While news of Civilization 7 was announced by Firaxis back in February last year the wait has been eased by the excellent Old World – which in many ways a lot of players believe is actually better than Civ 6.

If the Civ tier list goes something like Civ 4 is greater than Civ and both are better than Civ 6, you could probably insert Old World between Civ 4 and Civ 5, and with its modern graphics and UI it is going to appeal to a lot more players.

Old world was released around 18 months ago and took the things that make historical civilization builders fun and doubled down on them. Unique things such as aging leaders brought a new dynamic to the affair and the arrival of its latest DLC – Wonders and Dynasties – is going to make fans forget about the Civ 7 wait even more.

Devs Mohawk Games tells us, “Wonders and Dynasties introduces 30 brand new ways of starting your game with the addition of new Dynastic leaders – each empire has received new leaders and starting conditions. Play as the dictator Sulla to leverage your unique dictator trait, as Khufu to construct endless wonders with the help of his wonder cost reduction, or as Nebuchadnezzar to quickly control large amounts of territory and forge a massive empire in the early game.

Meanwhile, eight new wonders of the ancient world will add new and unique modifiers to your empire. Generate free specialists with the Jerwan Aqueduct, become the trade capital of the world with the Al Khazneh, or spawn an endless army of swordsmen with the Colosseum”.

Historical games seem to be in vogue right now, yesterday we covered the release of War Hospital, a gritty resource-management game based in a WW1 field hospital.

The Wonder and Dynasties DLC for Old World is available on Steam, Epic Game Store, and GOG and costs $19.99 / £17.99, although there is a launch discount of 10% if you buy it before the 18th of January.

Paul McNally

Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media. Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm. Reach out on X at @Iampaulmcnally

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