Saturday, November 17, 2018

"Sid Meier's Civilization VI" Switch Review


Like all its predecessors, "Sid Meier's Civilization VI" mesmerized legions of 4X strategy obsessives when it hit the PC scene in 2016. Also like just about all of its predecessors, it never arrived on other platforms.

The Switch popularity surge, though, turned some heads at 2K Games, which turned developer Aspyr lose on translating the sometimes complex keyboard-and-mouse menu navigation systems to the Nintendo device's touch screen and buttons arrangement.

The team's efforts shine through so well that -- to use a Civ gameplay metaphor -- it seems 2K must have powered-up the dev team with advanced research skills from two ages beyond ours.

This port not only showcases the Switch as a platform flexible enough to take on just about any genre, but sets a template for other developers to bring high-end PC and console titles to the Switch. With no noticeable deficiencies, this is a full, robust "Civilization VI" experience, and superior in many ways to the original for its portability.

This is no quick-and-dirty "me too" Switch port. Not only is the complete original content from the 2016 release included, but four add-on packs are also here, rounding up the likes of Viking, Poland, Australia and Persia/Macedons, complete with civilizations and challenge scenarios geared toward each.

Choosing from among 24 historic world leaders, you seek to expand your power and influence throughout the globe by means including warfare, diplomacy, culture and technology. There is more than enough here to keep a solo player occupied for months, if not years, but multiplayer opens up an invigorating stream of replayability.

A comprehensive, adjustable tutorial system gets players of any skill level up to speed. But no matter how many dozens of campaigns and thousands of turns you plunge into the game, you feel as though there's always still much more to learn. Now with the Switch, you can go beyond "just one more turn" and evolve to "I'm taking this with me to work." That's the mark of a Civ game, and a sign of the bright future of top-flight Switch ports such as this.
Publisher provided review code.

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