Old World

Old world has scratched an itch that CIv 7 failed to and i'm loving it! While it is not an easy game to understand initially, the games mechanics overlap and compliment each other so well that it makes learning the game really satisfying. The role playing elements also keeps you engaged and adds context to the gameplay systems. The combat, while simple, is enhanced by your characters stats and can become quite strategic further into the game. The game could do a better job of explaining 'why' you should be making certain empire building decisions. It was common in my early games to just build improvements and units because the game told me to. But once the gameplay loop reveals itself it becomes a lot more natural, and the game treats you like an adult to make decisions based on your own knowledge. Would recommend Old world to anyone who enjoys history or Civilization games.

An amazing successor to what is arguably the best game in the Civilization series: Civilization IV. The DLCs add a tremendous amount of content, and everything feels fairly priced - especially if you pick them up during a sale. I simply can't get enough of this game. It perfectly captures the addictive "just one more turn before I go to sleep" magic that defines the best Civilization games.

I would describe it as playing civ5 up to the medieval age but if the game was completely overcooked and overengineered in a good way

Amazing game that is already significantly better than Civilization 7 and might even become the category leader. The lineage system a world of difference by adding so much story and heritage to your leader arc that it makes you equally hooked at building out your family as much as ruling and building out your nation. It reminds me a little bit of Total War: Rome with the Total War combat system replaced by Civilization's combat and world building. Phenomenal game and the absolute perfect substitute for those disappointed in Sid Meier's direction with Civ 7.

Old World feels like a very well thought out and designed 4x game, with many different systems layered on top of each other that interact in interesting ways. It has a steep learning curve - it's almost like a graduate level course after coming from Civilization, but I deeply enjoy its novel systems in the 4x genre. The two most different aspects of OW coming from a Civ player are the characters/court/noble families system and the orders mechanic. The character system allows immersive roleplay of your dynasty to a whole other level. There's political intrigue, backstabbing, internal politics that can prove challenging to quell, along the usual external politics that you normally have with your neighboring nations. And the orders system is a limit to how many actions you can take during a turn, which severely limits the bloat of the end-game that plagues many 4x games, as well as makes early-mid game choices a bit more interesting. Should you focus on economy or war with the limited actions you have this turn? The narrative events in the game add unique flavor and flair to each playthrough, and the combat AI is truly something to fear, unlike in Civ. While Civ 6 has much more variety between each nation, and in my opinion is much more sandbox-like than OW (and I still love Civ 6), OW's biggest strength to me is how immersed I can get into the story of each ruler's dynasty with the character influence system and the narrative storytelling. The gameplay can feel mostly the same between Babylon vs Rome, for example, but the story you craft each time can be unique. The devs of this game are also very responsive to any questions on discord and continually update the game with new nations and events too, which keeps me coming back. Highly recommended 4x game for strategy lovers.

Great visuals, good mechanics, but WAY too much going on. Going to continue to play but the sheer amount of events/menus/actions is overwhelming. I do not need to know that my 3rd cousin is feeling ill. I do not need to know that my brother in law just got in trouble at school. I do not need to interact with 97 different characters.

If civ 4 and stellaris had a baby this is it. Combination of some of the best aspects of the two with a bunch of other extra great features like no unit stacking that civ 4 had a problem with. Runs a bit hot which is weird considering how low performance it seems but i runs well enough.

its just so not worth it. they give it for almost nothing and then send you a million DLC for 20$ each. the game is so empty. its sad. the gameplay is sad and empty. you are playing civilization 3 with like crusader kings 2 succession mechanism. Its just sad.

This is the game I had hoped Humankind would be, where Civilization meets Crusader Kings.

Surprisingly fun and engaging, could do with some more differences in play styles between nations but it's really, really good and it's clear how much attention is paid to detail, all the mechanics are very well balanced.