Civilization as a game has always been a time sink, and is also a game about building an empire to stand the test of time. It is not set in stone. The player will be challenged in how they deal with these turns in their civilization. It did come with the historical reservation that Civilization games are so big. You can not just do all the hard work in the beginning then expect your culture to stand the test of time, unchallenged. It is the Rise and Fall expansion brings new choices, strategies, and challenges for players as they guide a civilization through the ages, and their design process so ever-evolving, that they’re rarely a masterpiece from the get-go.
The expansion introduces global eras, triggered when any of the competing civilizations reaches the required milestones. So while Civilization VI should be lauded for some of its positive steps, it’s not like that in the real world. Like the intricate district system and more flexible policies design. All civilizations are evaluated for their Era Score at this point based on various advancement goals. The expansion we are announcing today, Civilization VI: Rise and Fall, adds new dynamic layers onto the game you’ve already been enjoying. Rise and Fall addresses some of these issues, including achieving certain Historic Moments. Can you inspire the Loyalty of people around the world, or will you lose cities to your rivals?
Civilization VI: Rise and Fall is at its worst when you’re winning but for the most part, the things it introduces are not interested in fixes; you will watch others buckle under their own weight. They are instead looking at shaping your experience into something more intimate than you may be used to with a Civilization game. Success breeds complacency as you click the end turn button and acknowledge the news of great accomplishments with the practiced apathy of a regent signing papers on behalf of an infant king. Successful leadership of a civilization can send it into a prosperous Golden Age, in a Golden Age, populations of cities are more loyal to their leader, improving their production.
You will earn – or lose – the loyalty of your people. Respond well to the challenges of a Dark Age, and your civilization can rise again into renewal with a Heroic Age. There’s lots of new stuff on offer in this expansion, from UI tweaks to new factions, but I’m not here to rattle off bullet points. These events happen every time you play, making playthroughs unique, while also giving them meaning in the mechanics. Cities will include a Loyalty rating, which is affected by Golden or Dark Ages. Golden and Dark Ages are among the new events that can shift the course of your game’s history.
Each civilization may become involved in the Emergency, I’m always excited about Civilization expansions. World borders continually shift and change as Free Cities emerge from empires, and neighbors compete for the Loyalty of cities across the map. You appoint a governor to one of your cities, and once there any of the abilities they have unlocked will apply to that settlement. In the Civilization VI base game, we have the idea of a “player era” – how far a player has advanced on their tech or civics tree.