It’s been just over a month sinceCivilization 6received what might be its last DLC pack, and fans of the historical strategy series are already looking to the future. However, when considering the possibility of aCivilization 7, it’s important to look back at past titles.Civ 6first launched in 2016, taking over fromCivilization 5as the latest game in Firaxis' long-running series.
Despite the fact that each new entry intotheCivilizationseriesis essentially another approach to the same game, almost every one has its own community of die-hard supporters. It took three years after launch forCivilization 6to exceedCivilization 5’s player numbers on Steam, and whileCiv 6has proved a big success for Firaxis, there are still many fans that consider its predecessor to be the superior title.
Tall vs Wide Civilizations
One of the most striking differences betweenCivilization 5andCivilization 6is how each title approaches expansion. WhileCiv 6was designed to encourage players to sprawl their empire across the map,Civ 5offers incentives for playing tall as well, consolidating power into a few super-cities. The inability to play atall game inCivilization 6is the root cause of many other gameplay changes that separate it from its predecessor.
While getting boxed into a corner is never ideal in anyCivilizationgame, inCiv 5it can be countered by focusing on improving growth. Penalties to Science and Culture are applied toCivilizationswhich build many cities, meaning that a small, micromanaged empire can still compete with a much larger one. InCivilization 6these penalties are much less punishing, which has the potential to lead to some unfortunate balance issues. The power of a large sprawling empire in the latestCivilizationtitle is so great that any player with the good fortune to spawn with plenty of space around them gains a huge advantage. It’s possible onmanyCiv 6mapsfor a player to start on their own private continent, even on ocean-heavy modes like Continents and Islands.
Civilization Wonders and Districts
Another major difference betweenCivilization 5andCivilization 6is how each game handles Wonders and City Buildings/Districts. In both titles a fully-grown city is able to pull resources from any tile within 3 hexes of the city center. These tiles can then be improved by builders, increasing their yields for the city. However, inCivilization 6players can also build Wonders and Districts on these tiles. WhileCiv 5also had Wondersand equivalent buildings, they didn’t take any space on the map when built.
This change adds an extra layer ofstrategy intoCivilization 6, as players who want to be careful with their resources must look ahead to decide where they’re going to build future Districts. It also makes building a Wonder much more of a difficult decision, as players must give up one of their tiles of the correct type to put the Wonder on. WhileCiv 6’s way of handling tiles is a lot less straightforward thanCiv 5’s, it remains the more accessible of the two titles, with its cleaner graphics and consistently-designed systems.
Tweaks and Balances
WhileCivilization 5andCivilization 6do have some major differences, they share more similarities. Both games stick to the classicCivilizationformula of sending out Settlers to found new cities, researching Technologies to advance through the ages, and using military units for defense and conquest. Both games also use Culture to pick out Policy options, granting bonuses to the empire, though the system is much deeper inCivilization 6.
Finally, the games share four out of five Victory Conditions. Players can attempt towin inCivilization 5andCivilization 6through Domination, Science, Culture, and Diplomacy. These four are joined by the Religious Victory inCivilization 6, giving religion-heavy Civs a clearer route to the win. Ultimately, although they may look and sound similar on the surface, the differences betweenCivilization 5andCivilization 6are significant enough to effectively divide the fanbase.
Civilization 6is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
