All eyes are on Civilization 7 as February arrives, but the Firaxis giant is far from the only historical 4X game in town. Rival Old World has plenty of pedigree of its own, coming from former Civ 4 lead designer Soren Johnson and his studio Mohawk Games. It combines all the hex-grid tactics of modern Civilization with more character-led events and drama akin to grand strategy games like Crusader Kings 3. Now, however, a new expansion is coming that’s set to take things in a more catastrophic direction with the introduction of dangerous deities willing to unleash sweeping natural disasters.
New Old World DLC Wrath of the Gods introduces a range of demanding deities into the 4X game. Along with all the usual trials and tribulations of running a nation, its new scenario mandates that you must also deal with the increasing demands of your pantheon. Pleasing the gods will of course have its benefits – they’ll provide you with blessings, and help keep your population content and fulfilled. Upset them, however, and you’ll incur that eponymous wrath.
The primary way that this anger manifests is with new calamities – there are nine of these disasters to discover, and they can impact the map itself. Heavy flooding might turn land tiles into water, while other effects may change the resources that are available in given areas. These calamities will also become part of the base game, although they’ll be separated from the gods if you aren’t using the new DLC.
Also introduced in Wrath of the Gods is a new playable nation, Aksum. Hailing from Northeast Africa, it includes five dynasties led by figures from its history, along with two unique units and its own set of nation-specific events. The first leader revealed is Kaleb, a king described as a champion of faith who “brought down the sword upon those who would persecute your fellow believers.”
There will also be some more general additions arriving with the expansion, including an environmental event called ‘The Tumbling Mountain’ that creates an initially impassable mountain range on the map that will crumble into traversable terrain after a certain amount of time.
The Old World Wrath of Gods DLC is set to launch Monday March 3 via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store. You can find it here.
In the meantime, catch up on all Civilization 7 leaders revealed so far as we close in on the Civ 7 release date.
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