Finally giving Civilization VII players what they really want - Test of Time brings the ability to play continuously as one civ all the way through. This is the biggest update to the game since the original release back in February. Currently, it's still sitting on a Mixed overall rating from Steam gamers. Perhaps this might finally turns things around properly.
With this update the main reworks are:
- Time-Tested Civs: Players can now play as one civilization throughout an entire campaign. Players will still have the option to evolve their empire into a different civilization during Age Transitions. When playing as Time-Tested civilizations, the new Syncretism mechanic will allow players to create all-new builds by adopting the Unique Units or Infrastructure from another civilization that's currently in its Apex Age, or double-down on what makes their civilization unique with Affirmation.
- A new Victories system: Victories have been completely reworked to reward dominance throughout an entire game. The Victories system makes sure that wins in Civilization VII are defined by making interesting choices and giving players as many paths as possible to pursue greatness.
- Triumphs: Completely replacing Legacy Paths is the new Triumphs system. Triumphs offer a wide range of optional, challenging objectives to help each game feel unique, and are tied to each of the six Attributes: Militaristic, Cultural, Scientific, Economic, Diplomatic, and Expansionist.
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Plus other changes:
- A new Fractal Continent map.
- A new Commerce screen.
- A new Advisor Council.
- Updated map generation.
- New Narrative Events.
- Updates to Specialists and Biomes.
- New audio and music.
- Numerous balance changes.
- New free leader, Alexander the Great!
- And more!
About the author - Liam Squires-Hand
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can follow me personally on Mastodon [External Link].
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12 comments
Mountain Man 9 hours ago
I played to the end of first age last night and really like the changes. It opens the game up to more varied play styles without losing Civ VII's unique core features.
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Kimyrielle 7 hours ago
The obvious question is - since this (IMHO) horrible forced change of civs was the anchor-feature of the entire game... is Civ VII now indistinguishable from Civ VI?
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Mountain Man 5 hours ago
Quoting: KimyrielleThe obvious question is - since this (IMHO) horrible forced change of civs was the anchor-feature of the entire game... is Civ VII now indistinguishable from Civ VI?What kind of nonsense question is that? If you want a Civ game that is indistinguishable from VI then just play VI.
The two most significant changes in this update are: 1) You can pick any civilization to play as from the start and elect to continue playing as that civilization across age transitions; and 2) No more legacy paths that force the player to complete the same objectives in the same order to win.
These two changes on their own open Civ VII up to a wide variety of new play styles and strategies.
Last edited by Mountain Man on 20 May 2026 at 5:42 pm UTC
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Quoting: Mountain ManA fairly simple one, I would have thought. To put it a different way, were there any features of Civ VII other than the civilization-switching, that distinguished it from earlier Civilization games enough to make it worth buying if you already have Civ V and Civ VI?Quoting: KimyrielleThe obvious question is - since this (IMHO) horrible forced change of civs was the anchor-feature of the entire game... is Civ VII now indistinguishable from Civ VI?What kind of nonsense question is that?
I also wonder this, since I do have those other games and haven't seen a lot of people saying much about what VII is like as a game and it's kind of expensive, even with a discount right now.
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Kimyrielle 4 hours ago
Quoting: Mountain ManWhat kind of nonsense question is that? If you want a Civ game that is indistinguishable from VI then just play VI.The question was (obviously?) meant to ask if there interesting new features OTHER than the forced civ changing that would make VII stand out in some way from VI. In the way that would make it worth getting it now. Because, as you so thoughtfully pointed out, I can always play VI, if I want to play VI.
But hey, you can also always opt to just be rude about it.
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Mountain Man 3 hours ago
Quoting: KimyrielleBut hey, you can also always opt to just be rude about it.Or I could have answered your question by pointing out the two most significant changes in the update: more freedom to play as the civilization you want, and the elimination of railroad-y legacy paths. In short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.
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Kimyrielle 2 hours ago
Quoting: Mountain ManWhich isn't really what my question asked, but hey. You know what? Nevermind.Quoting: KimyrielleBut hey, you can also always opt to just be rude about it.Or I could have answered your question by pointing out the two most significant changes in the update: more freedom to play as the civilization you want, and the elimination of railroad-y legacy paths. In short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.
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Mountain Man 2 hours ago
Quoting: KimyrielleFrankly, your question doesn't make any sense. Is Civ VII indistinguishable from Civ VI? Of course not, but neither is Civ VI indistinguishable from Civ V, and V is not indistinguishable from IV, and so on.Quoting: Mountain ManWhich isn't really what my question asked, but hey. You know what? Nevermind.Quoting: KimyrielleBut hey, you can also always opt to just be rude about it.Or I could have answered your question by pointing out the two most significant changes in the update: more freedom to play as the civilization you want, and the elimination of railroad-y legacy paths. In short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Kimyrielle 2 hours ago
Quoting: Mountain ManCan we just... move on? Please?Quoting: KimyrielleFrankly, your question doesn't make any sense. Is Civ VII indistinguishable from Civ VI? Of course not, but neither is Civ VI indistinguishable from Civ V, and V is not indistinguishable from IV, and so on.Quoting: Mountain ManWhich isn't really what my question asked, but hey. You know what? Nevermind.Quoting: KimyrielleBut hey, you can also always opt to just be rude about it.Or I could have answered your question by pointing out the two most significant changes in the update: more freedom to play as the civilization you want, and the elimination of railroad-y legacy paths. In short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Quoting: Mountain ManIn short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.I guess it had not occurred to you that someone would be asking about this precisely because they don't know what the core design of Civ VII is like. Nobody ever talks about it, people only talk about the heresy aspects, so it's not obvious that there are other significant elements of core design.
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Mountain Man 1 hour ago
Quoting: Purple Library GuyI don't even know what he's asking any more. 🤣Quoting: Mountain ManIn short, it retains the core design of Civ VII while adding a more traditional points-based victory system.I guess it had not occurred to you that someone would be asking about this precisely because they don't know what the core design of Civ VII is like. Nobody ever talks about it, people only talk about the heresy aspects, so it's not obvious that there are other significant elements of core design.
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