Civilization VII: Initial Impressions from Early Reviews

With Sid Meier's Civilization VII launching next week, the review embargo has ended, and initial reactions are pouring in. Here's a summary of the key takeaways from various gaming outlets:

The most lauded new feature is the Era System, a significant departure from previous installments. This system dynamically evolves civilizations across distinct eras, preventing the overly long games and runaway civilizations that plagued earlier titles. Each era presents a unique gameplay experience with its own technologies and victory paths.

The flexibility to pair leaders with different civilizations is another highly praised addition. This enhances strategic depth, enabling players to create unconventional and powerful combinations – though historical accuracy sometimes takes a backseat.

Reviewers also lauded improvements in city placement, resource management, district construction, and a more streamlined user interface (UI). However, some felt the UI simplification went too far.

Criticisms include smaller map sizes, reducing the sense of scale found in previous games. Technical issues such as bugs and frame rate drops (FPS) when accessing menus were also reported. Another concern: matches occasionally ending prematurely and inconclusively.

Given the immense scale and replayability of a Civilization game, a definitive verdict will require extensive community exploration. Nevertheless, these early reviews offer a valuable initial assessment of Civilization VII.