Civilization 7 Bringing Back Features From Past Games is a Double-Edged Sword

When Civilization 7 launched, it made a statement. Firaxis was clearly chasing something new, breaking from tradition by letting players mix and match leaders and nations, introducing more flexible diplomacy, and borrowing a few conceptual tricks from newer genre-adjacent titles. The result was polarizing for some long-time fans of Civ titles, but it was an undeniably ambitious evolution of the franchise. Civ 7 is an evolution of the franchise that sparked conversation among longtime fans, some energized by the shake-up, others wary of the shift.