Sid Meier's Civilization VII

It's a downgrade in comparison to the previous versions.

As a long time fan of this franchise and being gamer for the last 30 years playing a wide variety of games and genres over that same period. I have never been more disappointed in a game than I was with Civilization VII, I truly wanted to enjoy this game, but I ultimately couldn't. I have played Civ Revolution, IV, V, and VI. I loved Sims City 4 and when Sim City Societies came out it was a betrayal to the core game and the fans, it was a new city builder that so happens to have the same name as it predecessor with cheap mechanics. When City Skylines came out I didn't have to figure out how to play it, because I knew how to play it because it built onto what made Sims City 4 great, even though there was some rough spots with City Skylines 2, I still felt like I was playing a quality game with new mechanics that built onto the old mechanics. The theme park genre, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 was the best, but ultimately flopped with subsequent titles, and when Planet Coaster was released it built onto what made Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 great. Civilization 7 has that same feel, Fire axis abandoned what made the previous games great for them to do a complete restructure on how the game is played. All previous titles I never had to re learn the game, I just had to venture and learn the new mechanics that were built onto the old. With 2k being the publisher, I would imagine they may have been at fault for the unpolished parts of the game. Civ 7 you feel like you are not building a civilization or strategizing how to build your empire, instead it feels like a player is just clicking around and doesn't produce any meaningful mechanics, or mechanics that the player would want to spend more time to learn. It feels like you are not invested in the empire you are trying to build. Civilization 6 complaint was issues with AI and long turns, I like that they removed the districts and builders and replaced it with a city sprawl instead of almost everything being in the city center. A Big city feels like a big city in Civ 7, however how they get there they sacrificed a lot of the core game mechanics of previous titles. There is little to no city management now. I like the idea of towns feeding into the big city and roads already being built between the city and town. I feel like with some more polishing, this mechanic would have worked really well. The over simplification of the game ruined the feel of the game, you feel like your not building and learning about a civilization, even the encyclopedia feels empty and unable to learn about the various things you have built into the city, I have more complaints, but ultimately this game isn't true to the franchise.

There are more people playing Civilization V rather that Civilization VII. If that doesn't tell you something then I don't know what will.

This game is hot garbage, and the developers have the balls to drop a new paid dlc that gives you roughly 13 paper straws worth of content. Might as well give your car to a homeless man and watch him crash it into a guardrail instead.

its not good

It is unfinished! With the new update it's playable. But is is still not good. # My main critique: No modern units! Where are the modern units?? The unit development somewhat ends between WWI and WWII. You can still sense the game was meant to end with the Modern Age. Never meant to play any longer, which is disappointing for a Civilization game. From Antiquity to Space isn't a guiding principle here. While all previous Civilization games also had modern units, you're missing out any real modern units in this game. There are no modern tanks. No rocket artillery, no ground air defense guns. Talking about planes, jet planes are never invented in this game. Yes, you read it correctly, all fights are fought with propeller planes. Also the WWII bomber is the only option to drop an atomic bomb. IBCM? No. Also not from submarine, because rockets and cruise missiles were ever invented in this game (except for the one that goes to space, but that's merely from a project you can finish in a city). The most modern ships are still the huge battle ships with a wooden deck. Of course there is no stealth technology of any kind. Even if the modern units won't change anything significantly in the gameplay and could be mainly a graphical and power update, it still feels like a cheap decision to leave them out completely. If there were modern units, I'd be considering giving the game a positive rating. I hope those units will still be added. # Oversimplification and unnecessary micromanagement They tried to simplify the game, and in part it worked. Sometimes it's too much simplification and sometimes you wonder why they integrated new granularity in management. Where the simplification goes too far: Tile improvement and extension of borders are now the same process. It would have been better if the borders extend by themselves and tiles could be improved without workers. There is only one religious unit, no inquisitors anymore. Freshly added unnecessary micromanagement: I don't want to assign a new resources to a list of cities every time in detail if something changes in resource availability. Can't this be done automatically? Yet, the game continues to prompt for new resource assignment. Also, repairs after a natural desaster and tile improvements can become a bit tedious. # Design decisions that are not understandable nor fun There are design decisions that are just not understandable to me and don't make the game fun: Why an artificial settlement limit? Let me build (or keep!) cities. Why can't I quickly assign planes from an airport to an airplane commander? Why don't the planes keep their assignment when the commander lands at an airport? The upgrade button for commanders is always available – regardless whether there is a promotion available or not. It would be good if there were an option to play without natural desasters. # Age sections The age transitions are alleviated, but still integrated in the game. It's playable now and you can keep the civilization, so it's okay now. Also, the crisis effects before an age transition can be deactivated in the settings of a new game (yet not the politics cards). But you still have to make the following decisions before an age transitions: Shall I start a war in this age (because after the age ends everyone is at peace again) and do I still need to upgrade this unit now (because in the new age all players get the new units for free). However, the age mechanics – alleviated with the update – don't cause a negative rating for me anymore. Positive: The graphics are great.

I’ve been playing Civilization since the original, back when “one more turn” meant accidentally staying up until sunrise. I’ve survived every redesign, every experiment, every questionable mechanic. I’ve adapted. I’ve enjoyed. I’ve believed. So imagine my surprise when I boot up the newest Civilization and discover… Humankind wearing a Civ Halloween costume. The terrain? Humankind. The city mechanics? Humankind. The eras? Humankind. The leaders? Humankind, but somehow less personality. It’s almost impressive — not the game, but the commitment to copying. Why would the market leader in 4X decide, “Hey, instead of building on decades of success, let’s carbon‑copy the underdog”? Bold strategy. Can’t wait to see how that plays out. I put in about 10 hours trying to convince myself this was Civ. Spoiler: it wasn’t. The magic is gone. The charm is gone. The “one more turn” feeling? Missing, presumed dead. What’s left is a bland, generic strategy game that somehow manages to feel like a knockoff of a game I already own. And then there’s the short modern era. Because nothing says “premium experience” like removing an entire era and leaving players to guess which future DLC pack will sell it back to them. Truly visionary. If you’re looking for Civilization, keep looking. If you’re looking for Humankind, congratulations — you already bought it once.

I waited until the last update to get a better game. Unfortunately this game is so flawed it needs a total do over. Whoever decided to do the age changes should be fired. There are literally just a handful of maps that you continually play. Just a mess. Don't buy.