Civilization VII's Advanced Access Launch Receives Overwhelmingly Negative Steam Reviews

Civilization VII (Civ 7), released five days early via Steam's Advanced Access, has been met with a deluge of negative player feedback, resulting in a "mostly negative" overall rating on the platform. This comes despite high anticipation for the game, the first main installment since Civ VI in 2016.

The primary criticisms center around several key areas:

User Interface (UI): Many players find the UI significantly inferior to Civ VI's, describing it as "janky," "ugly," and even comparing it to a "free mobile knockoff." Concerns have been raised that Firaxis Games prioritized console development, resulting in a limited and underwhelming UI experience for PC players.

Maps and Map Customization: Players are unhappy with the map selection process, limited map size options (only small, medium, and large, compared to Civ VI's five sizes), and lack of customization. The lack of detailed information when browsing map types is also a point of frustration.

Resource Mechanics: The new resource system, which assigns resources to cities or empires via strategic management rather than direct collection from map tiles, has been criticized for reducing replayability compared to Civ VI's map-based resource generation.

Firaxis Games has acknowledged the negative feedback, particularly regarding the UI, stating they are actively investigating player concerns and committed to ongoing improvements through future updates and expansions. They encourage players to continue providing feedback. The future of Civ 7's reception remains uncertain, heavily dependent on the developer's responsiveness to these criticisms.