Late last year, Firaxis announced that Civ 7 would be getting the ability to play a single civilization across an entire game, addressing one of the major complaints from players who weren’t thrilled with the latest entry’s ambitious experimentation with the Civilization format. After promising in February that Civ’s traditional playstyle would return sometime this spring in an expansion-sized update, Firaxis has confirmed we don’t have much longer to wait.
In a Steam news post, Firaxis has announced that Civ 7’s massive Test of Time update will arrive on May 19, bringing the ability to play a full campaign as one civilization—”by far the most-requested addition,” Firaxis says—as well as other major overhauls.
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“Beyond simply being Civ VII’s next major update, Test of Time is by far the biggest and most fundamentally game-changing,” Firaxis said. “Our intent was to synthesize over a year’s worth of listening, iteration, and playtesting into a one massive, free update that exists in tandem with the many smaller-yet-meaningful updates already released since launch.”
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Headlining the update is, as mentioned, the addition of “time-tested Civs,” providing the option to continue playing as one civ across the ages of a campaign. While you’ll still be able to swap civs during age transitions, you can instead continue playing as the same civilization while adopting units and infrastructure from the current age with a new “Syncretism” mechanic.
Additionally, legacy paths are being removed in favor of an overhauled victory system, which Firaxis said has been redesigned with the intent of “making sure your win in Civ 7 is defined by successfully making interesting choices and giving you as many paths as possible to pursue greatness.”
That victory rework will be supplemented by “triumphs,” a slate of optional side objectives for each playstyle that will award bonuses if completed—a system Firaxis says is aimed at helping each Civ 7 game feel unique. The studio promised a pile of other additions, too, including updated map generation and a new map, UI improvements, balance changes, and a free leader for all players.
While offering the chance to stick with a single civ isn’t an option I’ll be upset to have, the complaints I had at Civ 7’s launch weren’t focused on its civ-swapping mechanics. Instead, it felt like a release that dropped half-baked when it should’ve been given more time in the oven. UI/UX frustrations meant the information I wanted was either totally absent or baffling to access. Some playstyles and mechanics felt like sketches gesturing at gameplay rather than fully-developed systems.
Hopefully, the last year of additional work will pay off with a Civilization that feels a bit more fully-formed. Since Test of Time is shaping up to be Civ 7’s attempt at a second launch, it seems like prime time for a reappraisal.
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