Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization VII

Sid Meier’s Civilization

Almost a decade has passed since the release of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, and even though that game did eventually blossom into something grander over time, I can’t escape the feeling it was a sideways step for the Civilization franchise. I doubt the same will be true of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII because this is already a radically successful sequel dropping many of the sixth game’s bewilderingly complex elements for more straightforward, intuitive, and above all entertaining, empire-building concepts.

While Firaxis Games has continued to use a beautifully upgraded version of the fifth game’s turn-based engine, they’ve also made several dramatic changes to the series formula. The most significant of these involves the advancement trees for science and culture, with each one now split into self-contained ages representing the advancement of human history.

Players begin all standard games in the antiquity age where their prehistoric people discover the mysteries of writing and agriculture en route to the exploration age where the full world map begins revealing itself. By the modern age, each surviving civilisation strives to achieve one of the classic victory types, whether it be scientific, cultural, or domination, to win the game, including a new economic victory replacing the sixth game’s shaky religious alternative.

Ages now divide the game into distinct, satisfying eras that offer convenient break points. They also tell the story of a civilisation’s advancement and actually teach players how to win. Ages have unique legacy paths for each victory condition, with associated mission objectives helping an empire develop its science, culture, and military presence. These objectives are challenging and bestow powerful rewards to enhance a player’s chosen strategy. Compared to previous games where players were expected to figure out how to win by themselves, the guidance offered in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is a master stroke in comparison.

The way ages work also lessens the impact of science, which was always an overriding concern in previous games. Gone are the days of tanks crushing spearmen, as civilisations now advance through each scientific age together. No matter how research-obsessed a civilisation becomes, military forces can only be upgraded one step higher than the competition, and since standing armies are disbanded between ages, players must plan their operations more carefully from now on. It might sound strange, but the format is intuitive and sessions feel well paced as a result.

In another realistic touch (for those who care about that sort of thing), each civilisation goes into decline at the end of an age, whereupon a new civilisation possessing unique bonuses and play patterns must be selected to succeed them. I was sceptical of Firaxis’ choice to separate leaders from civilisations, but it does seem easier to balance this way, and I like how it helps players change their strategy. This was true in my second game where I planned a cultural victory with Rome in the first age before pivoting towards military domination with Russia in the third. (Those Katyusha Rocket Launchers proved too tempting!)

A considerable amount of micromanagement has also been eliminated by the removal of workers, with the new border growth and resource allocation mechanics making empire management a piece of cake. Warfare is likewise less frustrating because of the reduced number of unit types, not to mention some intelligently revamped conditions for achieving a domination victory. The very first unit players produce is free — a quality little tweak which makes starting build orders a breeze. With no more barbarians to worry about, the early scouting phase feels more inviting than ever. The first “X” in “4X” stands for “eXplore”, after all, and every victory path rather fittingly demands visibility of the world map. This is especially true in the exploration age where players are richly rewarded for sailing the seas to interact with leaders and continents in distant lands. It’s a design concept Firaxis Games has always encouraged, but they’ve done a particularly superb job of it here.

However, one design foible they haven’t solved is Civilization’s lacklustre end game. The itemised goals a player works towards in the modern age are still helpful, but the most exciting moments are always over by this point because there isn’t much value in growing cities or building things that don’t strictly fulfil the victory requirements. Religion and diplomacy (which both feel half-baked at the moment) are not very interactive features around this time either, with Wonders feeling the weakest they’ve been since Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth. (Thankfully, some good ideas from that spin-off including narrative quests, leaf technologies, and diplomatic agreements have been reimplemented quite well here.)

Natural disasters are the one feature I dislike the most right now. Random events like floods, hurricanes, and blizzards were introduced in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm where they commanded a meaningful part of said expansion’s design philosophy. But without emergency events, preventative measures, and the global warming layer providing context and relevance to late game politics, natural disasters in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII are nothing more than a worthless irritation. They damage settlements, introduce yet more tedious clicking, and take attention away from things a player actually does care about. I wish you could just turn them off!

With any new Civilization comes the reassurance that some of the wonkier mechanics will eventually be improved. I think the setup screen needs a second look, for instance. The complete information about a civilisation’s special abilities are not shown on one screen, with unique civics only viewable once a game has started. It wouldn’t be so bad if the Civlopedia could be viewed from the main menu. (Yes, I’m still bitter about this oversight!)

Thankfully, Firaxis Games is being more transparent this time as they’ve already shared a development roadmap promising balance adjustments, legacy path tweaks, and a return of the fan-favourite team mode for multiplayer games. Even so, the foundations already feel strong here, and I haven’t even mentioned how fast the AI is taking its turns now, or how clean the achievements list is, or talked about the fun prestige system which unlocks gameplay bonuses for completing progress milestones. Excelsior!

But us writers must accept how every Civilisation review will itself go into decline one day. Many of the thoughts you’ve read here will become irrelevant years from now when the developers release new updates and expansions radically changing what will be another long-term project. All I can really talk about is how promising those aforementioned foundations are, so based on what I’ve played here in v1.0.1, I’ll say the future looks bright. None of these games start life as a masterpiece, but Sid Meier’s Civilization VII has all the potential to become one.

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