Fans of Firaxis eagerly awaited the release of Sid Meier's Civilization VII, expecting another masterpiece in the beloved series. However, the initial reviews on Steam have been overwhelmingly negative. Players have voiced their frustrations over the game's clunky interface, outdated graphics, and an overall feeling of incompleteness.
At the time of the post, the game had amassed over 1,000 reviews, with a disappointing score of 37%. User Cool CGI Dog, who spent approximately 1.5 hours playing, expressed their disappointment:
The game feels... so blatantly incomplete after a few minutes, especially by Civ standards. The resource icons appear to be from 1998, the interface is terrible, and everything is extremely sloppy.
There isn't any discernible care, which is something I didn't anticipate from Firaxis. The release of Civ VI is a far cry from this incomplete mess. At the very least, Civ VII's interface needs a total visual makeover to at least partially justify its outrageous $70 price tag. With this game, Sid Meyer himself slapped me around and spat in my mouth. I also didn't agree to it.
Another player, WillNever, who spent around 2.5 hours in the game, echoed these sentiments:
The interface appears and feels as though it was designed during the alpha phase of development and hasn't been altered or enhanced since. Although the new mechanics are intriguing, it is not worth the effort to navigate this awful interface. To make the game fun, months of tweaking are required.
The consensus among reviewers is that Civilization VII was released prematurely and is in dire need of substantial improvements. The $70 price tag has come under particularly harsh scrutiny, with many players feeling that it does not reflect the current state of the game.
Series fans are hopeful that the developers will heed the feedback and roll out updates to address the issues and restore the game to the high standards expected of the Civilization series. The franchise has long been celebrated for its quality and meticulous attention to detail, and fans are optimistic that Civilization VII will eventually meet these expectations, though it currently falls short.
