Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 458 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 326 out of 458
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 458
  3. Negative: 54 out of 458
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  1. Tridus
    Jun 24, 2012
    5
    It's still Civ 5. Depending on what you think of Civ 5, that'll either be a good thing or a bad thing. For me it was a bad thing. The new systems don't feel well integrated. Religion in particular is built around yet another pool of points that you gather up from buildings, then spend on stuff. You know, like every other system in the game. You pick some buffs, then you can pretty muchIt's still Civ 5. Depending on what you think of Civ 5, that'll either be a good thing or a bad thing. For me it was a bad thing. The new systems don't feel well integrated. Religion in particular is built around yet another pool of points that you gather up from buildings, then spend on stuff. You know, like every other system in the game. You pick some buffs, then you can pretty much ignore it. Since diplomacy is so schitzophrenic you can ignore it for that purpose, and it spreads on its own (eventually), or you can use a missionary or great prophet to speed it up. Great prophets have no other real use then spreading religion, unlike other great people (who you can buy with faith later, likely added because the points would be virtually worthless once the religion is buffed up otherwise). Spies are really limited in what they can do, and since tech stealing is so prevalent you'll want to use a couple to defend against it pretty much all the time. That makes the whole system really limited and passive. If you thought Civ 5 was a great game already then you'll enjoy this, but IMO Civ 4 did both of these systems better.… Expand
  2. Tacoss23
    Nov 20, 2012
    7
    This expansion was a step forward after the franchise took 20 back with the release of Civilization 5. While arguably still the same Civ 5, you can tell the difference in the point of view/direction the game is heading with this expansion. For the ones that don't know, Jon Shaffer, the 20 year old kid developer responsible for the disaster of Civ 5, was fired 2 months after launch (noThis expansion was a step forward after the franchise took 20 back with the release of Civilization 5. While arguably still the same Civ 5, you can tell the difference in the point of view/direction the game is heading with this expansion. For the ones that don't know, Jon Shaffer, the 20 year old kid developer responsible for the disaster of Civ 5, was fired 2 months after launch (no surprise there), and since then Firaxis has been slowly trying to fix the mess. This expansion shows the dedication of the team and great efforts to restore Civ 5 to the franchise standards. Unfortunately, it's still Civ 5 at the very core, which depending on your opinion of Civ 5 it could be very bad or good. If you are new to the franchise or somehow managed to find Civ 5 appealing, then this expansion will only make it better in every aspect. If you are part of the horde of disappointed decades long hard-core fans like myself, then this expansion gives you hope in the future of the franchise, nonetheless still a mediocre mess compared to Civ 4-BTS. Religion, the improved AI, improved combat and several other small changes are really good, and made me play the game again, still with sour taste of Civ 5 vanilla in my mouth though. Conclusion: It's a good step to get Civilization back on track and restore the fan's confidence in the future of the franchise. Despite the efforts, the horrendous mess left by Civilization 5 vanilla it's still too big to be cleaned up by a single expansion and subsequent patches. If you hated what they did with Civilization 5 (like I did), give this expansion a try, it might bring you back to the game. However it still is Civ 5 at the core and therefore you will still have a sour taste in your mouth every time you play it. Hopefully with patches and maybe one more expansion like this we can get back to Civ 4-BTS standards?… Expand
  3. elendiel7
    Jun 30, 2013
    7
    As a 4x enthusiast the base game was not well received by Civilization veterans. It was known to lack depth, any meaningful AI, and in general anything beyond the first few eras was boring. Common for a Civilization expansion, you can expect new civilizations, units and wonders that take advantage of the new features of the game. Such features as Religion, and espionage have been included.As a 4x enthusiast the base game was not well received by Civilization veterans. It was known to lack depth, any meaningful AI, and in general anything beyond the first few eras was boring. Common for a Civilization expansion, you can expect new civilizations, units and wonders that take advantage of the new features of the game. Such features as Religion, and espionage have been included. Gods and kings adds enough content to justify part of the cost, but there are still some glaring problems.

    AI just simply needs to be fixed. It's horrible at combat, and it sometimes take a unreasonable amount of time for it to take it's turn. Often times the AI will even hang, resulting in the screen being frozen in place.

    Any multiplayer issues you had in civ 5 have not been fixed. In some cases the multiplayer is even worse. I have never been able to play a game without it crashing on multiplayer. This is supposed to be resolved once Brave New world comes out. The changes will be made for all versions of the game.

    Late game is still very very boring. By the 1800's, you should already know who's going to win. Finishing the game is often a grind at that point. This can be attributed to the majority of 4x games, but I'm surprised it's something that hasn't been resolved yet. Brave new world should fix any late game issues.

    Overall, the base game would be a solid 6, but gods and kings raises it up to a 7 out of 10. Regardless of all the issues the game didn't fix, this expansion does make the game so much better. I easily put 100 hours in the game within 2 weeks of having the expansion. Buy it on sale or get Brave new world when it releases.    … Expand
  4. Gabbetthw
    Aug 18, 2012
    7
    This expansion is good in many ways, but for $50 a little overpriced. Gods and Kings adds religion and espionage, as well as a few userface changes. The religion addition was very enjoyable, allowing you to create your own religion and send it into other countries to spread it worldwide. Of course, this could effect diplomatic relations with other countries, which made religion have a lotThis expansion is good in many ways, but for $50 a little overpriced. Gods and Kings adds religion and espionage, as well as a few userface changes. The religion addition was very enjoyable, allowing you to create your own religion and send it into other countries to spread it worldwide. Of course, this could effect diplomatic relations with other countries, which made religion have a lot of potential to play. Espionage, however, was a little dull. Aside from selecting which cities your spies were located, you don't have much choice in what they do. This made espionage rather boring and hardly worth using. There were some civilizations added which also help to increase the enjoyment of the game.

    Overall, it's a great expansion, just a little pricey.    … Expand
  5. KHAAANNN
    Jul 17, 2012
    6
    I'm still a big fan of Civilization IV, so I consider myself "one of those" that was disappointed with the mainstream-approach (aka dumbing-down) the developers took with Civ 5. Although this expansion addresses some of the complaints die-hard Civ players have had with the newest addition - specifically religion and covert operations - it seems too little, too late to rescue the baseI'm still a big fan of Civilization IV, so I consider myself "one of those" that was disappointed with the mainstream-approach (aka dumbing-down) the developers took with Civ 5. Although this expansion addresses some of the complaints die-hard Civ players have had with the newest addition - specifically religion and covert operations - it seems too little, too late to rescue the base game. If you prefer Civ 5 over its predecessors, however, you may find this expansion breathes new game play styles and strategies into sessions.… Expand
  6. JaguarXJ6
    Nov 23, 2012
    5
    I can't recommend this Civ game. In the franchise, great steps were made to separate this from previous games with new concepts from hex, unit stacking, graphics, social policies, and city states. These succeed in creating new challenges for the player and add to the military strategy game.

    However, what the game does not deliver is an adaquate AI that fails at even the simplest of    I can't recommend this Civ game. In the franchise, great steps were made to separate this from previous games with new concepts from hex, unit stacking, graphics, social policies, and city states. These succeed in creating new challenges for the player and add to the military strategy game.

    However, what the game does not deliver is an adaquate AI that fails at even the simplest of tasks. For example, an automated worker in an unhappy, fledgling empire at game start will not attempt build immediately on resource one tile from the capitol to connect it. Increasing difficulty beyond King (L6) doesn't incorporate new AI routines, it simply handicaps the player by huge bonuses for production, happiness, science, and gold output for all AI players. I have over 200 hours into this Civ with another 500+ for Civ4 and another 500+ hours for every Civ incarnation before it. Even if purchased on a Steam sale, it doesn't overcome the disappointment at the lack of re-playability compared to previous Civs. The game can be fun at times, but those moments of enjoyment are too rare. Like a tribal hut, you get the immediate sense of reward and that is about as good as it gets as the game goes back to tedium of micro-management to overcome a weak AI.    … Expand
  7. Wanguard
    Oct 3, 2012
    5
    If you liked Civ5 you'll probably like this expansion too. It adds religion, spying and some minor tweaks to the game but doesn't change the core game mechanics too much. The biggest flaw of Civ5, horrible AI unit movement in war, is still there.
    If you can get it cheap it's worth buying but you can easily cope without it. If you are a civfanatic you've already bought it.
  8. Tubey
    Jun 30, 2012
    5
    Unfortunately, by "dumbing down" the overall game to appeal to a wider audience of gamer, Civ 5 has actually alienated itself from everyone - it's too easy for it's traditional fans, and it remains too boring for the casual gamer.

    For those looking for a "proper" Civilization game, you're best served with either Civ 3 or Civ 4 which is available on Steam. A warning for the franchise in    Unfortunately, by "dumbing down" the overall game to appeal to a wider audience of gamer, Civ 5 has actually alienated itself from everyone - it's too easy for it's traditional fans, and it remains too boring for the casual gamer.

    For those looking for a "proper" Civilization game, you're best served with either Civ 3 or Civ 4 which is available on Steam. A warning for the franchise in the future - you're not gonna rope in Call of Duty players, no matter how hard you try. Stick to what brought you to the race for Civ 6.    … Expand
  9. Zenren
    Jun 30, 2012
    5
    I had heard great things about this expansion, but sadly it didn't live up to the hype. The addition of religion is nothing like Civilization IV and leaves much to be desired. I was hoping for a little more variety in the new civilizations added as well, but they're either over-powered or just plain, blah. Nothing to see here folks, just another great franchise in decline.
  10. MrXLiebezeit
    Jun 18, 2013
    6
    It's an okay expansion. They did a few things to improve, like religions, and combat HP. But it could have been a lot more than it was. As some others have said, if you didn't like Civ V, don't buy it.
    I for one, liked Civ V, so it was kind of neat, but nothing special.
  11. dprkforum
    Jun 19, 2012
    6
    The idea is great, and to finally get religions made me exited. Then I installed it. Woah, bugs galore. Putting the bugs aside (such as animation problems), it still does not address the shallow gameplay and quirky AI. Is the expansion worth it? Only if you really, really like Civ V.
  12. civAddict
    Jun 20, 2012
    5
    I was really looking forward to this expansion. I took of a couple of days just to play it 24x7. I think the the expansion is okay but not up toward their standard. It seems like the AI has changed dramatically. The AI army seems stronger like 10 times then before. I needed like way more units just to kill one. I just dont think it is realistic. I wish they had a option to play againstI was really looking forward to this expansion. I took of a couple of days just to play it 24x7. I think the the expansion is okay but not up toward their standard. It seems like the AI has changed dramatically. The AI army seems stronger like 10 times then before. I needed like way more units just to kill one. I just dont think it is realistic. I wish they had a option to play against the old AI engine at the start of the game. Right now I feel like this is CIV 4 with all the expansion packs. I feel like there a lack in innovation with this release. There are a lot more civs and tech but still feel like there missing so much more then there could of been. I really hope another expansion comes out soon to make this live up to the sid standard.… Expand
  13. Necrotaur
    Jun 19, 2012
    7
    Gods & Kings does a lot right, but stumbles a bit when it comes to the ostensible focus of the expansion - religion and espionage. Let's start with the good. You get a lot more bang for your buck with this expansion rather than the previous model of 'sell a civ for $5'. There are several decent civilizations added, expanding your options for play, new luxury resources to take advantageGods & Kings does a lot right, but stumbles a bit when it comes to the ostensible focus of the expansion - religion and espionage. Let's start with the good. You get a lot more bang for your buck with this expansion rather than the previous model of 'sell a civ for $5'. There are several decent civilizations added, expanding your options for play, new luxury resources to take advantage of, and 2 new city state types along with more in-depth interaction. Various other gameplay changes such as a slightly retooled combat system, new buildings/units/wonders, and an overhaul of certain key aspects will probably require you to change your strategies a bit. The scenarios included are interesting and detailed, particularly the steampunk themed one. Now for the bad. Religion is a bit more hands off than I'd like - most of the game is spent waiting around for your 'faith resource' to accrue, then choosing perks from a list. If religion sounds suspiciously like another culture bar, that's because it essentially is. After you have enough 'faith resource', you wait for a great prophet to be generated. Once he is, you found your religion (naming it 'Pastafarianism' or 'Atheism' is only funny once, trust me) and choose some unique traits. The 'build-a-religion' thing is a pretty cool idea, but when certain traits give +10% wonder building, and others give +1 food from camps, you can be pretty sure where everyone playing to win is going to head. From there you can go on and spread it to neighboring cities, but unfortunately, religion starts to die off in importance in later eras of the game and slowly becomes replaced with Espionage. I understand the Real World reasoning behind it, but instead of two full gameplay functions, it feels like I'm only getting 2 halves. Espionage is done completely within the menu interface. I found it to be sort of interesting, but again, very hands off, as once you move your spy to a city, they do things automatically with no further input. All in all, Gods & Kings is a decent expansion, but it's mainly due to the other stuff that's bundled with with it rather than the key features. Hopefully future dev tweaking and balancing will make religion and espionage more interesting than they are currently, as well as fix the numerous bugs that shipped with the last couple of patches. If you enjoyed Civ 5 as-is, you will probably like this expansion quite a bit. On the other hand, if you were disappointed in Civ 5 due to gameplay , strategic depth or another similar reason, Gods & Kings unfortunately doesn't really do anything to resolve the underlying issues.… Expand
  14. gyrate
    Jul 21, 2013
    7
    They've done a solid job of patching up this game. The game runs fairly smooth now and with this add on it's what they should have released day one. You must increase the difficulty to the extreme or it's like playing against children that have never played a pc game before.
  15. dam1730
    Jun 19, 2012
    5
    The best thing about this expansion is the civilizations that are added. All of them are interesting to me and I have enjoying trying some really short games with each of them so far. As far as improving the AI as the developers said they would, it is definitely questionable. Did they make the AI more difficult? Yes. Do I agree with the methods they chose to do that? No. First of all, theThe best thing about this expansion is the civilizations that are added. All of them are interesting to me and I have enjoying trying some really short games with each of them so far. As far as improving the AI as the developers said they would, it is definitely questionable. Did they make the AI more difficult? Yes. Do I agree with the methods they chose to do that? No. First of all, the developers decided to add hit points to the units of AI controlled units. While this has not been confirmed, I have also found that the AI produces units much faster than they should be able to. While playing with Byzantium (which is a fun new civ to play) Rome declared war on me early in the game. Rome had only one city with minimal improvements around it. Also, there was only one hill in their area. Their production should have been extremely low. Somehow, Rome had 12 military units less than 100 turns into the game. These were not just your low-level warriors, but also two ballistas, two spearmen, and a few bowmen. It would have been impossible for me, to create this many units if I had my city surrounded by hills with mine improvements. I was able to hold off the Romans in a war of attrition, but cheating AI's have a way of making me really angry. The religion feature is WAY TOO SLOW. It takes forever to earn faith points unless you put all of your civs resources into it. Spreading your religion is also to slow. For over 30 turns I waited for the city that was closest to the holy city to adopt the religion. It didn't happen. I had to send a missionary which took forever to purchase because I had to use faith points to get him. I haven't even got to espionage yet because I've been trying to figure out the religion aspect. It's a good idea. they just need to speed it up 2 or 3 times what it currently is. There was one problem I had with one of the new civilizations. Sweden's special ability is pretty stupid in my opinion. They are a civ I would like to play, but their special ability is useless to me.… Expand
  16. Ecresis
    Jun 24, 2014
    5
    All this could have been added in the game in the first place, and we all now it has been released separately to make more money. This is why I can't give more points to this expansion, we all knew it was coming.

    And it was not that good. Of course the religion was an important update, even if I find that it hasn't had enough influence on the game until the Brave New World expansion    All this could have been added in the game in the first place, and we all now it has been released separately to make more money. This is why I can't give more points to this expansion, we all knew it was coming.

    And it was not that good. Of course the religion was an important update, even if I find that it hasn't had enough influence on the game until the Brave New World expansion came out. It is however much better than in Civ IV.

    Let's not talk about the "Kings" which is actually a bunch of civilization you could have had with the Steam Workshop

    In mutliplayer with friends, you can however have a lot of fun trying to spread your religion it it might be a reason for war !

    Conclusion : Buy it in a pack with the other expansion, and at a low price if you can    … Expand
  17. cdjedi48
    Dec 22, 2012
    6
    The game lacked soul on release and even now continues to lack soul with the upgrade to Gods and Kings. You will expend a great deal of time on this game. You will enjoy it. Its just not as good as Civ 4.
  18. Vayra
    Jul 15, 2013
    6
    While the original game was over-simplified and lacking in virtually every department but A/V quality, Gods and Kings adds some much needed depth and variety to various areas of the game. Although not every new element is worked out equally well, the overall feel of the game has improved and especially late game is now more playable and far less boring but still lacking.

    The addition    While the original game was over-simplified and lacking in virtually every department but A/V quality, Gods and Kings adds some much needed depth and variety to various areas of the game. Although not every new element is worked out equally well, the overall feel of the game has improved and especially late game is now more playable and far less boring but still lacking.

    The addition of Religion, though simple in its implementation, is relatively effective especially on maps with many City States. Unfortunately, City States are still underdeveloped and should be able to do more to influence the game and besides that, Religion is really not much of an actual influence. The total revamp of how Culture and Faith is attained is also a change in the right direction, but is still too easy to abuse at such a level that you'll be swimming in points to spend, resulting in major advantages over any AI opponent.

    As with the original release, any civilization who is fastest on building Wonders and boasts one city with an extreme Production capacity will still triumph over any AI difficulty. And still, as with the original release, the only real pain the AI will cause you is mass production and serving you with hordes of troops who will mindlessly storm your barricades. Even the total combat mechanic revamp does not alleviate this issue.

    At its core, Civ 5 G&K still does not offer the depth and replayability of its predecessors, but does see some significant improvements over the original. With those improvements, it has grown from a badly executed, to a simply mediocre 4X game. Unfortunately the real fans will still be forced to look back to earlier installments.    … Expand
  19. Sivus
    Jun 5, 2014
    7
    Feels like the trend of "lets have you pay for what should have been in the original" has really taken flight and it's very shameful. Half of what you pay for in this "expansion" should have been patched in and the other half should have been packaged into a lower priced DLC. Still, this added another 50 hours to my play time so I guess I can only be so angry...I did, after all pay for itFeels like the trend of "lets have you pay for what should have been in the original" has really taken flight and it's very shameful. Half of what you pay for in this "expansion" should have been patched in and the other half should have been packaged into a lower priced DLC. Still, this added another 50 hours to my play time so I guess I can only be so angry...I did, after all pay for it knowing full well what to expect!… Expand
  20. whitepawn
    Jun 19, 2014
    6
    Brings Civ V a bit closer to what it should be, but this should have been inherent in the original game. Also, they removed culture bombing. They had one and only one way of shifting culture borders (illogical and seems to cater to the whiny crowd) and they got rid of it.

    Just opening borders and letting someone else seed religion for you lowers your cost and gives you nearly the same    Brings Civ V a bit closer to what it should be, but this should have been inherent in the original game. Also, they removed culture bombing. They had one and only one way of shifting culture borders (illogical and seems to cater to the whiny crowd) and they got rid of it.

    Just opening borders and letting someone else seed religion for you lowers your cost and gives you nearly the same benefits as if you'd discovered the religion yourself. Kind of lame.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best PC Game of 2012
80
#80 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 53
  3. Negative: 1 out of 53
  1. Level7.nu
    Aug 3, 2012
    80
    An expansion with focus on religion. It features many well needed changes.
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  2. Eurogamer Sweden
    Aug 1, 2012
    80
    Gods & Kings adds some fun and interesting things to the game, but leaves the core gameplay intact. While none of the additions tries to revolutionize the Civilization V formula, each of them still manages to improve it, which makes Gods & Kings a good catch for those already hooked on the basic game.
    Read full review
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Jul 31, 2012
    100
    The rarest of all expansions: the one that's better than its base game. [Aug 2012, p.58]
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