Civilization 7 Review

Many studios have tried to claim the historical 4X throne in the absence of an all-new Civilization entry, but it’s safe to say none have managed to convince enough diehards to leave Civilization 5 and 6 behind. Thus, it’s time for Sid Meier’s enduring series to make a return. Is Civilization 7 a refreshing triumph or a middling rehash?

Reviews so far (we’re arriving late to the party because so was our code) are generally favorable, but there are outliers and player complaints worth paying attention to. Has this seventh mainline entry strayed too far from the series’ roots and oversimplified the loop? That, in my humble opinion, feels like an overreaction. Sure, Civilization 7 can feel rough or slightly confused at times, but it’s also the first entry in quite some time that has made an effort to rethink some of its core systems and question the flow of hours-long matches.

At the center of the game’s marketing has been the radical idea of breaking each game into three distinct acts that represent big chunks of Earth’s history. “History is built in layers,” Firaxis correctly stated a while back. Civilization games have always worked with ‘what if’ scenarios, letting players (as well as AI opponents) use time and history as one big turn-based playground, so the idea of France being a thing since the ancient times and all the way up to the Atomic Age wasn’t too cooky. In Civilization 7, there’s one big twist which has a domino effect on almost every element: Civilizations change, come and go, and never stay the same for too long.

This is similar to Humankind’s whole angle, which was relatively successful but still struggled to make a lasting impression. Firaxis, however, was confident in its creative chops to make a similar approach compelling, and unless you’re a purist that’s actually not interested in leaving the two previous entries behind, Civilization 7 does a fine job of selling that redesign.

Firaxis has talked time and again about a ‘rule of thirds’ in which one third is traditional gameplay, one third is improved from the previous entry, and one third is new. It’s easy to discern that philosophy after playing Civilization 7 for a while. It was crystal-clear to everyone who’d been paying attention to the 4X space that such a strategy would cause division, but with the entire genre seemingly stuck in the early 2010s doctrine of ‘good’ 4X design, especially when it comes to historical propositions, this bold swing is largely a good thing even if Firaxis hasn’t hit all the balls.

More than ever before, civilization leaders are player avatars. They’ve gained their own progression tracks that are separate from the shared technology and cultural trees… as well as nations since those rotate out twice during a full match of Civ7 (you can set up games that start later into human history though). While other systems and mechanics have been streamlined to make the whole thing land closer to a tabletop-like experience, there are all-new extra layers of customization that pile up and arguably make this entry the most flexible one yet.

You’re no longer stuck with a long-term strategy that isn’t working for several hours. Bouncing back from unpredictable disasters (human-made or natural) is easier than before. No one should celebrate victory before fully reaching their objectives. Firaxis has claimed in the past that not many players actually finished their Civilization games, and Civilization 7 does a better of job of discouraging us from entering an ‘auto-pilot’ state or re-rolling the whole thing when too many problems arise.

More present advisors and ‘questlines’ that look straight out of an RPG might give the initial impression of Civilization 7 having too many guardrails, but they’re just a push to make the more casual crowd engage with long-term goals and actually keep track of how everyone else is doing. Pivoting from one victory condition to another one has never felt easier, and the age resets are key to making this new approach work.

These transitions could’ve been handled better though. I don’t mind leaving obsolete bits of my nation behind and figuring out a new strategy (or an upgrade of the previous one) after advancing into a new act, but the (rather lengthy) load screens between them are outdated and disrupt the overall flow of the games. Moreover, being greeted with an onslaught of screens and homework that needs redoing right after loading in feels messy and inelegant. As it stands (we wouldn’t rule out reworks), age/act transitions are more like partial match relaunches than smooth refreshes.

Similarly, the UI needed extra work. It looks cheap overall, and some elements far too often clutter up the screen, obscuring information and visuals that you’re trying to keep tabs on while opening up submenus and little windows. On the other hand, looking at what the other nations are currently doing and how they’re faring has never been more concise, so there’s that. Again, this could see substantial upgrades in the future (and it appears Firaxis is already on the case), but it’s a negative right now.

Another criticism that’s somewhat connected to the lacking UI is the fact that too many critical base-level features are straight-up missing. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to make scouts auto-explore, and troops can’t fortify and sleep until an enemy is nearby at the same time anymore. Despite Firaxis’ efforts towards minimizing micromanagement, dealing with many units in the later stages can a bit of a hassle for no good reason, and small rollbacks that don’t affect the new mechanics would help a lot.

I’m also feeling lukewarm about changes such as fixing the erratic AI on the diplomatic layer with an extra resource called ‘influence’ that you have to use intelligently. There’s a better rhythm to political relations now for sure, but in the end, it feels like you’re just throwing numbers at each other to either gain an advantage or fix sticky situations. It’s another bit of game design that’s clearly tabletop-like and does its job within this new take on the Civilization formula, but I can’t help but wonder if a deeper, more nuanced solution would’ve been a better fit here.

Natural disasters – as seen in Civ6: Gathering Storm – have been kept around, but the entire global warming layer has been scrapped, at least for now. Likewise, the World Congress has been vaporized after too many players didn’t vibe with it. Still, its absence makes the later stages of games feel a bit disconnected from a political POV, especially when huge, world-altering decisions are being made with science and culture. It’s all in the service of making Civilization 7 leaner and more agile, but it’s not surprising to see veterans questioning whether Firaxis has tried to accommodate the console crowd here while sacrificing some of the depth that’s easier to deal with on PC.

As you can tell, I’m spending more time talking about the negatives and middling bits because writing too much about what Civilization 7 does right is boring. The ‘one more turn’ appeal is there, and faster, more focused turns (with simulations that also play out substantially quicker) only up the addiction potential. The builder-less, more organic city growth system is fantastic and makes Earth look more ‘conquered by humans’ in the later stages. Combat, while still simple, has received improvements that make the idea of conquering several cities in a row not miserable. Last but not least, towns that run on gold versus production rates are a great idea that favors a distinct playstyle of going wide and money-hungry (and you can always turn them into cities).

I also have positive thoughts about the presentation (slightly less cartoony, but still very charming and unique), the attention to up-close details, and how well the game performs even during the third and last act. I can only assume lots of changes have been made to the underlying tech, and the traditional late-game woes of many 4X titles aren’t an issue here. Civilization 7 just feels breezy and smooth all the way through, and the reasonable system requirements mean solid performance is within reach on Steam Deck with little tinkering of settings; this should translate into a solid experience across all consoles too. Needless to say, the original soundtrack is excellent as always and the cherry on top.

It’s hard to shake the feeling that most people had made up their minds about this entry as soon as the first trailers and gameplay videos dropped. ‘This doesn’t feel like good old Civilization’ and ‘Firaxis can do no wrong’ are equally boring takes here. There’s clearly a vision and passionate push behind the seventh installment to create something new that doesn’t rely too much on its legacy and brand name. Nevertheless, not every change is one for the better, and Civilization 7 feels misguided or underbaked at times. Still, we’ve been here before, and future updates and expansions will surely make many players come around to it. The main difference is that, for the first time in a while, Sid Meier’s flagship series is trying to escape the shadow it cast over itself a long time ago.