Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise and Fall

 PC
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 151 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 151
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 151
  3. Negative: 35 out of 151

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  1. Ectomorph
    Mar 4, 2018
    8
    I like the new mechanics. There is a heavy focus on loyalty. It is a pressure system applied by citizens and can be affected by the new grand ages and governors. You have to be careful keeping your pressure high, also considering it when founding new or capturing enemy cities.
  2. rodericrinehart
    Feb 9, 2018
    9
    I've been all-in on Civilization since II. I still think Civ VI has the best foundation (even better than V), and I've always enjoyed the graphical direction that VI took. The AI is still the weak spot, and I really hope they address the AI front and center with the almost definite second xpac, in keeping with previous release schedules.

    The governors seem great so far and you can go    I've been all-in on Civilization since II. I still think Civ VI has the best foundation (even better than V), and I've always enjoyed the graphical direction that VI took. The AI is still the weak spot, and I really hope they address the AI front and center with the almost definite second xpac, in keeping with previous release schedules.

    The governors seem great so far and you can go deep or wide with them, setting up low-level governors across your empire, or pumping up a couple to keep a rebellious city reined in, or absolutely maximize that city's focus.

    The late game is still a bit slow, but it always has been in every Civ. I'm not sure how to remedy this.    … Expand
  3. daanelf
    Feb 11, 2018
    10
    This expansion expands an already fine game packed with a lot of content. I’ll say the price is justified. AI has been improved steadely since launch and is doing alright. I’ll just put this review here because some give it a rediculous score for things that will be not relevant for many. Or just for not recognising where civ 6 is in its current cycle. Every new civ game will not be aThis expansion expands an already fine game packed with a lot of content. I’ll say the price is justified. AI has been improved steadely since launch and is doing alright. I’ll just put this review here because some give it a rediculous score for things that will be not relevant for many. Or just for not recognising where civ 6 is in its current cycle. Every new civ game will not be a better experience then the last game (civ 5) which had 3 years of development and 4 full years of modding behind it. Civ 6 is doing great and will surpass civ 5 soon if it has not done so already.

    It is a good buy    … Expand
  4. kraenk
    Feb 9, 2018
    9
    Don’t listen to this Rrichard guy here.He hates on every game except for Heart of Iron which has a 3.5 user score. This expansion is a great expansion to an already great game.
  5. JohnKR
    Feb 10, 2018
    10
    One of the best expansion in the series. Why? It has some of the most original features in the series that we have never seen before along with nine more nations we have never seen before along original wonders units buildings natural wonders.... And I applause that they tried new things in the right direction, that of immersion.

    Also I can't criticize the expansion for not fixing    One of the best expansion in the series. Why? It has some of the most original features in the series that we have never seen before along with nine more nations we have never seen before along original wonders units buildings natural wonders.... And I applause that they tried new things in the right direction, that of immersion.

    Also I can't criticize the expansion for not fixing something that was all along in the series, bad AI. The AI was ALWAYS bad in civilization as in most strategy games, cause a strategy AI needs a computer you don't have. Actually I find the AI of this game a little better than that of V, cause it declares wars to me sometimes, something that in V it was almost impossible. Although it does not know what to do with all that army, but that was happening in V too(and cause cities where overpowered in V you decimate enemy armies in defence).

    *Civilization now is a game with hexes and many units, when Chess is with squares and some units. To have a computer to win a good chess player you need military staff with academic softwares. So think about it. Of course with time limit things are different but that is also true with civilization, try limited time, and then you will see a much more challenging AI.    … Expand
  6. krj38
    Feb 19, 2018
    8
    I have to say that after my first playthrough, I'm looking forward to playing more of the expansion. However, I feel I must firstly mention what kind of gamer I am, since my perspective weights in heavily on my thoughts and score. I play the game as a pastime, in hot seat mode with one more player against AIs on King difficulty and, on principle, am not striving or enjoying dominationI have to say that after my first playthrough, I'm looking forward to playing more of the expansion. However, I feel I must firstly mention what kind of gamer I am, since my perspective weights in heavily on my thoughts and score. I play the game as a pastime, in hot seat mode with one more player against AIs on King difficulty and, on principle, am not striving or enjoying domination victories. I like to grow and manage my own cities and compete against 'balanced opponents' (preferably such who don't beat me, but are challenging through the eras). The fist game of Rise and Fall I had was probably the most fun I had with Civ VI since its release.

    Note: I might update my thoughts collected here after a couple of more games.

    What I liked:
    + The difficulty of playing against the AI. I played the vanilla game with the Smoother Difficulty mod, but decided to try stock Rise and Fall to see whether there was an improvement. I don't know for sure yet, but the AI did way better than before since I had a bad start, but I did not outclass the AI in late game the way I used to before. The game ended by turn 350 and the top AIs were scientifically and culturally on a similar level to human players, something I found vastly entertaining. The fist game was not too easy to become boring and not too difficult to become frustrating.
    + some adjustments to social policies removing some easily exploitable possibilities from the base game,
    + the dark/golden/normal era system adding a nice layer of competition (though I find heroic ages to be slightly too strong; they are from my experience too easy to score and the 3 bonuses to choose from is an overkill),
    + more variety, since new Civs, units and wonders are always welcome.

    What I didn't like:
    - overall, during wars the AI did slightly better than before, but that's nothing to write home about,
    - the AI's diplomacy has somewhat improved too, the decision the AI made did not seem so erratic, but the agendas system remains too punishing (negative modifiers from different governments or personal agendas, like the Viking's, are nearly impossible to mitigate by other actions),
    - some of the new Civs seem very strong; especially Korea with its insane bonuses and unique district,

    What I didn't like as much as I hoped or have mixed feelings about:
    - while governors are a nice addition, subjectively I didn't feel enthralled by managing another mechanic; also, some governors seem to be obviously better than others,
    - the loyalty system is interesting, it slows down conquest or allows to expand your empire during peaceful playthroughs - this is a plus; however, it appears to 'ruin' the early game by emphasising the need to rush your settlers and grab land even more than before because if you linger or have a bad start (e.g. your progress is hampered by barbarians) you won't be able to hold your newly settle cities due to loyalty pressure. I feel that the loyalty system in the early game could use some tweaking,
    - the emergency mechanic sounds amazing on paper, but due to the AI's ineptitude its implementation is rather mediocre and, as such, had marginal impact on my playthrough. However, in principle it is fun and may easily reward an active player.

    Overall, for a casual player who enjoys leading a civilisation, the expansion should be a fun addition to the vanilla mechanics which offers variety and freshness. For hardcore players who enjoy domination and want a wargame, not so much.    … Expand
  7. Tomle1202
    Apr 5, 2018
    8
    Rise and Fall soars with newly added features and minor tweaks, but does not bring about enough changes to complete the flawed title of Sid Meier's Civilization VI.
  8. Isengardtom
    Apr 14, 2018
    9
    Great addition to an already great game.
    I love the loyalty mechanic and how it all glues in together with the other 2 major new features: ages and governors.
    Also 8 new civs and 9 leaders were added. As well as new (natural) wonders, new spy mechanics, a new government building. Other new features include the change in Alliances and the emergency system. All great additions, although    Great addition to an already great game.
    I love the loyalty mechanic and how it all glues in together with the other 2 major new features: ages and governors.
    Also 8 new civs and 9 leaders were added. As well as new (natural) wonders, new spy mechanics, a new government building. Other new features include the change in Alliances and the emergency system. All great additions, although the emergency system needs a bit more tweaking in my view
    What’s good about Firaxis is that they continue to update and rebalance the game and listen to a lot of feedback. Since launch in February there’s been one update already and another coming very soon.    … Expand
  9. drlowdon
    Jan 3, 2020
    8
    The first major expansion for Civilization VI of course adds the usual new leaders and nations, but its the new 'era' and 'loyalty' mechanics that will be of more interest to fans of the series.

    The good news is they both work well as an extension of the base game, adding extra complexity and ensuring that you have to keep active during peace times and whilst at war. For what it offers    The first major expansion for Civilization VI of course adds the usual new leaders and nations, but its the new 'era' and 'loyalty' mechanics that will be of more interest to fans of the series.

    The good news is they both work well as an extension of the base game, adding extra complexity and ensuring that you have to keep active during peace times and whilst at war. For what it offers it is arguably a little too expensive at full price but there are always plenty of offers on Steam so anyone that enjoyed Civ VI would do well to pick this up.    … Expand
  10. ChoicestGames
    Feb 15, 2019
    8
    Rise and Fall is to Civ VI what Gods and Kings was to Civ V: it's not as huge a paradigm shift as Brave New World was to the previous Civ but it does add an extra layer of complexity (which some may or may not like) with the addition of new gameplay mechanics involving Golden Ages, Historic Moments, Governors and Loyalty. The expansion also brings along what you'd expect in a CivRise and Fall is to Civ VI what Gods and Kings was to Civ V: it's not as huge a paradigm shift as Brave New World was to the previous Civ but it does add an extra layer of complexity (which some may or may not like) with the addition of new gameplay mechanics involving Golden Ages, Historic Moments, Governors and Loyalty. The expansion also brings along what you'd expect in a Civ expansion, including more leaders, more civs, more wonders and more improvements. Is it enough to make you ignore some of its shortcomings? I think so and that's why I still enjoy playing Civ VI: I'm definitely looking forward to the new expansion which is just around the corner.… Expand
  11. Redstripe420
    Aug 20, 2018
    10
    This games great, ive played Civ 5 and this one. This ones hands down better, looks way better, and the game mechanics work better too.
  12. Jamppa
    Aug 1, 2018
    8
    I love that they brought a completely new part of gameplay. The game needs to evolve for it to be fun to play and this dlc added about 30 hours to my time in this game and the game was more enjoyable then before. The dlc wasn't revolutionary or amazing, but i think it was successful enough to give it a 8/10.
  13. DrHasslich
    Mar 11, 2019
    8
    AI still sucks. Way to many push notes for uninteresting stuff. Otherwise i like the changes.
  14. Syhlcam
    May 14, 2021
    9
    L'apport de la gestion des âges d'or et sombre est intéressant et pousse à mieux gérer les gains de points. De même que la gestion de la loyauté, avec un meilleur placement des villes, qui parfois force des interactions.
  15. Gamepoint
    Mar 2, 2021
    10
    quite litteraly the best civ expansion ever, just makes the game a bit more realistic, the loyalty system is great, at least now everyone has a chance to do a great brittain and lose all you power by uprisings
  16. LT_Gruber
    Dec 28, 2022
    10
    Great expansion for the main game.

    Civilization is one of my all-time favorite games, and the leap from the fifth to the sixth game is epic. It offers new mechanics, tons of stuff to do and build and a fresh new look over the older games. There is some new and relaxing music, more factions and overall, it is a huge improvement over the previous game. Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise    Great expansion for the main game.

    Civilization is one of my all-time favorite games, and the leap from the fifth to the sixth game is epic. It offers new mechanics, tons of stuff to do and build and a fresh new look over the older games. There is some new and relaxing music, more factions and overall, it is a huge improvement over the previous game.

    Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise & Fall adds a lot more leaders and factions to the game, each with their own unique skills and stories.They are all well balanced and fun to play. It also adds the new era score system.

    The new era score system is a little confusing at first. As you go through the different eras of time, you can either get a dark age (pretty bad), normal age or a golden age. With a normal age, nothing changes, with a dark age, you get some penalties and with a golden age, you get some fat bonuses to give you an advantage. At first, I did not understand at all how this system worked, but after a while, it became clear that you needed to achieve eureka moments and build different building that you did not construct before. Things like discovering villages also helps.

    This DLC is packed with content and worth the extra money.    … Expand
  17. aemfariz
    Aug 17, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Better improvement, diplomatic scenario, and add some leaders. Must be good on memory… Expand

Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Best PC Game of 2018
72
#72 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
94
#94 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 48
  3. Negative: 1 out of 48
  1. Worth Playing
    Apr 25, 2018
    70
    There's no real reason to go for Rise and Fall unless you're a huge Civ VI nut who needs more content. The line between expansion and DLC is thin, and Rise and Fall lands right on the line. It's worth buying if you want more Civilization, but casual players may want to wait for a price drop or a meatier expansion.
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 24, 2018
    40
    Plenty of numbers, indicators and conditions that mostly have no real effect. And also, ideas built on unsteady legs. Please meet a modern Civilization and its DLC. [Issue#283]
  3. Games.cz
    Apr 24, 2018
    60
    Add-on full of good, but unfinished ideas, spoiled by an artificial intelligence. However, this extension enriches the Sixth Civilization, but certainly not enough to convince a fan to buy it, especially when the price is not cheap.
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