Civilization 7 on Switch is a mostly stable, time-eating black hole (respectfully)

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Pondering about how Catherine the Great might have ruled over the Roman Empire is an intriguing thought, especially when considering it within the context of the Civilization 7 game. I’m not usually drawn towards grand strategy games, nor do I find enjoyment in military confrontations. However, the concept of a ‘culture victory’ piqued my interest and led me to choose Catherine as my character. The selection process was simple – I went for the option that appeared to have the most musical notes within the user interface. The outcome? I found myself constructing numerous structures while maintaining a tense army along my borders, all while hoping for peace rather than war.

The game Civilization, which people often mention with the “one more turn” phrase, is one I recently played on Nintendo Switch, and I can understand why it’s so popular. In many ways, it reminds me of a game called Balatro. These games release information at a carefully controlled pace, making it difficult for anyone with low dopamine levels to resist keeping on playing, potentially causing psychological harm just by contemplating putting the controller down. For someone like myself, these types of games can be as dangerous as if ancient Egypt sent a group of Medjay soldiers to my doorstep, daring me to take action against them.

Beyond constructing marvels such as the iconic Roman Coliseum, my role involved assessing the gameplay experience on the Switch. Historically, 2K isn’t known for producing top-notch Switch ports, and it seems that porting a vast game like Civilization VII might be more of a gamble compared to something like Stray or One Piece Odyssey. However, if Arc System Works can effectively optimize Guilty Gear Strive for Nintendo’s older handheld device, why not give it a shot for this title as well?

It turns out the outcome surpassed my assumptions. I thought there would be trade-offs, but surprisingly, they were not as apparent as I anticipated. The graphics seemed slightly faded or unclear at times, and the performance dipped occasionally. Compared to Bill Lavoy’s PC version review, the embedded footage shows more detail. However, my main worry was legibility, and in this aspect, the port truly shone.

Transitioning from playing on a screen while recording video to a handheld mode that felt more comfortable for me, I never encountered issues with text readability or following events on the map. The text size adjusted itself automatically whenever I removed the Switch from its dock, and the improved contrasts on the OLED screen compared to my LCD monitor made reading easier and more enjoyable. Ensuring the user interface remained clear no matter the resolution elsewhere was a smart decision, and the developers did an excellent job of executing it.

As a gamer, I found myself grappling with the controls, an issue shared across console versions, let’s be honest. The visual cues were generally clear, with plenty of easily recognizable symbols guiding me to the right menus. However, the game seemed indecisive at times, making me switch between the control stick and D-pad when navigating menus, which felt a bit odd. But I managed to navigate fairly well by just reading what was displayed on the screen.

The primary concern that many people might have is performance instability. While the game frame rate isn’t constant, you may experience smooth and almost 60fps gameplay in some parts, while others may dip below 30fps based on the ongoing activities. Civilization 7 generally runs smoothly most of the time, but there’s one notable exception: when it’s not your turn. This seems logical as it allows for potential compromises to appear, since you’re not actively playing during this time. However, this can make it difficult to keep track of other civilizations’ actions, especially considering the fog of war aspect. I often found myself losing focus and needing a moment to regroup before resuming play when it was my turn again. This isn’t ideal for competitive, turn-based games, but it appears to be a trade-off in this specific case.

In the ideal situation for this port, it seems very similar to using the original version. The adjustments and reductions aren’t so apparent that you can tell something is amiss, or you wouldn’t realize there’s a difference until you compare side by side with the PC version. For Civilization 7 on Nintendo Switch, it leans more towards the latter than the former. Even when the performance slows during CPU turns, or the graphics appear overly bright and blurry, I still feel like I’m playing a standard video game, and one of the latest entries in an AAA strategy series with all the extra features you’d expect.

The game “Civilization 7” is currently accessible on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, with an exclusive code for the Nintendo Switch edition offered by the publisher in this review.

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2025-02-25 20:27