Sid Meier's Civilization VII News

Not even the most powerful gaming PC is going to get around Civilization 7's ridiculously variable performance

If you're a fan of 4X strategy games, you'll probably have already read through our review of Civilization 7 and perhaps my performance analysis of the game, too. As any strategy enthusiast will know, such games are almost never about the graphics and instead focus on complex AI algorithms, which test your abilities as a gamer. This inevitably means the most important part of your PC becomes the CPU, as it handles all of that. And the more capable your processor is, the smoother the gameplay will be...
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Civilization 7 specialists explained

What are Civilization 7 specialists? As you lead your civilization into war, scientific advancements, or cultural excellence, your population is busy working away under the surface, building a steady flow of resources. Just like in real life, you're going to need highly trained individuals to improve yield. In Civilization 7, this is where specialists come in.

To reach any of the Civ 7 victories in the 4X game, you must excel in every area. Your civilians need to be happy, fed, and your armies should be strong enough to prevent invasion from other Civ 7 leaders - or strong enough to invade others. While you'll spend most of your time in Civilization 7 commanding military units, you shouldn't forget those working civilians grafting away behind the scenes, and Civ 7 specialists are another type of citizen who can boost your income.

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Civilization 7 victories and win conditions

How do you win in Civilization 7? Civ 7 brings many changes to the popular strategy game series, including mix-and-match leaders from their civilizations, a new Age mechanic, and more. One of the biggest changes that might catch veteran players out is a whole new victory system, which stems from Legacy Paths.

Civ 7 Legacy Paths are a new quest mechanic that guides players through the 4X game, from the early stages of the Antiquity Age, right through researching flight and even heading to space in the Modern Age. While you can win by spreading across different areas during the three Civilization 7 Ages, focusing on one Legacy Path can lead to one of four new Civ 7 Victories, as we've detailed below.

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Civilization 7 PC performance analysis: Playable on lots of systems but the late game will grind down whatever CPU you have

With each new Civilization release, fans of previous versions have taken polarising views of the changes made and it will be no different with this one. However, what might tip opinions in a particular direction is how well it runs and, to cut to the chase immediately, it's not brilliant. It's not terrible either, but depending on the hardware you have in your gaming PC, Civilization 7 could be smooth and trouble-free, or something of a grindfest...
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Civilization 7 review

Civilization 7 feels more like a series offshoot than a Civilization 6 sequel, taking the venerated grand strategy series in a different direction from the past two games. Its most radical ideas certainly offer an interesting way to play Civilization, though as things stand it doesn't feel like the best way to play. It's the most streamlined and pared-back the series has been in a long time, which certainly helps with accessibility and pacing—particularly in multiplayer—but may leave some yearning for the depth and mechanical diversity of its predecessors...
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