Timing is everything when it comes to certain actions, and gaming companies they’re not afraid to use “early timing” to convince players to try out their games while also ensuring that their games “are up to snuff.” Early Access is a concept that is both tried and true in the gaming space, even if not all fans like it. Certain “Game of the Year” titles lived on Early Access for some time before being released in full, so it works…when done properly. However, for some games like Civilization VII, developers, and publishers use Early Access as a tool to get people to buy certain versions of the game so that the players can get access a few days early.
Firaxis is learning that they probably should’ve done a bit more testing before busting out the Early Access in this way. Those who paid for the early jump on the game are already dropping reviews about the title, and they aren’t positive. If you go to the game’s Steam page, you’ll notice that the highly-anticipated title has a “Mixed” review score right now across 6000 reviews. That’s actually an improvement, believe it or not, as it was “Mostly Negative” when things started out. So, what is it that’s getting the gamer’s ire? That would be the User Interface!
That might seem a bit odd at first, but when it comes to a game like Civilization VII, you need a good, detailed, and easy-to-use User Interface so you can move around menus, make the moves that you need to make, and then move on to the next one as you build up your civilization. Yet, according to fans, the interface is not only “clunky,” but it doesn’t flow that well, which is making the game hard to get through, let alone something that is joyous to play. People even took screenshots of errors within the UI to highlight how Firaxis didn’t do its due diligence with it and merely threw it out without a care.
Needless to say, many aren’t thrilled that they paid $70 for Early Access to a game that is more troubled than “just in Early Access.” Thankfully, Firaxis has made a post about this on their website, acknowledging the user comments and promising to fix things.
You can go to the site to see the full list of things they’re promising to change, and it is a lot. The question will be whether they can do that before Civilization VII drops on the 11th.
