Civilization VII: Hands-on Preview

Civilization VII: Hands-on Preview

Civilization needs no introduction. Perhaps one of the most well-regarded franchises of all time, its 4X strategy paved the way for an entire genre of imitators who rarely equalled, let alone surpassed, this juggernaut of a series. So when a new Civ game lands, it is understandably a big deal. Well, that is where we are right now, in the shadow of an impending Civilization launch, the 7th game in the series (not counting spin-offs) and thanks to 2K, I have played a good chunk of the early game so I can report that this juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down in its old age. 

First things first, Civ VII is by no means a simple evolution of the previous games. There are some serious changes here that will take even seasoned pros a little time to get their head around. Thankfully, the tutorials and guides available in-game are the best they have ever been. Civ has always been a notoriously difficult game to learn, just because there is so much to consider, but with Civ VII that difficulty wall is eased by contextual tutorials and an advisor system that gives players goals to work towards as they learn the game. I found the advisor system such a great addition as it really helps players know which direction they should be heading for certain victory conditions. It guides players towards the buildings they need, the tech they must research and the conditions they must meet. It really is the perfect way for new players to get their heads around some of the more difficult concepts in the game.

Civilization

Perhaps the biggest change to arrive in the Civ space with this entry is the introduction of “Ages.” There are three Ages, Antiquity, Exploration and Modern, and they essentially function like a separate match within each game. Each Age brings different goals and objectives while a lot of units and structures are unique and will not carry over into later Ages. At the end of each Age, players can choose a different Civilization to take charge of, as long as it is in line with their leader. For example, Julis Ceaser can go from running Rome in the Antiquity Age to running Spain in the Exploration Age because, in history, Rome actually was in charge of Spain for some time. This allows players to set themselves up for victories in unique ways and instead of following one path to victory, they can follow a different path in each Age. In my preview time, I could only play until the end of the Exploration Age and I feel like I still really need to get my head around things, but so far it is a refreshing addition to the classic formula.

I must also say that the game is looking great. It is clear the art team had a lot of fun here and everything from the leader designs to the units, to the buildings and even the natural disasters have been designed with care. This is a really good-looking game that still manages to keep that Civ style we all know and love. From the looks of things, the game will scale really well too, with a Switch version and Steamdeck approval coming at launch it bodes really well for getting Civ to run on as many systems as possible. You really love to see it. 

Civilization

In more good news for console players, the controller support is better than ever. Civ VI did a pretty good job of bringing the Civ experience to consoles but Civ VII seems like it is taking that even further. I played a good session streamed to my TV with an Xbox controller and honestly had a great time. Sure it isn’t going to replace a keyboard and mouse as my preferred method of control, (but then again as a long-time PC player it never was) but know that using an Xbox controller or a Dualshock is going to be a perfectly acceptable way to play despite the many complexities of the game. 

It is safe to say that Civilization VII is shaping up nicely. I feel like I still have a lot to learn and quite a few of the newer concepts to get my head around, but that is honestly half the fun. Everything so far has me totally hooked and that “one more turn” mentality has dangerously entered my brain once again. From my time with it, I feel like Civ VII is going to be both the perfect jump-in point for new players and at the same time offer some great refinements, improvements and new features for longtime players. That is exactly what players are after in such a long-running series. 

Civilization VII launches on PC, Xbox, Playstation and Switch on the 11th of Feb, with pre-orders for the various versions available now. 

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