The release of Sid Meier's Civilization VII was highly anticipated by fans of the Firaxis franchise, eager for another masterpiece in the beloved series. However, the initial reception on Steam has been overwhelmingly negative, with gamers expressing frustration over the game's subpar interface, outdated graphics, and an overall sense of incompleteness.

At the time of this post, the game has garnered over 1,000 reviews on Steam, achieving a dismal score of 37%. User Cool CGI Dog, who spent approximately 1.5 hours playing, shared their disappointment:

The game feels... so blatantly incomplete after a few minutes, especially by Civ standards. The resource icons appear to be from 1998, the interface is terrible, and everything is extremely sloppy.

There isn't any discernible care, which is something I didn't anticipate from Firaxis. The release of Civ VI is a far cry from this incomplete mess. At the very least, Civ VII's interface needs a total visual makeover to at least partially justify its outrageous $70 price tag. With this game, Sid Meyer himself slapped me around and spat in my mouth. I also didn't agree to it.

Another player, WillNever, who spent around 2.5 hours with the game, echoed these sentiments:

The interface appears and feels as though it was designed during the alpha phase of development and hasn't been altered or enhanced since. Although the new mechanics are intriguing, it is not worth the effort to navigate this awful interface. To make the game fun, months of tweaking are required.

A common thread among the reviews is the belief that the game was released prematurely and is in desperate need of substantial improvements. The $70 price tag has come under particularly sharp criticism, with many players feeling that it does not reflect the game's current quality.

Fans of the series remain hopeful that Firaxis will heed this feedback and roll out updates to address these issues, restoring Civilization VII to the high standards the franchise is known for. The Civilization series has long been celebrated for its meticulous attention to detail and quality, and while the current state of Civilization VII falls short, fans are optimistic about future improvements.