Recent reviews by Levi (λ)

I may update this review...but right now? Civ 7 feels more like a Civ 6 fan-mod, that tried to take inspiration from everywhere else, while forgetting what makes Civ 6 feel good.

I just cannot recommend it at this price, at this time.

The number one thing I loved about Civ 6, was ADJACENCY PUZZLES, planning out an awesome adjacency district 100 turns in advance, and pulling it off.

Gone. Doesn't exist here. In Humankind fashion, click tile with big number, move on. Next Era, click tile with big number, move on.

This is my absolute deal-breaker. I had such high hopes, that of all the things they took from Humankind, this wouldn't be one of them.

Also...Religion? Miserable implementation; a game of throwing missionary production at eachother. They can't fight eachother, they don't have special abilities. Nope. You just try to out-build, and out-throw them at your opponents.

But here's what really worries me about the future of Civ 7...

Victory scoring throughout the Eras.
Every Era, you MUST do a SPECIFIC thing. A new mechanic is introduced and you MUST play it.
Meaning, unless you weave through different combos of victory types per era, you can expect to be doing the same actions, per era.

I don't know how that can be fixed when it's so core to the design. Alternative methods of scoring?

I'll keep playing this game, I'll play it on occasions...but I will 100% be going back to Civ 6 more often than not...when I was really hoping this would be a definitive evolution on the franchise.

Game is very good

Good game

Fantastic game, one caveat:

Don't think about the game economy, if you put even slight strategic gaming thought towards how to earn money, you'll break it, and have more money than you can possibly spend. You'll buy all the research parts, buy all the things you researched, and have late game content just as you've touched the second islands.

Turn off your thinky-brain, and just pretend you're the Protagonist, trying to understand the Dredge universe, occasionally fishing when asked to by the towns-people, or when you're in need of a specific item.

Heed my warning, or you'll be solving Lovecraftian puzzles while flying around on a jet-engine boat.

It's a fundamentally good game just like Squad, just needs consistent support to keep players on.

Pros: Beautiful environments and details that breathe life into the Half-Life universe.

Cons: Repetitive puzzle mechanics (Almost every chapter will have you finding a wheel to plug in and turn a valve)

Chapter pacing is a bit off, gets quite a bit drawn out. You'll find yourself flying through one chapter, while the next chapter can leave you surprised that...oh...we're still here? Not in frustration, but certain chapters seem to be more lengthy...for no particular good reason as far as the gameplay is concerned.

And lastly...nobody can beat Valve at level design and user experience...but Black Mesa falls extra short at times, with a handful of frustrating puzzle/map designs. You will find yourself running in circles a few times, as they stuck to the original designs, while adding extra details and pathways that don't make the maps feel more open, but rather just serve to misguide you.

For fans of CIV6, with less focus on intricate city building elements, and more focus on quality combat.

You can blaze through by pressing auto-resolve in fights, and when you don't like the results of the AI fight, you can reject it's decision, and fight the combat yourself. (like in Humankind, but better)

It's definitely not a CIV killer, but, I sure do enjoy the brevity of the matches, and the content that's focused on during that time. (Puzzles and unit mechanics, not economic micromanagement)

Damn good game, hoping the cash injection of all us early buyers gets this game polished up.

Currently there's a few game killing bugs(Homelessness debuff not clearing, preventing population gain), a couple ways to squash bugs some so they don't ruin your game. (reloading/rebooting)


REVIEW UPDATE:

I had yet to experience how many game breaking bugs there are... :(

The fix for many, is to close, and re-open the game. But if you aren't paying close attention when they happen, you will lose months of progress, and your game will be a loss.

Very few viable weapons, very strict meta dictated by the faction you're playing against.

Every match is the same with the same map assets moved around to different place.

There is absolutely nothing in the fundamental design of this game to create varied gameplay experiences.

This game is dying while Deep Rock Galactic and others thrive, because Arrowhead isn't paying attention to their peers, while the cinematic novelty of HD2 wears off.

You need more than lens flare and explosions to keep people coming back.

Astroneer meets Risk Of Rain? Idk, but for $10, money VERY well spent