With each release, Civilization struggles against fan pushback to emerge from the long shadow of its predecessor. It’s nearly an impossible proposition considering there are still fans of Sid Meier’s playing previous Civs for ten years straight. Is this newest iteration of the classic game worth a buy? Of course. It’s an especially interesting release for hardcore fans of the series while being accessible enough for newbies. But is it worth getting right now, when things are heating up this holiday season?
Artistic Achievement
Civilization VI has embraced the stylized, cartoon graphics of Civ V (and Civilization Revolution on consoles) and given this release the brightest and cleanest look in Civ‘s history. It’s a vibrant look and the optimization shines giving a better experience than the six-year-old Civ V. Even on my somewhat aging rig, the water effects, shadows and sun shining over my busy cities are breathtaking. The whole artistic style is warm and inviting. It’s something you have to look at for hours and hours, and it doesn’t get boring or tired.
Oh, and Sean Bean narrates everything. Wonderful.
Innovation
Civ VI is about building vertically, not out in a sprawl like the previous games. The changes to city building are subtle at first, then, with each new game played, it’s clear that you’re going to have to plan your cities carefully, and you’re not always going to have a metropolis featuring every type of building and amenities.
What’s interesting is that it seems like Firaxis isn’t so much innovating, as they’re changing the chessboard to challenge players. You can’t rely on build orders to plop down a city and call it a day. Each new city will expand in unique ways and be tied to its environment more than ever before.
There’s plenty quality of life changes. Trade routes build roads, and managing workers are less of a slog than in previous late-game scenarios. This mitigates the grind of working on multiple cities with dozens of workers considering there are more important things to think of, like your tech trees that are now two-pronged affairs. Like previous Civ games, you research technologies like mining, animal husbandry and pottery, but also civics that provide bonuses to your culture.
Policy Cards also replace the cultural tree of Civ V, giving you a wider range of options in how you want your government to operate. Want to go full military build, or have your main city build output more gold? It’s up to you and extremely interesting.
Execution
Typically, it’s best to wait for the devs to catch up to past Civs through expansion packs, but in the case of Civ VI, everything from Civ V, minus the World Congress is here (religious victories which are more in-depth now and would take an additional thousand words to explain as well as tourism) and yet they’re refined so every victory is clear and concise.
There are a few stumbles. The multiplayer interface is confusing and a major step backward from what we had six years ago in Civ V. Inviting friends is a pain and confusing. You can’t invite people from your Steam friends list, only from withing the game interface.
Staying Power
It’s a Civ game. You can play this forever. This iteration, in particular, seems far more replayable since plotting land for your districts is more important to your city development than ever.
Bullsh*t Factor
There’s already DLC announced, and for pre-ordering you get the Aztec civilization. With that said, I’m starting to wonder if having a complete game with tons of bells and whistles would entice me to pre-order more, instead of the devs being at the whims of some boardroom who thinks a carrot will get people to pre-order a game. If I knew the game was already holding all civs and all of the sure-to-come expansions, I’d snatch it right up. There should be a genuine pause to people who love Civ V and got it for $10 on a Steam sale when they look at this $60 release which will likely cost $120+ if they get everything when it’s all said and done. I feel like the day one purchase is for veterans of the series considering how expensive the expansions and extra rulers are.
Final Thoughts
It’s Civ: it’s great. Its systems are in place to supplant Civ V immediately, but the lack of a World Congress really hurts the late game for me. You know what you’re getting here, it’s a chess match that only has a few possible endings, and that’s fine. You’ll lose hours to Civ VI. There’s no way you won’t.
It really comes down to whether you want to drop the cash to get the new experience day one. For some, it’s a no-brainer. You’ll get your money’s worth no matter what, but Civ VI, in some ways, is the best Civ V expansion ever. It’s a welcome step forward for the series, with few discernable mishaps, and it will likely gain hundreds of hours of play by anyone who picks it up. This is the most accessible and deepest Civ ever, but we’re still not there. We’re not at the peak of every Civ ever combined, which is the goal. Perhaps in one more turn…