After nearly nine years of Civilization 6 expansions and updates, it's finally Civilization 7's turn: early access started February 6, and the full launch commenced on February 11.
The new game in Sid Meier's distinguished grand strategy series is a major departure from Civ 6, restructuring our progression through history and tweaking many of the systems we've grown used to, including city planning, warfare, and diplomacy. I love Civ 7's new environment art, and the three-age structure strikes me as a smart experiment, introducing soft resets on the way from antiquity to modernity that inject some of the early game fun into the midgame. But there's a lot for Civ 5 and 6 fans to pine for, too—I expect this to be a controversial game among Civ lifers, and sure enough it's started life with "Mixed" user reviews on Steam.
