Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise and Fall Reviews
This expansion is a recognition that the magic of this series is in giving players lots of choices — sometimes difficult choices — as we all strive to stamp our own personalities on what is, effectively, a simulation of personal political leadership.
Overall, Rise and Fall doesn't address any particular issues in early, late or mid-game, so any problems you have with those points in the game remain. Instead, Rise and Fall adds a framework to your game that makes it more comprehensible and more your own than ever before.
Rise and Fall is wonderful, I adore it. I love the new features, the new tech and the gameplay tweaks. They all make sense and fit the game world wonderfully. It really is the perfect excuse to come back to the fold, just don’t expect to be able to convince new players to join you for the ride.
Rise and Fall adds, tweaks and expands, but it doesn't address some of the underlying issues, particularly those related to the AI. We're not quite in the new golden age yet.
Pressure to avoid a dark age might force you to make strange choices just to game the system to keep the good times rolling
Rise & Fall gets its hooks in deep, showing that the enlarged game's greatest strength may not be its scale or its history, but the sense of togetherness it inspires, and the way it drags the player down to the surface of its gorgeous world.
There's no doubt that Civilization VI: Rise and Fall is a superior experience to the base game. Having said that, these mostly subtle changes add only a fine layer to the gameplay rather than overhauling the experience or providing a large amount of new content. It feels more like a major patch than an expansion, and the price tag feels a little steep for such minimal change. If you've decided not to try Civ VI in the past, this won't convert you. However, if you're a diehard, you'll probably want to suck it up and shell out for this wisp of fresh air in your Civ runs.
Messy, boisterous, chaotic - Civilization 6: Rise and Fall is the antidote to the Enlightenment.