Sid Meier’s Civilization VI was developed and released by Firaxis Games on October 21, and after the disappointing previous entry, Beyond Earth, this follow-up is one of the best Civilization games yet and is bound to become a gamer favorite.
The Civilization series is a role-playing game that pits various civilizations throughout history against each other in a scaled-down global race for dominance.
Specific to Civilization VI, the newly improved graphics engine shows immense improvement from previous entries. The design and layout of the maps look fantastic and new vibrant colors make it pop. All the little touches highlight the improved textures.
Redesigned to be more artistically and aesthetically pleasing, the global Leaders, the main playable characters, are much more animated with more character in not only their phrases but their animations as well. The new storylines are also stronger at presenting a clear personality for each leader, making each leader more interesting and leading to some surprises on multiple playthroughs.
The music is also just as strong as previous entries. The orchestrated soundtrack gives off the same seismic feel, classic to the Civilization series.
In terms of the gameplay, itself, Civilization VI is spectacular. An abundance of playthrough options were introduced, such as more researchable technologies and buildable structures. Additionally, the policy tree has been expanded just as greatly and opens new pathways.
The game’s overall difficulty is similar to previous Civilization games, but additional levels allow players to choose their way to play. At large, the gameplay is an overall improvement on all levels from previous entries.
One negative aspect of the game is that some players have experienced heavy bugs, leading to difficulties in the in-game experience. Is it a game killer, though? No. The game suffers, but Firaxis does acknowledge these bugs and promises fixes.
Overall, Civilization VI is an amazing continuation of the series and is arguably the best in its series, and it is easily a game of the year contender.
