Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Review — One More Turn No Longer

The fan-favorite Civilization franchise returns with its seventh installment, giving players the chance to engage in historical 4X strategy with a whole new generation of mechanics and features. While Civilization VII certainly improves upon its predecessors in several ways, it also feels surprisingly shallow in other areas, making it seem incomplete compared to previous installments. With mixed reviews on Steam and from this reviewer as well, we may be looking at another case of a Civ title that isn’t worth buying at launch.

I assume if you’re reading a review for Civilization VII, then you’re somewhat familiar with the franchise as a whole. You know what to expect from Civ or 4X games in general, so I won’t go into detail about how the gameplay loop works because it’s pretty much the same as past titles. However, there are ways in which the familiar system changes, and those changes I actually really appreciate.

Instead of selecting and playing your Civilization like in the other Civ titles, players in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII instead pick a leader and change civilizations at each age. This is reminiscent of the mechanic implemented in Humankind, a major Civ competitor, and I think makes for a more interesting campaign. For those still trying to be historically accurate, the game offers little blurbs pointing you toward the real-world civilization your leader is associated with.

These “ages” are three distinct eras in the game, which you advance into not by scientific progress, but by completing certain goals given to your civilization during the age. As I mentioned, at the start of each of these ages, you shift into a new civilization unique to that age, with your choice drastically changing your playstyle for that era.

Something you really have to give the game credit for is the uniqueness that comes with each of these chosen civilizations: unique buildings, units, policies to unlock, and now narrative events, adding a lot of unique flavor to each run. Said narrative events are cool additions to the game, one that I’m surprised took this long to add, but feel underwhelming in their execution. While I think the game is better for having them, I would have liked to see them include more than a sentence or two explaining the event; some more immersive reading material really would have helped these go a long way.

Giving leaders the ability to unlock unique bonuses through game time is another interesting piece of brand-new progression included in the game, giving you more of a reason to play the same leader over a series of games and opening up new opportunities over time. I wasn’t able to see how these effects apply to AI players, however, so it might eventually lead to some power imbalances in your game as you max out the potential of your leader.

Combat is greatly improved with the introduction of army commanders, who carry stacks of units to make up for the one unit, one tile problem. Combat beyond that is not greatly involved, featuring some improved and yet simultaneously downgraded animations; an attack just shows your units shoving at the other line but follows up with a continued battle animation if the fight is not ended in that turn, which is cool.

Various other small improvements and changes make Sid Meier’s Civilization VII an upgrade over previous titles: units now have more functionality, with the inclusion of special active abilities that interact with the map more; cities now automatically improve tiles as they expand, getting rid of workers; there are new diplomacy options that make use of the influence resource better than it was utilized in Civ VI. The return to more realistic graphics is also a highly welcome change for this reviewer.

For all the ways Sid Meier’s Civilization VII improves upon its previous titles, significant flaws severely reduce the quality of the overall game.

Most noticeably, Civ VII has a major problem sharing information with the player. I am not the first, and I will not be the last player to criticize the game’s simple-to-a-fault UI, which has an issue presenting information that was clearly available in past games. Players hate the UI so much that a mod to fix it was released before the game even left its pre-order exclusive play state. All you are given are raw production stats, with nothing telling you how much food you need for your next civilian, where buildings can or cannot be placed, or basic “you need X to finish Y” equations that you would expect from a game of this complexity.

To give you an example of how detrimental the UI and general presentation of information can be, I had one game where my city came under attack by an independent people. This unguarded city lost half of its health before I even noticed because there was no warning that the city was coming under attack, no attack animation, or even a camera focus on the area after the fact. Later, I entered a war with an ally, one that I quickly lost because the game didn’t allow me to check the military strength of my enemy, their allied city-states, or anything of the matter; it was just a quick popup, a click of a button confirming the war, and then I’m overrun by enemies.

Something you won’t notice until much later is that the game’s ending is incredibly unsatisfying and feels like it was rushed out the door. The third and final era, the modern age, ends just after the Second World War, forgoing much of the Civ franchise’s famous future tech gameplay. Endgame goals are remarkably easy to accomplish and have very little visual flair or overall fanfare; you don’t even win domination victories through domination anymore, but instead by completing a production project. The series staple of “just one more turn” is tossed out the window as victory conditions completely halt the game, allowing for no further play until you start a new game.

Ultimately, these changes can make Sid Meier’s Civilization VII feel like it’s on rails, with each turn simply going by with little to no input or understanding on the player’s end. The game feels unfinished, like a title that should have entered playtesting, with the bones for something that could have been greatly neglected and untested but released to the masses for a whopping $75 plus tax.

There are players who will still enjoy what this game has to offer, despite its faults. However, I’ve put thousands of hours into the Civ franchise, including Civ 6, as well as its competitor Humankind. As someone who often struggles to put these games down, I found myself feeling lethargic about Civ 7 after my first playthrough, left with a feeling that the game sorely needs updating.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII was reviewed on the PC. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is available on Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.