Civilised gaming

Every time a new Civilization game comes out, the developers make some key changes to the classic formula. With Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, they have further improved, tweaked and enhanced almost all aspects of the game, making it the most feature rich installment.

Introduced in Civilization V, being unable to stack units was one of the biggest changes made to the series in a long time. But it made the map messy as your army grew. Micro-management became a hassle and the intended presentation of large scale combat was not worth the congestion. In Civilization VI, you can combine units belonging to the same type into a single tile. This gets rid of the clutter that became a side effect of the changes in the previous installment.

In coherence with this idea of a larger scale for both presentation and depth, they have gone a step further as cities no longer occupy a single tile. All city upgrades must be placed on different tiles, giving players more freedom while adding to the complexity of city building. Each city is now expanded by adding districts, such as an encampment for your military or a commercial hub, which each takes one tile and contains a few buildings of the same type. You can also get civilians to work in these districts, allowing you to focus on areas of growth.

Other changes include the removal of global happiness which will now be determined per city. The depth of its gameplay systems cannot be understated and detailing all of them would be an impossible task. From the customisable governments with their own bonuses to how the civics tree affects culture; the multiple ways of playing Civilization are constantly being expanded and improved. Most importantly, every win condition feels viable. Irrespective of whether you are going for culture, science or all-out war; peaceful victories now feel more balanced and equally rewarding.

With all of its improvements, the AI in Civilization VI is a little too irrational. Opposing leaders undergo random mood swings, changing friendly to aggressive or vice-versa for no reason. Thankfully, you can avoid the AI when playing online.

With so many additions, Civilization VI is the most complete release in the series’ long history. Unlike the previous game, it doesn’t need expansion packs to be considered fully-featured and smart changes to several game systems makes it engrossing.

STRENGTHS The concept is still as engaging as it has ever been. Every department has gone through clever changes. Unparalleled strategic depth.

WEAKNESSES Inconsistent AI

OVERALL 9.0