The blurbs that appear at certain times of a Civilization III playthrough were always a great way to know about your progress at certain points of a game.
These blurbs, especially the ones that said: “The Most Advanced Nations of the World” or “The Largest Nations of the World” were important to know whether you were going to build a great empire or be at the mercy of your rivals.
This is what Civilization VII is missing. It has the graphics, but it cannot create a feeling of progress or change.
Civilization games are not just about the Civilization but about they affect the world around them. Civilization VII just takes that away and imposes the board game mentality that was starting to creep in with Civilization V.
When you enter a new age, you start with a new civilization of your own choosing, basically resetting the map and you are back to square one. This is essentially splits the game up into three mini games. That is not interesting in the slightest as Civilization is a macro game not some mobile game. While some mobile games are intriguing, Civilization VII basically railroads you into certain gameplay choices. That makes the game less replayable and essentially is changing the spirit of the game.
Civilization V’s continued presence should be a sign of how fans really perceive the newest game. This 15-year-old game continues to outperform Civilization VII. Even Civilization VI, which I had issues with, is ahead of Civilization VII by a considerable amount. I believe that Firaxis Games will have to create a Civilization VIII more quickly than they anticipated as the game is not gaining traction. Civilization VI was in a much better spot a year after release and Civilization V was not surpassing Civilization VI in the player counts.
These small blurbs are just text but they also connect to the great context of the game. You are not simply building a civilization but building a world. That is what Civilization VII lacks and why players are not warming to the game.
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