialists to cities, and setting up settlements in predetermined locations. At first, this change might feel exciting, but it soon becomes repetitive when you realize that every new game follows the same pattern, with no room for deviation from the developers’ set framework.

In a contemporary military context, it might appear that progress necessitates further territorial acquisitions and army growth. However, the truth is that only colonizing foreign lands is rewarding – those who expand their territory within their immediate vicinity will reap no benefits, regardless of how many nearby cities they control or the strength of their army.

While not every version of Legacy is problematic, I must admit that I appreciated the economic route in the contemporary period, which centered around exploration and setting up remote colonies to acquire rare resources. However, it’s important to note that this path necessitates playing within a rigid framework, as the developers deemed that players should not have the liberty to make their own decisions.

To put it simply, there’s another problem with the in-game age system. Namely, all players synchronously advance or reset to the same development stage at the start of a new era, regardless of their technological lead or lag. This means that even if you’re behind in technology or have outperformed your opponents, you both start afresh at the same level. As a result, much of the progress made in the previous age becomes insignificant, and the Legacies are the primary advantage. Furthermore, forget about recreating the classic medieval cavalry vs tank battles like in Civilization.

The new crisis mechanics, which occur at the end of each era and include possibilities like epidemics, barbarian invasions, or unrest in the colonies, may be the most frustrating part when it comes to undermining a player’s progress. Although the concept seems intriguing, its execution still leaves room for improvement.

It appears the developers designed the challenges within the game to seem extremely threatening to the player. However, these difficulties don’t escalate significantly, even when playing at higher levels of difficulty. As a result, we can smoothly run our virtual country, advance it, and construct costly wonders without much trouble. Yet, the game continues to portray a sense of impending doom and collapse. Even after resolving the crisis, our cities still suffer negative repercussions in terms of reduced levels. This situation suggests that Civilization 7 might be programmed to guide players towards a specific playstyle rather than allowing us to create our unique narratives.

PROS:

  1. core of the gameplay can still be engaging;
  2. beautiful graphic design of the map;
  3. great soundtrack full of influences from various cultures;
  4. beautiful audiovisual setting;
  5. new city development mechanic.

CONS:

  1. very limited replayability due to the Legacy always looking the same;
  2. age system limits the classic sandbox nature of Civilization, and the lack of a fourth era suggests plans for aggressive monetization;
  3. Crises, although interesting in theory, turned out to be a minor threat;
  4. interface is an unreadable mess;
  5. major simplification of mechanics from earlier games and lack of QoL features;
  6. bugs affecting the gameplay;
  7. AI is even worse than in previous games, as it can’t handle the new mechanics;
  8. game feels like it’s actually in early access.

A series of unfortunate mishaps

Sure thing!

While I understand your latest updates, I’ve previously expressed concerns about them. However, it seems that the developers have invested so much effort into new features that they may have neglected some of the improvements made to other aspects of Civilization. The upcoming seventh installment will feature religion, systems, and city-states mechanics, but these appear to be more restrictive than in previous versions.

In politics, you can see these ancient-like representations of various governance systems such as autocracy, democracy, monarchy, and more. Yet, the selection among them holds little significance, for it only matters which one offers the best advantage during a period of widespread prosperity, often referred to as the golden age. This benefit doesn’t influence policy options, their number, or any other aspects. Interestingly, it would have been beneficial to continue the concept from the sixth installment, where the type of government determined the variety of laws we could enact.

In this revised version, diplomatic interactions were significantly streamlined. Upon initial observation, there appear to be numerous options for engaging with other leaders, however, most of these are attributed to the shift of espionage (in a less complex form than in the sixth edition) into this interface. A handful of treaties were incorporated, which ensure scientific, cultural, or food advantages for both parties, and the option for direct trading with rivals was removed. Instead, merchants now offer access to resources gathered by any given settlement when dispatched to distant cities.

In peaceful discussions between nations, it’s quite intriguing that we can only swap cities with one another. In today’s context, the most dominant strategy in conquering seems to be declaring war on someone, allowing them to approach your territory, defeating their forces, and subsequently proposing peace. Interestingly, in this scenario, AI is willing to surrender its territories to us, even without any direct threat to them. In past instances, our adversaries might have compensated us with gold or resources; however, in the current setting, such alternatives are nonexistent, leading them to propose exchanging entire cities instead.

Numerous instances exist where complex mechanisms have been streamlined. Today, religion functions primarily as a means to gain modest benefits in cities with temples. In essence, nation-states have devolved into barbarians, with some displaying hostility while others are amicable. Once we forge an alliance with one of these settlements, our adversaries can no longer vie for their favor. I recognize that these aspects will likely undergo development through upcoming DLCs, but at present, they lack the depth to spark enthusiasm.

Early access for full price

What I’ve discussed thus far can be seen as the game’s framework, but it’s not just this aspect that presents issues. The overall game seems to resemble an early access title, suggesting a delay of several more months for its full release. Its technical state or user interface also warrants some worry.

After announcements, critical players often focus on the user interface first. To put it bluntly, the UI is a confusing mess. The text is hard to read, making it tough to find useful information. At times, it seems like the game is purposely keeping secrets from the player, which makes it harder to understand new features and can leave you feeling lost amidst the cluttered window design.

As a gamer, I find myself struggling with the tiny, blurry icons and the confusing blend of interface elements with the game’s graphics. The lack of useful filters or overlays makes it hard for me to understand the context of my actions and progress. To illustrate the issue, let me take the technology tree as an example. It seems someone thought it would be clever to label both the developed and available technologies in brown. Honestly, this just adds to the confusion and complexity of the gameplay experience.

In addition, we’re missing some modern quality-of-life features that even dated back to the times of Civilization 3. For instance, the auto-exploration option is conspicuously absent in Civ 7, which was commonly found as a standard feature. Furthermore, adjusting the direction of your units isn’t as intuitive or swift as it should be. Instead of simply clicking on a new location, you have to first halt the unit’s movement and then select a new target.

In Civilization 7, you won’t find an abundance of customizable gameplay features. The available map sizes are limited to just three, with the largest being “standard.” There isn’t much variation in how maps are generated, and most of them, excluding archipelagos, share a similar appearance – usually two irregularly shaped landmasses separated by small islands. This uniformity is due to the game’s mechanics being based on Legacy. Consequently, it’s not surprising that the map creator also lacks options for altering factors like temperature, precipitation, sea level, and other similar features.

Incorporate into this mix a rather weak AI that evidently finds it challenging to adapt to the novel aspects introduced in the series. This becomes particularly apparent during warfare, as artificial intelligence struggles to grasp the intricacies of leading entire armies while working alongside commanders. The battles against AI are amusing, even at high difficulty settings – adversaries often fail to conquer despite having a significant advantage.

How about discussing the state of Civilization 7? It’s not in great shape here either. The game is overflowing with technical issues. Lighthearted glitches, like units mysteriously standing on water without a care in the world, can be amusing. But the problems frequently impact crucial aspects, such as the objectives from the Legacies. They often refuse to complete even when all necessary conditions are met, or they malfunction if we finish a quest stage ahead of schedule, disrupting the game’s intended progression.

In addition to gameplay concerns, Civilization 7 has seemingly lost some of its unique character and charm. For example, where earlier versions featured stunning representations of real-life masterpieces like art, literature, and music, the current version offers more generic items such as codes and artifacts.

Despite everything, it’s still you

When you briefly set aside concerns and focus solely on playing, you can sense the existence of an extraordinary civilization, adored by gamers worldwide. Despite encountering issues, I found myself compulsively advancing through turns to discover what lay ahead. Annoyances from bugs didn’t deter me; instead, I continued to engage in the game due to its enduring appeal. Although some might argue that the game’s replayability is limited due to Legacy, if you momentarily disregard that aspect, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy an entertaining experience for a while.

While it’s not entirely accurate to say that everything about Civilization 7 was flawed, there were indeed certain aspects that left much to be desired. However, one cannot deny the exceptional graphic design of the game. The intricate layering of landscapes, the ability to navigate rivers, cities sprawling across the land, and the depiction of natural wonders all contribute to a game brimming with detail. I’ve often found myself drawn in by the captivating view of mountains rising next to small towns or rivers flowing between picturesque buildings.

In this updated version, the cities are consistently evolving by spreading into fresh territories, with each building forming distinctive groupings. These unique configurations make our settlements visually appealing and stand out as some of the most attractive in the game’s history.

Credit is equally due to those responsible for crafting the soundtrack. Just like the main theme of Civ 7 and the accompanying tunes during gameplay, they both align perfectly with the game’s overall ambiance. As has become a hallmark of Sid Meier’s series, there’s an impressive array of tracks in the background that reflect the diverse cultures within the game. Given your enjoyment of the soundtracks from past iterations, you can look forward to equally enjoyable experiences here.

In another perspective, each stage in history has its benefits, particularly the method of accessing subsequent nations. Transitioning into a new epoch, we are not given the liberty to pick any civilization available. Instead, our selection is limited to a pool that we’ve earned access to by overcoming specific tasks. There are numerous such tasks, and they frequently pertain to the civilizations in question – for example, you can open France by enhancing a certain number of fields with wine resources, whereas Prussia can be accessed if your military consists of enough generals.

Elephant in the room

Ultimately, it’s important to address a potential point of debate: the absence of the contemporary information age in Civilization 7. It has been clear for some time that this installment will skip over the modern era. The developers have consistently maintained that this decision is part of their strategic plan, and they may introduce the next era at a later stage, once they have figured out an effective way to incorporate it.

In the context of the game, the action generally wraps up around the 1960s. However, it’s unusual because in reality, we started exploring space after this time, but in the game, there won’t be advanced weaponry as they were already common during that era. In Civilization 7, you might notice that nuclear weapons aren’t fully utilized either, since their production is a key step towards military victory and the game ends just as these weapons are being developed (the “one more turn” feature hasn’t been implemented yet). It seems strange that the game skips over such an important era.

It seems the game’s progression system might be incomplete, potentially reserved for future DLC expansions. The sense of an untimely ending in the game is also present due to the victory conditions in the third era, which seem more like intermediate steps towards a larger triumph instead of a true finale. For example, cultural victory isn’t gained by dominating the world with influence, but by hosting a World’s Fair, an event significant for the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, yet not particularly impactful in this context. Essentially, there’s no clear ending here, and the usual content that is characteristic of this game series appears to be missing.

See you in a year

As for the future of Civilization 7, it seems promising despite the current issues. You can sense beneath all the glitches and imperfections, a solid game trying to emerge. I have faith that in a year’s time, after Firaxis has made numerous updates and potentially one large expansion pack, Civilization 7 will prove to be a worthy successor to its esteemed predecessors.

For now, I’m stepping away from this game because after investing numerous hours into it, I find myself drained and sensing that there’s little fresh content for me to explore. Sadly, the developers’ designs have resulted in my growing tired of performing repetitive tasks instead of the excitement of unearthing new discoveries with each try. If I wanted to complete quests, I would opt for a well-crafted RPG, not Civilization.

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2025-02-03 17:04