Players are starting to get their hands on the early access (as distinct from Early Access) release of Civilization 7, and while the numbers are pretty impressive even for an iconic franchise like this one, player impressions are decidedly mixed.
In case you need a refresher, Civilization 7's early access period started today for those who bought either the Deluxe or Founders Edition of the game. This isn't an "Early Access" release; it's the full game, but some players are getting to check it out ahead of the full release on February 11th.
First, the good news for publisher 2K. Civilization 7's early access launch has debuted to over 55,000 players on Steam at time of writing, which surely portends well for the full release of the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Civ 7 smashed Civ 6's 162,657 concurrent player record.
Unfortunately for 2K, the picture painted by the game's Steam reviews is perhaps a more ambiguous one.
At time of writing, Civilization 7 has attracted a Mixed rating across 2,587 reviews, with just 41% of those reviews being positive. Admittedly, the figure represents less than 5% of the game's overall early access player base, but that's still not a great look.
Common complaints from players include criticisms aimed at the game's user interface, as well as accusations that the game feels "unfinished" and that game customization is lacking.
Even some positive reviewers express dissatisfaction with the UI; one reviewer says the "pros...outweigh the cons" when it comes to Civ 7, but describes the user interface as "abysmal".
Civilization has been through cycles similar to this before; players often criticize new installments of the series for making changes to previous versions, and reception gradually improves as updates and DLC packs get released.
Time will tell whether or not that's what's happening here. We'll probably learn more about what the overall player impression of Civilization 7 is when it launches in full on February 11th for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
