Sid Meier's Civilization 7, A Humble Review

If ruling a nation were easy, anyone could do it. This is a saying that can still be linked to the legendary Civilization series, even though its seventh part makes managing nations easier. Over the past few weeks, almost a whole month, we've traversed hills and valleys, seas and oceans in search of resources to prove to the world that we're the strongest.  To play a Civilization game, you have to immerse yourself fully, which isn't easy with a toddler around, which is why this review comes a little bit late. Still, here is our humble Civilization 7 review.

If you are looking to play an entirely different kind of game, check out our The Precinct review!

What's New In Civilization 7?

You probably already know the three-decade-old premise of Civilization - you choose a leader and a nation and try to create the most powerful Civilization in the world. Now you can throw this premise out the window. This is a description of previous Civilization games. The seventh part takes a turn and goes in the direction of changing civilizations after each era.

This change is something that the competing game Humankind introduced to try to differentiate itself and offer players a different understanding of history. Veterans of the series will find this mechanic somewhat controversial. From a broad perspective, I completely understand them. You want to conquer and develop with one chosen nation from its beginnings to the end. That's an entirely legitimate expectation, but forced nation-switching isn't that bad. It's good that there are now three eras, so you won't have to change nations often - just twice.

Each era acts like a small campaign that you can stop playing after you finish. You get a score for your development and see where you did well and where you made mistakes. What's excellent is that you can develop your leaders so that you can enter each new match with already upgraded leaders. At the end of each era, your Civilization stops developing. Certain elements are transferred to the new era, such as upgraded soldiers for that nation, commanders, and buildings. Depending on your gameplay, you'll unlock new nations that may or may not be tied to real historical events.

The Gameplay Evolved

For example, suppose you choose the Roman Empire when transitioning from the first to the second era. In that case, you'll automatically unlock the option to play Spain because that country was once under Roman rule. However, the extent to which you rely on military moves, expansion, or internal development will ultimately determine your options, provided you meet the norms and tasks on time. Based on my exploration in the Exploration Age, I got the option to become the leader of the Incas because I expanded into mountainous and hilly terrain.

I liked this mechanic, and it's well-explained within the game. Based on the ruins of a destroyed civilization, a new force emerges, led by former ideals that can be upgraded and show the world what our predecessors couldn't. Or they will never reach the glory of the old nations. Who knows!

Each era differs quite a bit in its characteristics. In the first era, the goal is to expand as much as possible on your continent and agree on cooperation with independent states through war or peaceful negotiations, by hook or by crook. In the second era, the goal is to expand to undiscovered continents, while the third era ensures that you put everything you've learned and enabled during gameplay in order and show how much better you are than others.

A Great New Crisis 

Now, there's one catch before transitioning from one era to another. At the end of the current era, a great world crisis occurs, which gradually smoulders until it erupts. I got stuck with cities being overrun by rats and the plague spreading. With each subsequent level of danger, I had the option to get some bonuses in the devastated districts, but also some penalties in other districts that weren't affected and had notable buildings or resources.

I didn't notice any great dangers. You can separate yourself enough at the beginning so that such crises don't hurt you too much. Of course, considering the penalties I received, I didn't earn 50 gold coins per city, but 20. It's not the only such situation - you can choose ones where you lose culture, diplomacy, militaristic elements, or something entirely different.

The main characteristics of leadership are internal and foreign policy. All of this stems from how developed your nation is. Internal policy is about the decrees you have in force and the guidelines that will help you achieve better profits. Based on the same, you'll get more percentages for industrial development, science, or preserving tradition.

Diplomacy is a key aspect of foreign policy, aiming to maintain good neighbourly relations or, in some cases, go to war against other nations. External city-states are now independent states. 

The Pros and Cons of Diplomacy in Civilization 7

You no longer have those that are divided into ordinary, barbarian, and similar, but it's all grouped into one mix. Some will be hostile from the start, others friendly. Depending on your needs, you can annex or destroy them. Keep in mind that when entering each new era, city-states disappear, and new ones take their place.

I found it fun to take city-states with the new leader, Himiko, who annexed them peacefully. Once I noticed this, I sabotaged relations and tried to get on the best possible terms with the leaders of these city-states, which I mostly succeeded in. Since we were on good terms, Himiko would always get angry at me because I took something that was practically already agreed upon with her.

You can choose annexation if you have a certain amount of influence, the so-called currency that shapes diplomatic relations. It seems to me that the player is too powerful once you get the hang of it. It's like there's a lack of depth that would challenge you even when you're that strong. Opponents can counter you, but diplomacy and gold coins can be exploited very easily. What science was in Civilization 6? Diplomacy. In the previous part, you could easily win if you just focused on science, while in the seventh part, this ball is now thrown into the hands of diplomacy. No matter how much Civilization is the ruler of the 4X genre, it always happens that some mechanic is too strong.

Mixed Results on the Battlefield: The War Mechanic

When it comes to battles with other nations, I have mixed feelings. The army is excellent, and you have a plethora of soldiers to choose from. Soldiers are specialized for a particular country, and you can see this through different eras. They change as time passes. 

However, concrete conflicts aren't particularly special. There's no deeper warfare mechanic; it's pretty simple. The only thing added is the Commander, who makes wars much easier for you. You can add part of your army to him, and you won't have to worry about one unit going over the hills while another travels by sea to the exact location. The Commander also contributes to the war with his attributes that give advantages to the army.

He's the only military figure who can be promoted and upgraded. Therefore, you need to be careful because he can quickly become a target for opponents, and once you lose him, it's a bigger blow than losing an entire army. However, it's awkward to attack when you have a unit with the Commander. It's pretty clumsy to change locations because the Commander often doesn't directly participate in hand-to-hand combat, so you have to make changes you didn't count on.

The artificial intelligence of opponents isn't outstanding in this game either. Honestly, they focus too much on diplomacy, as if it's the only backbone for every ruler. Initially, they're visibly firmer, but as time passes, the player, provided they know what they're doing, can easily overtake the artificial intelligence of opponents, at least most of them.

The Flawed World of Espionage in Civilization 7

Although I worsened relations with some leaders, none of them attacked me. Relations with some were so bad that I went from neutral to unfriendly and hostile, but there was no attack on my nation.

There are also espionage tasks that are, I must admit, poorly made. Throughout this playing time, whoever tried to spy on the opposite nation, whether it was me against opponents or opponents against me, was constantly exposed to what the other side was aiming for. Result: slightly worsened relations, but we can still participate in festivals, which we wouldn't be able to do otherwise. 

Religion has taken a back seat. There's a religion system within the game, and it's an essential cog in managing Civilization, but it's not as imposing as it was before. You can see that something is happening in the world, you can even form your religion, but the game won't bother you more than it should.

Natural disasters are now part of the main game, not DLC. And they're interesting additions that make you think about whether you want to develop your cities within critical areas or outside of them. Will you risk it for resources or play it safe - the choice is entirely yours. Volcanic eruptions, storms, and floods are just some of the disasters that can hit you and ruin your gameplay. Because when your city streets are destroyed, you'll have to stop development and repair them - either by sacrificing turns or throwing gold coins.

A Visual Masterpiece with Some Caveats: Civilization 7's Graphics

Civilization 7 can boast that it looks the best graphically in the series. The level of detail for a game of this type is at an enviably high level. Stormy seas, high mountains, hills, and valleys provide an excellent insight into how the whole world looks. This time, it went for a more realistic display, which moved away from the drawn style of the sixth part. The same goes for the display of leaders. However, leaders don't have much life in them; I was disappointed. They mumble "Hmm" and "Ahh" here and there, but nothing more than that. The only voice you'll hear is that of the narrator, Gwendoline Christie.

The background music isn't something that will stay in your memory, although I must admit that it perfectly complements each era. I like the Music from the Exploration Age the most, as it makes you feel like it's time for expansion and settling on other continents. The music is especially enhanced when we listen to it on our XP-Panther headset. 

I was ready to praise the technical side of the game because, for the most part, I didn't have any problems at the beginning. However, the longer I played, the worse the game became in terms of technicalities. After each move from the end of the first era, loading times became longer, and the game would freeze the screen for several seconds. It won't be a big deal for some, but personally, it's disappointing because it lacks fluidity, and after a while, it becomes tiring.

In Conclusion

From everything played and written, Civilization will remain the king of the 4X subgenre of strategy games. A more straightforward approach in the seventh part will enable new fans to get to know this series more closely and understand why it's been holding its ground at the top for so long. Some aspects from previous games have been reduced in their mechanics, but this suits the seventh part for the kind of game it presents itself as.

Veterans of the series will likely protest the new changes and the reduced sense of depth in mechanics compared to previous games. In many ways, this looks like Civilization for a different generation of players and other gaming habits, closer to a console approach than hardcore PC gaming. Despite this, you'll spend hours and hours playing Civilization 7 in the coming months and years. For the simple reason, the gameplay loop is still highly addictive.

Rating: 8.5/10

The game gets this grade because it successfully innovates and streamlines specific mechanics while still providing an engaging and addictive gameplay experience, despite some minor flaws and disappointments.

Recommended age: 12+

This game is recommended for kids aged 12 and above because it involves complex strategic thinking, resource management, and diplomacy, which may be challenging for younger players to grasp. Additionally, the game's themes and mechanics, such as war and diplomacy, may require a certain level of maturity to appreciate and understand fully. Civilization 7 has a 10+ rating on ESRB.