Sid Meier's Civilization VII Reviews
I’ve been conflicted for a long time about the rating for this seventh installment in the series. In the end, I opted for the highest score, despite the fact that—as you may have gathered—Civilization VII is a good game, but not the best in the series. It’s clearly a transitional product, and on this point, I’m very pleased with the developers’ courage and their alignment with the need to shake things up. At the same time, the impact of certain design choices, such as the reset across the three eras, as well as the absence of some key elements from Civilization VI (religion being the most notable), make the current run of Civilization VII feel less focused on strategy and slightly more arcade-like—if you’ll allow me the term. That said, it will still be an opportunity to introduce the game to an even wider audience, without diminishing or devaluing the great quality of the series.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Civilization VII comes close to easily being the best in the series yet. The gorgeous visuals, smooth gameplay features, and more easily understandable mechanics make this welcoming to newcomers and veterans alike. But the frustrating Ages system overcomplicates and holds back an otherwise exceptional strategy experience.
Civilization VII is a bold, feature-rich reinvention of the series, packed with personality and stunning detail. While some issues remain, Firaxis has delivered a landmark strategy game that’s impossible to put down—once it gets its hooks in, you’ll be chasing just one more turn.
"Civilization VII" is motivating, challenging and huge - and that is precisely why it is an early strategy hit of the still young year of 2025. At the same time, we hope that Firaxis will iron out a few rough edges in the coming months to make the gaming experience even more rounded.
Review in German | Read full review
Civilization VII refines its strategic depth through era transitions and civilization changes, though the most thrilling moments feel more spaced out. Despite these shifts, the game retains its signature "just one more turn" appeal—undeniably Civilization.
Review in Korean | Read full review
CIVILIZATION VII feels comfortable for veterans of the series, with plenty of quality-of-life improvements that'll make you think, ‘hmm that’s an interesting change’ or ‘Why didn’t they swap this over earlier?’ With a series as long running as Civ, it’s inevitable that regular sequential updates would become burdened with unnecessary systems that didn’t actually make the game better, systems that were still there because that’s just the way it always was. By casting off some of the baggage the game is much better for it, with plenty of room to grow, and nothing too extreme as to upset longtime players, but when you look back you realise how far it's come.
Right now, Civilization 7 is an incomplete and reduced version of the game, which is plagued by many issues. However, you can feel that under all this mess, a good game might be hiding.
The core elements of the game are there, they work and it’s fun to play. The incentives and dynamism that the new approach to Civilization switching with the legacy paths will keep the game fresh both across games and within them. Abandoning games after about 80 turns was a big issue for me in the last few titles. I’ve not had the notion to do that yet.
Even if it has great looks: the interior of the latest instalment of the Civilization series is not very inspiring. Some good ideas are counterbalanced by a lot of bad ones. The biggest problem: it no longer feels like a Civilization-Game! Here, the developers have definitely made too many radical changes.
Review in German | Read full review
Sid Meier's Civilization VII blends and modifies features from its predecessor. Although it is a bit barren in terms of innovations, it is a good game in terms of the strategic depth it brings to the series. I can say that it is positioned as an alternative to its predecessor, not a sequel.
Review in Turkish | Read full review