Summary
- Civilization 7 released to mixed reviews, with some players saying it feels unfinished.
- Players recently learned that Britain’s unique unit actually uses a generic model.
- A community manager from Firaxis has said the team is currently working on a new model for the unit.
Civilization 7 has been a mixed release for Firaxis. Although some appreciate the changes Firaxis has made to the Civilization formula, others are displeased with these dramatic formula shifts. While the merits of gameplay features are a matter of opinion, there’s also a more universal suspicion in the community that Firaxis rushed Civilization 7 to release. The basis for this accusation is some of the lingering jankiness and clarity issues present in the game, such as Civilization 7’s obtuse user interface problems.
This came to a head in a recent Reddit thread from Moon_Star, who says they feel like a “beta tester” for the game, rather than someone playing a finished product. The reason for this exasperation is another player’s discovery that Britain’s unique unit, the Revenge, is actually the exact same model as a generic battleship unit. Predictably, this fact proved particularly galling to players, given that a civilization’s unique unit is a core part of its identity.
More Time in The Oven
A community manager from Firaxis responded to the thread, saying “Team is working on a new design for this that better reflects the Revenge as a unique unit – stay posted!” The comment currently has negative 76 upvotes, with a couple of disgruntled replies. “I know it’s not your fault on a personal level, but, seriously who on a professional level thinks this is OK? I would love to be a fly on the wall in Firaxis HQ to hear how this is being justified,” writes ajfonty.
It’s a well-known trend in Civilization that an instalment isn’t quite finished until the first expansion releases. However, while this has previously meant that not all the gameplay mechanics are quite as engaging as they could be, in Civilization 7’s case it appears that even the core experience isn’t as refined as it could be.
LocusAintBad reports a more pressing issue on PlayStation 5, saying “PS5 players are unable to play the game because of constant crashes. Please please please test your games on all platforms that you’re aiming to release a $100 or $120 version of to play early. Not after, please before.”
I won’t pretend to know the intricacies of battleship design and how Revenge-class battleships differ from Civilization 7’s generic unit, but at the very least Firaxis could have re-skinned the base model to make it stand out as a unique unit.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
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February 11, 2025
- ESRB
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t