Platform: PC

Developer: Firaxis Games

Publisher: 2K

Release Date: October 21, 2016

Genre: Strategy

Nerd Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed by Kikopaff

Note: This review does not include the expansion Rise & Fall and will be covered in a separate review.

A lot has changed between Sid Meier’s Civilization V and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Not only has it been the longest gap between Civilization games (six years, phew), but there are significant changes that make Civilization VI focus on the primary thing: genuine strategy. Civilization V is still a fantastic strategy game, and still has bigger popularity over VI with an active modding community and multiplayer scene. I even called it my Game of the Year for 2018. But Civilization VI makes a refreshing comeback. The 4X turn-based strategy makes leading the dawn of man to the space age a bright, hopeful endeavor, with deeper interaction across the board, whether by giving you more units to monitor or systems to learn and master.

But as efficient as some of these changes are, I can’t help but feel like the transition between the two titles is such a huge leap. There is definitely a learning curve, as there are so many new systems to master, menus to navigate, and new unique abilities and units, that it feels like it’s two expansions packed into one game. As deeply immersive and exciting as it is for someone who enjoys doing deep research and figuring out the best strategies, I fear that Civilization VI may not be as welcoming to the newcomer as it hopes. I’ve logged roughly 20 hours into the game, and am still learning new things. With that said though, the multitude of systems to learn just leaves more room for awe and doesn’t change the quality that Firaxis continues to bring, era after era. If you’re willing to uncover just what greatness lies beyond, you are in for a treat.

This is my playthrough as Norway, about to conquer Greece. Athens will be mine!

A lot of planning is required to ensure you achieve an efficient victory. Tiles have always been an important factor in any Civilization game, but in Civilization VI, resource and tile yields require that extra bit of attention and management. It may be tempting to get your Builder to improve a farm tile now, but down the track, that tile may have been better off being used for a Wonder later in the game. Decisions in Civilization VI not only offer more choices than you can handle, but plenty of thought comes into whether you want to make sacrifices now or later. Thankfully, the developers have added a lifesaving feature–pins. You can now create and add custom pins to any tile in the game, allowing you to write notes, and choose from a list of symbols to help differentiate between your other placed pins. It makes planning which Districts, Wonders and tile improvements you want to pursue much simpler over the course of the game.

Civilization VI has new buildings called Districts. These city buildings are now built onto the world map itself within your city’s borders. Entertainment Complexes, Campuses, and Theater Squares all exist on individual tiles where they add specific abilities, all varying on their tile placement, adjacency bonuses, or the upgrades you build on each District. Districts are often the largest boosters in science, culture, production, faith, gold and basically every other currency you need to win a Civilization VI game. Now more than ever, strategic placement is vital if you want to reap the benefits of the land before you.

Choosing which tiles to build your Campus and Holy Site on requires a lot of decision-making.

The technology tree has also been spruced up. While the technology tree still includes familiar techs like Pottery and Iron Working, techs can now be researched faster through achieving Eureka moments. Eurekas are earned as you play the game. For example, settling on a coastal tile automatically researches half of the Sailing tech. Conquering a Barbarian encampment gives you a boost in Military related technologies. Owning two Galleys researches Shipbuilding much faster. This bee-lining ability rewards most of your decisions and helps you manage your tasks accordingly. However, the technology tree is now split between another tree. Larger bonuses are now gained through the Civics tree, a separate system earned through culture points. Over the course of the game, Civics earn policy cards, which are essentially little perks you can add to your government. The policy cards offer variety to your government, with bonuses ranging from military, diplomatic or economic bonuses. These policy cards can be earned and swapped quite regularly throughout your game, ensuring that the bonuses you select suit any scenario in your playthrough. Civics can also be researched quickly, similar to Eurekas, only instead they are known as Inspirations. Civics also unlock World Wonders and new forms of governments like Oligarchy or Theocracy, which alters the type of policy cards you can use. To make it a little more complex, Wonder buildings now have prerequisites, whether it’s the type of terrain it must be built on, or what District building it must be adjacent to. This removes the spamming of wonders that sometimes occurred in Civilization V and allows the Civics tree to feel tighter in your decision making. 

When you successfully build a World Wonder, a mini-movie shows the Wonder being built from start to finish.

In Civilization VI, all leaders are given a fancier and updated aesthetic, with an all-new animation design. But much more than their new looks, they also have some new features up their sleeves. The leader AIs now include agendas, allowing transparency in exactly what they like and don’t like. In essence, this makes diplomacy easier to manage. You could theoretically keep AIs happy with you at the risk of ignoring your own win conditions. A second agenda remains hidden until you complete certain tasks, like increasing your relationship with them or sending a spy on a Listening Post mission. But despite how nice this sounds on paper, there are a lot of inconsistencies with the AI personalities. For example, Greece’s Pericles doesn’t like it when you interact with city-states that he claims as his. Despite limiting my interactions with city-states that he favors, he continued to taunt me and denounce me. Another time, meeting Brazil’s Pedro II for the first time results in him immediately hating and denouncing me. When I checked the relationships tab in Pedro II’s leadership screen, it gives no reason for his passionate hatred.

Despite Philip II asking me to go to war with him, he still denounces me for accepting his request.

AI leaders are also chattier in Civilization VI. Because agendas are now the integral core of their interactions with other leaders, they will frequently remind you of your progress according to their personal agendas. Whilst it’s naturally annoying when Pedro II keeps telling you that your culture output sucks balls, it’s also a broken record player. You either sit through leaders taunting and denouncing you for much of the game or give in to the peer pressure. Different situations call for different responses, of course, but it’s a shame that interactions are so limited, especially considering the leaders’ animation design. There are so many little quirks that give them personality, like body language, facial expression, even belly shakes when they jump. The costume design is fantastic, and foreign languages have returned. At least when leaders approach you, they sound exotic.

At least Catherine De Medici is straightforward with me.

But let’s address the elephant in the room, which is obviously how dramatically different everything looks. Civilization VI is bursting with (sometimes, too much) color and there’s a neat transition from dusk to dawn as the game spans over time. The contrast can be a little too high, especially during the day time. It makes me miss the pseudo-realism of Civilization V‘s lush green hills and pastures, but there’s no denying the level of detail that Civilization VI showcases here. It’s oddly satisfying to see your cows grazing on the grass or smoke rising from your factory chimneys. Sometimes the ethnic units look like they fell out of the sky from Clash of Clans, but it’s always a joy zooming in and watching them swing a club at a barbarian’s head. The menus are neat and straight-forward, with the world score, city-state diplomacy, and all other mini systems in their separate places. The leader screen is the only time you’re taken out of the map and is honestly my favorite menu because I think the leaders look so darn cool. Throughout your gameplay, there are frequent diplomatic notifications that appear, which let you know the actions of other leaders. These include if they have settled a new city, what type of government they selected, or if they have progressed to the next era. My only irritation with it is how quickly it disappears, and there’s no other way to find the information, except by manually going through each leader’s gossip section. It’s a little tedious, and if you happen to get out of your seat, you tend to miss out the information as quickly as it appears.

Civilization VI’s mini movies and new eras are all accompanied by an incredible soundtrack. High crescendos, tribal drums, oriental strings–each civilization has a unique situational soundtrack that matches every successful (and terrible) act you’ve made. Discovering a Natural Wonder cues separate, awe-inspired melodies and with Sean Bean’s narration, much of what you listen to sounds a lot like paradise.

There’s no denying that the Civilization franchise is excellent. There is something glorious about watching leaders conquer, battles unfold, and cities being built that is truly satisfying. However you want to achieve victory, Civilization VI offers you immersive tools and systems to lead your people your own way. With plenty of buildings and units to manage, governments to rule, and leaders to negotiate with, Civilization VI is a testament that the turn-based strategy genre is very much alive, and is here for more eras to come. Despite some AI personality hiccups and a steep learning curve, you’ll be on the edge of your seat pleading, “Just one more turn!”

The upcoming expansion Gathering Storm will be released next month on February 14, 2019, and you can bet I’ll be jumping on that wagon to meet new leaders and overcome new challenges.