Civilization has always evolved and there's been aspects to love in every one of its entries. Having put a lot of time into Sid Meier's Civilization 7 over the past month, I have not a single doubt that things will turn out the same way they always do.

Many of the design decisions in Civilization 7 appear to be in the name of brevity and pacing, with quite a few major systems trimmed in the process. It’s still Civilization, and will still leave you snapping out of it wondering where the last few hours went, but series fans be warned: things are different now.