ONE MORE TURN!
Sid Meier’s Civilization has always been bold, offering players the opportunity to experience history via a gameplay experience that spans from ancient beginnings through to a future amongst the stars. Civilization VI – the newest installment in this incredible series – is, of course, no different in its endeavor. So, what does the next turn have to offer?
It’s impressive to think that the Civilization franchise is now 25 years old. Over the years the game has evolved, tweaking things here and there, changing things up, sometimes getting it wrong but more often than not setting the standard for 4X gaming. Within the genre, Civilization is known for its ability to masterfully combine strategical complexity with an overall vision that effectively encapsulates a genuine sense of wonder. Yet what is truly most impressive, at least in the eyes of this reviewer, is the ability it has shown to itself adapt in response to the evolutionary technological developments that the last 25 years has witnessed; to deliver titles that are not only consistent with Civilization’s core foundations, but to offer experiences that improve it.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: PC
Length: 100+ hours
It is a franchise that is willing to take chances when it comes to its own evolution, rather than settle for repeating a familiar formula in order to regurgitate the same thing over and over again, every couple of years. Civilization V, for example, is one of the best 4X games out there.
It may be hard to believe, then, that Civilization VI is significantly better. But with great risk comes great reward. Perhaps it is this refreshing commitment to change that has not merely kept the Civilization franchise around for 25 years, but has allowed it to flourish creatively so many years after it debuted in 1991.
Changes.
Reacclimatising to Civilization is a breeze. Civilization VI has a tutorial mode that caters to those new to the franchise or simply new to this latest iteration. For long-time players looking for a few initial reminders on how things work and what new features have arrived, one ‘quick’ tutorial game is all that is required before diving into Civilization VI.
There are a lot of new additions here, the biggest being a new emphasis on city planning. In Civilization VI, the player’s city will expand outwards. This requires a lot of forward thinking: tiles have always been a key strategical element in Civilization but in VI, their type and location become central to city expansion. Certain tiles will provide key boosts to particular buildings based on aspects such as their location and what is situated on adjacent tiles. The player might build a farm in the early stages of their civilization, only to later realise that particular tile would have been perfect for a campus due to the bonus offered by being next to a mountain. It’s a great facet that adds a new layer of strategy to a game that already offers an incredible amount of depth. Foresight is everything in Civilization VI, and this new city-building structure tasks the player to approach their empire expansion almost like a chess match. While later research certainly unlocks more flexibility, at certain points difficult decisions (and sacrifices) have to be made.
Civilization VI also changes things up with the technology tree. In this game, there are separate trees for technology research and civics. Significantly, research times can be improved based on associated activities that will reduce the amount of turns required for a particular piece of tech if the stated conditions are met. Similarly, civics research unlocks new forms of government, each of which has a number of corresponding policy slots for military, economic and diplomatic policies. Again, this encourages the player to think clearly about what particular research avenues they wish to pursue based on the particular context of the game at hand, rather than sticking to technologies simply because they are a familiar or comfortable choice. Yet it is also less restrictive – for example, the player has the ability to change government style depending on progress, switching out policies to take advantage of the most pertinent boosts at a particular juncture in a game.
These mechanical changes are also effectively implemented so as not to create too many issues around accessibility for players familiar with the franchise. The advisor system offers helpful tips to players at key moments. While there is an inevitable period of adjustment, Civilization VI encourages the player to learn ‘on the job’ and to actively explore the new strategical elements at play. That’s not to say everything is immediately obvious – rather, that the exciting, addictive gameplay and the appealing nature of these changes coexist in a way that, in effect, offers an enticing invitation to the player to stay a little longer, take another turn or pursue a different victory goal. There is so much depth to this game it can, taken as a whole, appear intimidating. Yet Civilization has never been a franchise to put players off by presenting them with an oppressive volume of things to learn and remember. VI is no different. I wanted to play more, I wanted to unlock this knowledge for myself. Every new game I played encouraged me to explore things I hadn’t considered before, to plan things a little differently based on the new information I had acquired and to adapt my thinking based on things that didn’t quite work out the last time around.
Can’t we be friends?
Despite being dazzled by the shiny new features on offer in Civilization VI, it will also comfort players to know that the core aspects of warfare and diplomatic gamesmanship are still there. In my first proper game I played it safe, reverting to the familiar pursuit of a domination victory and all out warfare against rival AI civs. It is worth noting that these AIs are now able to pursue their own agendas, which the player might like to pay attention to when it comes to trading, sending envoys and expanding their own borders.
In subsequent games when world domination was not my explicit goal, the AI had a tendency to declare ‘surprise’ war on me if I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was going on diplomatically. On easier difficulties, this was quite obviously telegraphed – an AI civ would request to send a delegation to my capital, then later propose we share open borders. All of a sudden there would be an army on my doorstep and I’m frantically trying to get some sort of defensive resistance in place. After the first couple of times I was the victim of such warmongering (in the same, small game), I decided in my next new game that I was going to be a little more cautious with my diplomacy – maybe I was being a little too friendly, a little too inviting to leaders I really didn’t know. Next time around I sent away delegations and I kept my borders pretty tight while still engaging in mutually beneficial trades.
Wardrobe malfunction.
It says something about the quality of the gameplay and the depth of content available in Civilization VI that my main issue with the game is a cosmetic one. That said, the choice to steer the presentation and animations of this game into the realm of something akin to a cartoon is, in my opinion, a misstep for the franchise. The graphics are actually quite jarring in their contrast to Civilization V’s slightly more ‘realistic’ look. I did get used to it after a little while, but it’s a little unfortunate that, at a passing glance, Civilization VI looks like something you might be playing on your cell phone.
Don’t look back.
Civilization VI is, quite simply, an amazing feat. Following up Civilization V was never going to be an easy task. However, Firaxis have yet again managed to reinvigorate the franchise with changes that seem simultaneously fresh and exciting, yet so intuitive and appropriate to the core gameplay experience that one wonders how they never appeared until now. It is complex yet accessible; fresh yet familiar.
This is an astounding game. Civilization has always been associated as the benchmark for strategy gaming, and Civilization VI is now at the peak. This is as good as it gets.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
