Civilization 7’s strategic view seems to be missing in action

Civ 7 looks amazing, but it looks like it's missing my favorite feature

Firaxis

Civilization 7 was finally shown off yesterday during Gamescom Opening Night Live, with a 25-minute gameplay showcase not long after. It looks wonderful, with some really bold ideas taking the series forward in fascinating new directions, but there was one major feature missing in the showcase, and I’m hoping with all my heart it hasn’t been left behind. 

I could talk about how Civ 7 brings a new twist on its ages, separating the progression and mechanics of each age to offer more flexibility. I could talk about the decoupling of leaders and civilizations, creating almost endless possibilities and combinations. I could even talk about the game’s new narrator, Gwendolyn Christie, who sounds fantastic and is a wonderful choice for the game. All of that excites me, but none of it matters as much as my favorite Civ feature: strategic view. 

You see, I’m a bit of a Civilization heathen. As the series has progressed, it’s gotten prettier, more colorful, and more graphically intensive, but since my very first match in Civ 5, well over a decade ago at this point, I’ve turned away from all the pretty graphics and switched to strategic view. 

Strategic view is a cut-down graphical interface built into Civ 5 and 6, stripping away all the graphical flair and presenting you with a flat map marked with all of the information you could want. It’s not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets the job done, and that’s what I need from Civ. For me, it’s all about efficiency. 

A lot of players immerse themselves in Civ, roleplaying in a way to become a great leader, command armies into battle, and beautify their cities. Me, I’m in it for the strategy. Only the strategy. I don’t particularly care what a Civ game looks like or sounds like, I don’t need to see my little army guys standing with their spears held high, ready to take down England’s troops. I don’t need to see the great wonder I’ve constructed, the Taj Mahal standing proud in the center of my nation. All I need is the necessary information to expand, conquer, and win. 

It might look bad to you, but to me it looks like victory / Firaxis / GLHF

So it’s a little bit disappointing that, after a full gameplay reveal at Gamescom Opening Night Live and a 25-minute gameplay showcase, strategic view was nowhere to be seen. And look, I get it — you’ve got these gorgeous new graphics, you want to make the most of it and show off the goods. I appreciate that. But if strategic view is in the game, that’s something I definitely want to know about. 

Worse still is that I didn’t see any kind of UI that suggested the feature was returning. Civ 5 and 6 both had little buttons above the minimap that let you switch between standard view and strategic view, but that button is seemingly absent altogether in Civ 7. Maybe there’s a different setting buried somewhere else in the menus, but I’m a little worried it might be missing altogether. 

I will probably still play Civilization 7 on its release date, even if it doesn’t have strategic view. It looks like a lot of fun, and I can try my best to ignore all the pretty graphics and just focus on the strategy if I absolutely have to. But I know, deep within my heart, that it would always feel like it’s missing something, and I don’t know if I could do 16-hour marathon sessions without it.