Image: 2KA new entry in the Civilization franchise is due to drop later this month on 11th February 2025, but as of yet, we're unable to provide our full thoughts on Sid Meier's Civilization VII on Switch.Thankfully, a bunch of reviews have gone live at the time of writing, and although they seem to be strictly limited to the PC version of the game, we'll at least be able to get a flavour of the general consensus, even if we don't yet have a view of the game's performance on consoles just yet.So, to start us off strong, VGC has awarded Civilization VII the full five star treatment, noting that the new changes don't get in the way of what made the series so great to begin with:Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube795kWatch on YouTube "Civilization 7 remains the premier evening and weekend thief in my life. Despite the mass casualties of absolute constant war, its a genuinely cozy game. Cozy in the sense that if you sat down in front of it on a Friday afternoon, youd fly through campaigns, box sets tumbling in the background, before suddenly realizing it was Sunday."The changes here are smart but dont break the established formula, and theres slimming down and streamlining throughout that are clearly influenced by the games handheld success. Combined, this means Civilization 7 is a confident, sleek and another high watermark for strategy games."The Guardian matched this with its own five-star review, praising the game's apparent focus on human drama for this new entry:"So here we are, more than 30 years after the original game, still hungry to rule the world and devouring every morsel of maniacal power. Some veterans may balk at the structural changes: Civilization VII is very much the Civilization for now deep and complex, but with an emphasis on human drama and achievement rather than the sweep of faceless units across a mathematical matrix."There are still few moments in video games as pleasing as building the Hanging Gardens, or discovering a bountiful new location for a town, or marching a phalanx of troops into a battered enemy capital. This game, which once almost cost me my job, will gracefully sneak away with hours, days and possibly months of your life. But then, nobody ever conquered the world in an afternoon."The Gamer was also full of praise with its 4.5 / 5 review, stressing that Civ VII will devour your time much like the earlier entries, defying muted expectations:"Civilization 7 is an enormous game and to try and summarize it all in a review is a difficult task. Ill say Civilization 7 has completely surprised me. I was ready to hate the new civilization and age system, I was ready to grumble at the sneaking live-service features. Instead, Ive fallen into a deep obsession with Civilization again. The game fills me with a warm fuzzy feeling that makes me feel like a child rushing home to play Civ 4 on a dusty old beat-up CRT with a packet of biscuits and no responsibilities."This game will devour your hours, chew up your days and spit you out in a hungry, sleep-deprived blob. I cant wait to play its multiplayer mode after so long in a single-player that isnt quite fully fleshed out yet. I cant wait to spend hours figuring out unique strategies for each leader and civilization. I cant wait to finally beat the Deity AI with any other victory condition than military dominance, which is still the easiest way to win. Oh, and the Mongolian theme music is the greatest Civilization music weve had to date."Destructoid noted that the Modern Age setting lacked in scope compared to the others in the game, but this didn't detract much from its own score of 9/10:"Regardless of my minor gripes with the game, Civilization 7 is a ton of fun. The Ages system is a major game-changer and really enhances the genre in a big way. Firaxis probably could have gotten away with a safer approach with this installment, opting for just better graphics. Instead, it boldly revamped a lot of the core systems to make the entire game more streamlined for both newcomers and veterans alike. Im glad Firaxis is still finding ways to improve a genre it has mastered over the years, and as a result, Sid Meiers Civilization 7 has the series in its best shape yet."VG247 awarded the game four stars, stating that while it certainly feels quite different from previous entries, it's still an absolute blast:"In the end, it all works - its just very different. The subtle whiff of compromise in order to launch the game far and wide is there - but compromise is just fine if the end result works. It does. Im happy. As someone who has somewhere in the region of a thousand hours logged across Civ 4, 5, and 6, Im ready to add hundreds more to that tally in the seventh entry. Some of that will come in years as the game grows and expands, as is Civilization tradition. But the point is, the foundations here are firm. The legend of one desperate extra turn, over and over again, forever, is secure."GameSpot's 8/10 review highlighted the robust systems in place, but noted the complete lack of the Contemporary Era:"Sid Meier's Civilization VII's "one more turn" aspect is still as engaging as ever, and I enjoyed huge portions of my playthroughs. Several facets, such as those related to diplomacy, espionage, crises, and combat address long-standing concerns. Legacy Paths and narrative events, meanwhile, offer rich and rewarding avenues for advancement through the ages."Unfortunately, as someone who's seen the heights that previous series entries have reached, the vanilla Civilization VII experience still needs a few tweaks, as it's held back by the aforementioned issues that occur during brief but crucial era transitions. Granted, the changes this series has undergone over the years--whether it's the square tiles or hexes debate, the "one unit per tile" drama, or city-planning with districts--have been for the better, eventually."The issues deemed controversial or cumbersome at the start paved the way for a better overall experience. As such, even if Civilization VII has a strong foundation, we might not see the game's full potential until much later in its lifespan. But, hey: At least the franchise has been consistent in that regard."IGN slapped a 7/10 score on its review and stated that efforts to streamline the experience may have gone a bit too far:"With Civilization 7, the desire to streamline and simplify this legendary 4X series feels like it has gone a bit too far, particularly when it comes to the interface. Its frustratingly inadequate at providing me with the information I need to play well, or even understand what's going on sometimes. Even so, it does have improved warfare and diplomacy, a bit of added narrative flair, as well as mostly gorgeous graphics and sound, so it can still give me reasons to keep clicking one more turn late into the night."Theres good reason to believe that with Firaxiss usual pace of patches and expansions it can refine its new ideas and become everything it ought to be, and while whats here right now is at least still a fun time, its also a bigger step backward for the series than were accustomed to when a new age dawns."Finally, Eurogamer gave the game just two out of five stars, echoing IGN's sentiments on the streamlining, but also straight-up calling it a dull experience:"Civilization 7 is pretty and detailed and sounds fine (I caught that one tune from Colonization!). AI turns are perhaps the fastest I've ever seen, and its UI has enough potential to make some of my complaints feel patchable. Its design broadly works, and a certain kind of city-optimising fan may even love it."But its lack of character is endemic, the extent of its annoying habits and oversights shocking for a series of such pedigree. It's a dull, contradictory game, and instead of showing everyone how it's done, it's felt since hour one like a game that leaves the 4X throne empty."Are we worried about the quality of the Switch version? Well yeah, of course, but we also understand that a game like Civ VII would shine brightest on the PC, so it's understandable that reviews have been limited to just one platform for the time being.As soon as we get our hands on the final Switch build, however, we'll be sure to put it through its paces and deliver our final verdict in due course. "But suddenly, it became a really huge thing."Switch has been very, very importantAre you looking forward to Civilization VII on the Switch? What do you make of the reviews so far? Let us know with a comment.Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesEx-PlayStation Boss On Switch 2's Name: Nintendo Created So Much "Brand Value""Why would you mess with that?"Rumour: Switch 2 Game Cases Might Take Up More Space On Your ShelfHere's how they could compare to the current Switch casesJapan's Switch eShop Will Soon No Longer Accept Overseas Payment MethodsChange will come into effect in March