Points can be gained by military means, but they are more easily won through building wonders, gaining scientific knowledge or focusing on religious matters. So if I fail to make era points, my citizens become less loyal and I become dangerously weakened. The penalties or boosts herein are based on … loyalty. Now, each era I pass through is its own mini-game, in which I must accrue enough points to avoid a dark age, or attain a golden age. And as someone who finds greater pleasure in perfecting my civilization than in gaining territory through might, this is a satisfying shift in direction.īut there’s more. Rise and Fall’s new loyalty filter FiraxisĪll this investment in culture, religion, trade and infrastructure means I’m not spending so much money on military units. This entails infrastructure investment in roads and cultural buildings. In essence, my people will stay loyal to me only if they feel a part of the greater empire. It’s been used before in Civ games of the past, but never with the clarity of purpose shown here. A weak culture and a far flung empire is a bad combination. This shift is achieved by the concept of citizen loyalty, which is closely tied to the power of a nation’s culture and a city’s distance from its capital. Playing Rise and Fall feels less like a campaign, and more like a sandbox.

But in Rise and Fall, the emphasis is on nudging the player away from fighting, and towards more creative means to victory. I’ve written before about how this series bullies players into armed conflict, satisfying the strategy genre’s core principle of conquest. Most striking of all is a bold acknowledgement that civilizations can thrive without aggressive military strength and conquest, relying on peaceful achievements to make their mark on history. If you want to see the very best of the best for your platform(s) of choice, check out Polygon Essentials. When we award a game the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the title is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games.

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