One More Turn Civilization VII preview: The most complete package since IV 15 hours in, it seems like an improvement on Civilization VI's missteps. Samuel Axon Jan 16, 2025 9:00 am | 0 Worker units have been replaced by a centralized city management screen. Credit: Samuel Axon Worker units have been replaced by a centralized city management screen. Credit: Samuel Axon Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreMaking the seventh Civilization game is a tall order. With six prior entries, each with a different flavor, it's challenging to create a unique identity to get people to buy it while ensuring its familiar enough that it doesnt drive long-time fans away.This week, I spent 15 hours playing Civilization VIIwhich is slated for release next monththrough two of its three ages: Antiquity and Exploration. Thats enough time to know that this is the most radical overhaul yet in a single new release without any expansions.Regardless, my initial impressions are that this is also a return to form for the series. Like many others, I had many gripes about Civilization VI. To be clear, VII isnt a reset to pre-VI times; many concepts introduced in VI (like the hex-based city district system) are revisited and refined here.But theres a lot to like here for new and old players if you have an open mind. A full review is coming early next month, but for now, here are a few initial observations from a long-time Civilization geek.For first-time or lapsed playersAs always, the developers of Civilization VII want this to be an ideal starting point for players new to the franchise or those whove gone a decade or more without starting up a game.Ive played at least a few full games of Civilization a year since about 1996, so its difficult to speak to the uninitiated experience. But let me try to make an informed guess as to how appealing this will be for new players.The tutorials are improved compared to earlier entries. Theyre clearly worded, and they closely guide at the very beginning. Nonetheless, coming to the game from nothing involves reading numerous pop-up text boxes. Its nowhere near as overwhelming as what you face when learning Crusader Kings III or Europa Universalis IV, but its still a lot.Any prior familiarity with 4X-style games like this will make a big difference, though. You can recruit city-states into your civilization, but they start as towns, where you have to spend gold to add new buildings. Credit: Samuel Axon This is the best game to start with, if only because the systems are more clearly laid out and easier to understand. Some prior Civ titles had opaque systems, where even experienced players would ask, Why is that happening? I havent felt that way about VII.As for players who havent played a Civ game since V, IV, or even earlier, I was disappointed that, unlike other recent entries, there werent different tutorial presets. Some other games in the series allowed the player to say whether they were completely new to Civilization or just the new concepts introduced in that particular title. As far as I can tell, theres just one tutorial path here. That means that folks coming from Civilization V will want tutorials on how city district adjacency bonuses work, but to get that, theyll also have to put up with tutorials about stuff that hasnt changed since the dawn of the franchise, like building cities.Thats a little annoying, sure, but its only an issue for the first couple of hours. After that, the tutorials really are less of an issue and only appear when new concepts are introduced as you progress through the ages.Fully fleshed outPlaying through two of the three ages gave me full access to almost all of the games big systems, and the breadth of those systems is the most impressive thing about Civilization VII. I can already tell this game is more fully fleshed out at launch than V or VI were.With both of those, I felt enough systems had been cut from the previous title (and left to be reintroduced in expansions) that they felt a bit barebones when they came out. Thats not the case with Civilization VII. It has brought over (and sometimes expanded upon) almost all the systems that were in VI.Sure, a couple from VI (like the global warming system) didnt make it, but the ones that didnt were my least favorite ones, so Im not complaining.A visual return to formSince I'm comparing prior titles, I prefer VIIs visual presentation to VIs. Its closer to what we got in V, which many felt was the best-looking Civ titleat least until now.Civilization VII is not a city-building game, but its cities look more impressive than before as they gradually sprawl out through hexes adjacent to where they were founded. Credit: Samuel Axon On top of that, the graphics are noticeably more detailed. Cities look awesome as they slowly grow out of their origin hex with new types of buildings and public squares. When the age changes, so does the architecture. Firaxis definitely achieved its stated objective of capturing the feeling of an old, sprawling city expanding itself in distinct historical or cultural layers.Age transitions feel like starting a new gameThe most significant change compared to prior titles is a completely new approach to ages. In most of the earlier games, the equivalent of ages was called eras (like Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, or Modern) and were just signposts to show how far youd gone through the tech tree. Sometimes, certain buildings would be gated behind eras, but they werent really a system unto themselves.Civilization VI introduced the Ages as a complementary concept to eras. In that, there was a sort of boom-and-bust cycle of golden and dark ages, where youd try to achieve one or the other in the next cycle to gain certain bonuses.Confusingly, the ages in VII mostly resemble eras of past games and include some of the ideas from VIs ages, while also totally overhauling the whole concept.There are now just three ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Each has its own totally distinct tech tree, and each has gameplay systems that are entirely relevant in that age and only that age.Each age also has its own paths and success metrics, akin to classic victory conditions. Yes, there are Science victories for the Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages, but the specific goals in the Science victory vary between them. There's a dedicated screen for tracking your progress in each Age, with differing objectives for each. Credit: Samuel Axon When an age concludes, it feels like the end of a classic game of Civilization. Youre shown a recap screen that shows how different civilizations did on their goals for the age, with rankings that make it clear who (if anyone) came out on top. How you did on the aforementioned paths and metrics defines what the starting point of the next age looks like.When you begin the next age, it's like starting a new game entirely, except the city placement and other starting conditions are defined by what happened in the game you played before. (Im told this resembles how the Civilization-like Humankind works, but I havent played that game, so I cant elaborate on that.)This is by far the most radical change weve ever seen in how Civilization plays. I really like it, though. Its hard to articulate why it feels so much better, but I think its because it makes for more frequent and meaningful payoffs for how youve been playing. It allows the games designers to go deeper with the systems when they dont necessarily have to work the same way across the whole span of a playthrough.Diplomacy worksMy biggest complaint about Civilization VI (I had many) was that war weariness was crippling and frustrating to deal with, but the games diplomacy system (or arguably, lack thereof) always meant that AI players were constantly trying to push you into war with them.Once you get sucked into one of those wars, the system for preventing or managing war weariness was too opaque and difficult to deal with. That meant that with most games, I gradually got sucked into being a widely hated global conqueror whether I wanted to play that way or not. You can spend a diplomacy resource on a wide range of interactions with other leaders (or city-states). Credit: Samuel Axon Civilization VII completely redoes all of this. There are still penalties for warmongering, but diplomacy is now handled through a numbered resource akin to science or culture points. You can spend these points to sway leaders (and your own people) to support your wars or to prevent them.Its much more sensible than what we had before, and it makes more peaceful strategies more viable. This is my favorite change coming from VI.Lingering questionsThere are still many things Im curious about or would like to see that I didnt get to experience during my preview time with the game.For example, Id like to know how the late game and Modern Age feeldoes this game address the series longstanding issue with that part sometimes becoming a slog of keeping up with micromanaging too many things?Theres also multiplayer; is it fun? How does it work compared to prior entries, especially with the new ages system that ultimately feels like playing three distinct matches?How well does the game work on consoles or the Steam Deck?These are all questions Ill look to answer in my review. But for now, Im pleased to say that Im more optimistic about the next Civ game than I have been in a while.Samuel AxonSenior EditorSamuel AxonSenior Editor Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and heis a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development. 0 Comments