A month ago, Civilization VII launched to generally positive critical reviews, but user reviews on Steam and Metacritic weren’t nearly so positive, at least at first.
Take a look at the Civilization subreddit, and you’ll see a general consensus: The bones of this game are great, and even most of the radical changes to the classic formula (like breaking the game into much more distinct ages) are a welcome refresh.
On the other hand, there’s a sentiment that players are disappointed that some expected features are missing, some gameplay elements need additional polish, and most of all, the user interface was a bit of a mess at launch.
A month later, developer Firaxis has already released a few patches and has more planned. As the game’s state continues to evolve, this seems like a good time to check in on it.
I spent some time in the Civ community and spoke with Dennis Shirk, the game’s executive producer, to learn how the launch went, how the game has changed since launch, and what its next steps are.
Breaking with tradition
Civilization VII broke with tradition in a few ways—splitting the game into distinct ages that each play like a separate game, allowing anachronistic leader/civilization combinations, and removing worker units, to name a few.
You might have expected those to be the source of any controversy around the game’s launch, but that hasn’t really been the case. In my review, I wrote that those shifts take the franchise in a new direction, bring over the best ideas from competing titles, and address long-standing problems with the Civilization experience.
If you want a more traditional experience, you can go back to Civilization V, Civilization IV, Civilization II, or whichever your favorite was. Those games are infinitely re-playable, so there’s no need to retread with a sequel.