Sid Meier's Civilization VII Reviews
Despite its UI issues and missing features, Civ VII is still an enjoyable and addictive experience. Its new mechanics provide a fresh foundation which will no doubt be expanded on over the coming years with more content. If they can get over the substantial formula changes, hardcore fans of the series are more likely to be forgiving of the game's shortcomings and probably won't regret their purchase, but more casual players may want to sit tight until the title has been patched and padded out with more content for a more complete experience.
Civilization VII is a great game, that's the simple answer. With an improved city-building system, terrain features, and diplomacy, there is much to like in the new release of the three-and-a-half decade old franchise. However, long-time fans of the series will find some of the omissions, such as the ability to turn off victory conditions other than domination, limiting. This, and the rapid nature of the ages, will also leave some feeling that the epic nature of some longer games is altogether missing. Still, even with the games feeling a little rushed, the one-more-turn that makes Civilization one of the best series ever remains there.
Midway through my fourth game of Civ 7, I forced myself to go to bed to squeeze in a minimally appropriate amount of sleep before work. When I woke up in the morning, my first thought was that I wanted to keep building my empire, and that's when I finally knew how I felt about the game. Sid Meier's Civilization 7 is streamlined, strange, and bound to be divisive. It's also, undeniably, Sid Meier's Civilization. As ever, the series stands apart.
As a whole, this is an excellent and worthy continuation of one of the most important series in gaming. The care and attention paid by the good people of Firaxis have produced a game with a rock solid foundation. The new era transitions are transformative, and change the game as much as moving from a grid to a hex board. The most important takeaway is that the rules of this Civilization are strong, and probably the best starting point for any installment.
Firaxis Games confirms Sid Meier's legacy and puts Civilization VII on top of the 4X genre. They somehow manage to introduce revolutionary new high-level systems and fine-tune a huge amount of details to make the game experience smoother than ever. All hail the King!
Review in Italian | Read full review
I think the group at Firaxis Games had their hearts in the right places when they tried to overhaul this series, but so much of this lands with a thud, I cannot tell people to buy this game. There's plenty of things I like, but the bad outweighs the good. The condensed age system coupled with a modern era that seems to be condensed for the sake of simplicity is a huge disappointment. There are some good ideas, but this game needed another six months to a year of cooking. I hope patches and DLC can help this game out, or else I worry about what Civilization VIII is going to look like.
Even among more complex mechanical failings like the mind-numbing repetition of its awful religion system, the greatest flaw of Civilization VII is simply how bad it is at communicating with the player. If it’s still capable of sucking you in for hours on end, this latest entry in the storied franchise too often feels like a game that’s engaging in spite of itself.
There is no doubt that Sid Meier's Civilization VII is the best game in the entire series, a worthy evolution that honors Sid Meier's legacy, and something that all fans of strategy and simulation games cannot afford to ignore this year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With Civilization 7, Firaxis manages to modernize the franchise beautifully while respecting its heritage. The evolution of the ages, the more strategic diplomacy and the new military system bring a real healthy renewal to the saga.
Review in French | Read full review
Recent attempts to undermine the reign of Civilization have been unsuccessful, and this new chapter proves that, despite the evolutions, the essence of the series is more alive than ever: Civilization has changed, Civilization is back.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Civilization 7 has some great ideas, but still needs some fine-tuning in terms of balancing and AI.
Review in German | Read full review
Rome was not built in a day. The wonders in Civilization VII take a good many turns to be built and come at the cost of food, happiness, and a city's production. With the new 1.1.0 update to Civilization VII, it's clear that Firaxis understands what needs to be fixed for the future of the game and is already on track to improve UI, AI, and more of what makes the Civ series so great.
Civilization VII does what Civilization does. A new version of one of the greatest strategy games around. Some might say accept no substitute.
Featuring a great gameplay loop, some truly stunning art, and a system that welcomes players new and old, Sid Meier's Civilization VII is the strategy game to own this year.
Civ 7 isn’t just good, it’s the real deal. It’s a sequel that thinks like one of the matches it contains – a lot of small but significant strategic decisions that, when added up, create a winner. It feels different enough from previous iterations to justify the 7 in the title, and it thoughtfully builds on what came before. Civilization 7 is one of 2025’s first must-play titles.
With Civilization VII, Firaxis’s developers have not only made a gorgeous, beautifully scored game about historical weirdos (seriously, just wait until you’re getting yelled at by Niccolo Machiavelli’s 3D model), they’ve made one that truly feels accessible and invigorating for the franchise and genre.
Civilization VII is a newcomers ideal Civ game. Packed full of streamlined systems and approachable design choices, VII gives players access to a fun, gorgeously realised sandbox in which history is (mostly) theirs to decide. While some of its smoothed edges hinder player-driven storytelling, the effort to onboard new players and refresh the game for veterans is ambitious and stacked with potential.
It can't be denied how impressive Civilization VII is as a complete package. This is a franchise that finds a way to continually satisfy, even when compared to its already glowing legacy. Amongst a sea of strategy games, Civilization VII stands tall as a title that understands its identity, shows incredible attention to detail, and lives up to lofty expectations. Future expansions will undoubtedly fill certain notable absences, but even before then, we still have a formidable release that's deservingly ready to eat away at your free time.
Civilization 7 is a very pretty and very chaoitc game. Brave but not thought out. It introduces changes that aren’t inherently bad, and they build an interesting foundation for a probably great game in the future. Unfortunately now we got an early access production for a premium access price.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Civilization 7 is a focused and compelling refresh of the decades-old formula that will keep most players coming back for more, yet parts of its condensation don't work as well as the whole.