All Civilization enjoyers know one rule is absolute when it comes to playing the popular 4X strategy series: games will always last longer than you anticipate. If I got a nickel every time some friends and I would plan to “play a game of Civ tonight” and end up playing the same game over the next few days…well, I’d have a lot of nickels.
With Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, developer Firaxis has created a solution to this problem in the form🅘 of three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. On standard speed and Age lengths, each of these three ages will last between 150-200 turns, equivalent to about three or four hours of playtime. For those seeking a long grand campaign that progresses through all three Ages, you can do so.
Those looking for a shorter game can opt to start at the beginning of any of the three Ages, and doing so in the Exploration or Modern Age will give you an Advanced Start to the Age, so it’s as if you have played the previous ones.
Back in August 2024, I got some hands-on time with Civilization VII’s first Age, the Age of Antiquity. Now, for the first time, I got to dive into the second one: the Exploration Age. As the game describes it, the Antiquity Age is all about settling the immediate lands around you and planning out your civilization. With the Exploration Age, your new goal is to, well, explore. And expand. Reaching the Exploration Age will let you change your Civilization, and therefore change the focus of your empire. This means you can focus on expansion oℱr economy in the Antiquity Age and then switch towards a militaristic or science-focused approach in the Exploration Age.
I will say, when I first jumped in, I immediately wanted to check out the Exploration Age, so I opted to utilize the Advanced Start to do so. With how much new there is in the series’ latest entry, and having not played Civilization since the preview event back in August 2024, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the new systems. After about an hour, I decided to restart from the Antiquity Age, where that was not an issue. Obviously, after playing more and getting a real grasp of all the new additions to Civilization VII, this won’t be an issue. But until you have that experience and knowledge, you’re probably better off starting in the Antiquity Age, which gradually introduces the new systems to you over time.
The Exploration Age is where you really start to reap the benefits of the fruits of your labor from the previous Age. And with the ability to change your civilization and shift your empire’s focus, it fixes a long-time problem of the series. You don’t feel penalized for changing things up, and it adds a lot more flexibility for less-experienced players who might not be min-maxing things from the start. That being said, I imagine it will also create some crazy “build potential” for veteran players who do try and min-max the best civilizations to change to in each Age for each Leader.
After my all-day play session through the first two Ages, I backed out to the Main Menu and found the meta progression in Civilization VII, and I have to admit: it’s pretty awesome. As someone who enjoys chasing achievements and trophies in games, this new system rewards players for doing so. Regardless of your skill level with Civ 7 and how you choose to play—whether you focus on one specific Leader or experiment with many of them—you’ll complete challenges and unlock rewards along the way.
Every Leader in Civilization 7 has their own 🌟Leader Path to progress through, starting at Level 1 and going up to Level 10. Your account as a whole has a Foundation Path, also starting at Level 1 and progressing all the way up to Level 50, earning XP towards the path regardless of which leader you play as. Both Paths have various challenges you can complete to earn X,P such as completing quests, reaching Legacy Path Milestones, and more.
Leveling up these Paths earns you a variety of rewards from cosmetic Badges, Banners, Borders, and Titles for your Player Card, as well as actual game-changing rewards called Mementos. These Mementos are essentially special items that you can equip on your leader at the start of a game, giving you a little extra bonus as well as giving you the ability to further specialize your play style. And while Mementos can be used in multiplayer, lobby hosts also have the option of disabling them. The added meta progression helps to fix one of the longstanding issues with the Civilization series, which is the feeling of “What now?” after ending a many-hours-long session by rewarding players over time for their achievements.
I’m excited to check out the third and final Modern Age and see what the late game of Civ 7 feels like. Once I’ve done so, keep an eye out for my full Sid Meier’s Civilization VII review as we get closer to its February 11, 2025 🎉release date!
Published: Jan 16, 2025 08:00 am