Firaxis announced that the huge new update for Civilization 7, Test of Time, will drop on May 19. The new update brings a fundamental shift in Civ 7’s overall design, namely: the ability to play as one civilization throughout the whole game.
The Test of Time Update reworks the core changes in Civ 7 in three main ways:
- Optionally play as a single Civ throughout the game
- Rework how each victory is achieved
- Replace existing Legacy Paths with Triumphs
The previous gameplay of evolving into different civilizations during Age Transitions will still be there. But now players can choose to play as Time-Tested Civs, using the new Syncretism mechanic. Syncretism is a new civic, and once researched, grants access to a another Civ’s infrastructure bonus, unique military unit, or adapting your civ’s new Tradition. This allows each Civ to feature a powerful bonus even outside of their Apex Age. The Apex Age represents the era in which each Civ is historically strongest, due to their unique units and other bonuses.
The new Victories system offers four different paths to win a game of Civ: Military, Cultural, Economic, and Scientific. Players make progress beginning from Antiquity, and can rven win as early as the Exploration Age.
The oft-criticized Legacy Paths are being removed entirely and replaced with Triumphs. Triumphs act as objectives or quests that each player can strive forward, such as the first to build seven wonders, or having a certain amount of a certain resource.
Honestly, these changes look pretty darn impressive. I was more optimistic than most in my review of the launch version, but clearly Civ 7 has struggled to find an audience. Each new Civilization game have a notorious uphill battle against years of great expansion packs and content updates in the previous iteration. But Civ 6 (2016), and even Civ 5 (2010) still sport more active players on Steam than Civ 7 over a year after its launch – ouch!
The Test of Time update is also adding a new leader, a new map type, and improved map generation — one of the many sticking points for Civ fans that feels like a downgrade.
For a further deep dive into the new update, check out the Test of Time Livestream on the Firaxis Twitch channel or Civilization YouTube channel.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 is available on PC (Steam, Epic), Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and 5, Switch, and Xbox Series One and X/S.
