As far as strategy games go, the Civilization series has always offered some of the most content-complete packages of its genre. Despite how primitive it may look now, the very first Civilization game back in 1991 gave players hundreds of hours of playable content with just its one addictive main mode. Since then, the Civilization series has only continued to expand its offerings, adding a slew of additional game modes, online capability, and more than enough single-player and multiplayer content to keep fans happy years after their initial purchase. But there's still room for Civilization 7 to improve.
Though the Civilization series does offer some of the most complete strategy experiences in all of gaming, it's a little lacking in the story department. While other strategy titles like Age of Empires, Anno 1800, and Crusader Kings all have campaign modes with at least one set of story missions, the Civilization series has never really had one, and it's a huge feature that could really set Civilization 7 apart from its predecessors.
Civilization 7 Should Include Full Campaign Modes
For decades now, the Civilization franchise has been primarily known for its central mode that sees players attempt to rule the world and beat out its other leaders by reaching one of the series' multiple victory conditions, ranging from building the World Bank, to building the United Nations, to launching the first colony ship into space. Though it's a simple premise, this game mode is deceptively complex and addictive, urging players to take "just one more turn."
For many Civilization fans, this core game mode is all that they'll ever need, with enough strategies, leaders, and variables to keep them entertained for hundreds of hours. But for those that desire a more structured but varied approach, Civilization offers a handful of Scenarios. First introduced in Civilization 2 back in 1996, Scenarios follow the same general formula as a standard match of Civ, but add a new set of rules and conditions to the match. These conditions will often dictate who the player controls, who they go up against, what units and cities they start with, and what the map looks like, all usually based on a specific historical event.
Over time, these Scenarios have become a much more prevalent aspect of Civilization. While Civilization 2 offered just 2 Scenarios at launch, but added another 20 as DLC, and Civilization 6 currently has a total of 14 Scenarios, with options for both single-player and multiplayer matches. Though it may have less than some of its predecessors, Civilization 6's Scenarios are usually much meatier, completely shifting the game to fit around unique conditions and time settings. But while these Scenarios are great fun, they're over and done with in just a few hours, and there's little narrative to be found in each one.
Civilization 7 should break new ground for the franchise by offering the first full campaign mode of the series. Ideally, Civilization 7 should have a tailored campaign mode for each of its world leaders. Borrowing a little from the highly underrated Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Civilization 7 could offer a series of Scenarios for each leader, as opposed to just one short Scenario each, taking players through their entire historical career beat by beat, and putting them up against the same challenges that the real-life versions of those figures had to face. This way, fans are able to enjoy full-length campaigns, but can take it at their own pace, going mission to mission. Civilization 7 is probably looking for a way to stand out from past entries, and adding a full single-player campaign would definitely do that.
Civilization 7 is currently in development.