Ah, Sunshine. You might’ve failed at the box office, but your gorgeous soundtrack will live on in trailers for years to come. Case in point, the above announcement trailer for Civilization VI, and what I swear is Sean Bean doing the narration.
If you’ve never played Sid Meier’s Civilization series, it can be hard to communicate from this teaser what the games are like. They are pretty what they say on the tin: civilization-building strategy games, which try to replicate the technological and social evolution of cultures over the span of millennia. They’re ambitious in scope, offer challenging and unconventional solutions (winning through non-violent methods, for example), and remix historical figures like Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln in weird, time-distorting ways. It won’t help your kid pass their World History exam or anything, but the games are a fun way to ~engage with~ historical lessons, as their teachers might put it.
In an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, lead designer Ed Beach lays out some of what’s changed in Civilization VI. Just as Civilization V dramatically changed how military units are handled, Civilization VI seeks to do the same with city-building. “Everything is now placed on the map, blowing the cities apart. All of the upgrades that you build are now spread across the landscape in the area of control of each city,” says Beach. “We want to break people out of their consistent playstyles.”
Civilization VI (screen via Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
Geography, tech trees, and the AI used for rival civilizations has also seen an overhaul. Reportedly, the diplomacy system will also see some major tweaks, although developer Firaxis hasn’t provided details on that yet. No word yet on whether Gandhi will be any less of a jerk this time around, either.
Civilization VI is currently set to launch October 21st on PC.
