This game is sometimes compared to Civ or is called Civ+CK3. None are accurate assessments. This is probably the best 4X game that you have ever played. It has a lot of depth in terms of character-building, strategy, war, etc. It brings so much more to the table that I hesitate to compare this with Civ games. As a big fan of the Civ series, I can no longer go back to any of the Civ series, because they do not have the depth and fun of this game. Not even close. Do yourself a favor and give this a try. The game takes you in. When I play this game, I am no longer in the real world. I do not know how to put it in words. It engages you in every possible way. I have never played a game this deep and at the same time this much fun to play. If you are not a big fan of being beaten by the AI, do not play at higher difficulty levels. The AI is smart and mean. It also knows how to play (unlike later Civ series where AI is just a joke). I sincerely thank the creators for this game. Wow.
This is the best 4X Game that I have ever played (about 1000 hours now). It is deep, engaging, and most of all fun. Especially, if you like to play against a capable AI. You can skip the rest of this long review, but do yourself a favor and give this game a try. Play at least 5-6 games and I guarantee that you will fall in love. I was a big fan of the Civilization series, with Civ4 being my favorite. I truly enjoyed Civ 5 and 6 too, so when I heard about a new Civ-like game, I was skeptical that it could beat the well-established series and offer a new experience. The only reason that I gave it a try was that I learned Old World was designed by the designer of Civ 4. After playing a few rounds, I felt like, I could never go back to the Civ series. This game engages you deeply in strategy, storytelling, and character building, and challenges you to beat a highly smart AI, especially in warfare. The game brings so many new ideas to 4X games that it is one of a kind. Here are some of the new ideas 1. Unlike Civ where your leader's character stays the same for 5000 years, here events change your leader's character. A leader who is bad with money handling may learn something through various events and get better at money handling. 2. Oh and I forgot to say, the leaders (and all game characters) are mortal. So, your top-notch chancellor may become ill and die and as a result, your money production, or culture production be affected. Or your spymaster may get into a dispute with you over a piece of land and start hating your guts and this affects your empire in various ways. 3. The order system is a brilliant idea. Your total moves per turn are decided by your empire output, not by the number of units that you have. You may have 100 units, but if you have only 50 orders per turn, then you can only make 50 moves. You have to try this for yourself, this is a new stage of strategic planing. 4. Well, I am running out of space, so, let me make it short. I could add 10 more.
