Recent reviews by beheldtortoise

I've played every Civ title since Civilization II and for me, this is the best overall Civilization experience I have ever had.

GOOD

Graphics are amazing - the devs said they wanted a look and feel like a diorama and they nailed it.
Narration - Gwendaline Christie was an inspired choice and I love hearing her narrations for the discoveries. May seem shallow, but absolutely contributes to the overall vibe of the game.
Ages system - Jarring the first time I experienced it but I like how it contributes to a 'rise and fall' style narrative and it absolutely stops the mid game from becoming an idle clicker which many previous Civ titles fell foul of.
Towns - had to figure this one out at first, but using them strategically to support your key city settlements adds a whole new dimension to settling, rather than just spamming settlers out for land grabs you must think carefully about how each one will help you build your empire.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

UI - I don't dislike it as much as some others seem to, but it needs some tidying up for sure. There is information which seems to be outright missing (numbers of trade routes available anyone?) and I can't say enough how irritating it is that the city screens don't tell you what you just finished building. Definitely in need of some TLC.

Overall my personal favourite Civ experience of all time and can't wait to spend more time with it.

Burn the heretic, Kill the mutant, Purge the unclean!

Best 40K game I never played in '95 - I have enjoyed this more even the Doom Eternal, it's THAT fricking good.

Nerfed the game back to vanilla rule set. All extra game modes gone and seemingly inaccessible. Uninstalling this DLC until it can be released properly.

*update 24/11/2022*
This issue has been seemingly fixed for Windows version of the game. After a re-install everything now working with new leaders.

However - Linux version is still stuck at vanilla rule set even after complete re-installation. Get it together please - auto-installing DLC is not appreciated , especially when it wasn't sufficiently tested.

Only a few hours into my first playthrough but the game is already highly polished. Great sound design in particular, atmospheric and haunting. Gameplay is a mix of resource and relationship management with some exploration and combat mechanics to keep things interesting and suspenseful. For anyone who grew up watching sci-fi classics like Alien, Battlestar, Firefly etc. there will be something for you here. Can't wait to get the full release when it's ready!