Civilization VI was already a game I’ve put hundreds of hours into, and Rise and Fall has definitely reawakened my excitement.

This expansion is a recognition that the magic of this series is in giving players lots of choices — sometimes difficult choices — as we all strive to stamp our own personalities on what is, effectively, a simulation of personal political leadership.

A victory across the board.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI - Rise and Fall adds new flavor to a game that was already almost perfect.

Quite simply, Rise and Fall is a must-buy expansion for any Civilization VI owner. The fundamental core of the experience has, of course, not been radically changed - however it didn't need to. Rather, what has been added is a refinement that encourages strategic development and thinking and gives a constant treadmill of challenges to overcome in order to create the greatest civilisation. The loyalty mechanic accompanies this all nicely by again increasing the difficulty curve by just the right amount to avoid annoyance. The disappointment about the global emergencies does not detract from the experience enough to consider Rise and Fall anything other than a triumph.

Rise and Fall is one of the best expansions in the series and an absolute must for anybody who enjoyed Civ VI. The new systems keep the military players in check and give a more balanced and varied experience.

The AI isn't terrible anymore, but still not good. Subtle, but numerous innovations provide more strategy and fun.

Rise and Fall is an excellent expansion for Civilization VI, broadening the offering and adding many more irons in the fire: nine new leaders, eight civilizations, a general improvement of the experience, and several new gameplay tweaks. The original game was a pretty good one, and with this new expansion it's just gotten better.

Rise and Fall takes the already feature packed main game and adds a lot of substantial new elements to it. Loyality, Gouvernours and Ages provide new layers of strategic depth. Sadly the old problems with the AI still remain.

Rise and Fall expand some aspect of the original game in many interesting ways. If you are in love with Civilization VI, buy it without worries.

This is a great expansion thanks to the new loyalty and age-based score systems, as well as the new civilzations included. Although it keeps its core intact, it offers new ways to play.

These new streams bring the world together in a way that Civ VI didn’t. While there’s still a bunch that could be improved — including occasional, woeful AI — a game of Rise and Fall makes you feel like everything you have done has really mattered. That every action taken mingles with those of others and changes the world. It’s great.

There is no doubt that Sid Meier's Civilization: Rise and Fall is much more complete than the original version, and you can map out a lot of new strategies that could be interesting or crazy. I already can't stand playing Civ 6 without the DLC now.

Rise and Fall is an expansion about strategy, storytelling and is an absolute dream for anybody a fan of long-termism.

Rise and Fall feels like an improvement on the original Civilization VI but we miss some risk in gameplay. The new alliances and the governors system are great but playing a new game in Rise and Fall is too much like playing a new game in the vanilla game.

When it comes to Civilization, there’s so much going on and so many variables in play that it could never be perfect. Instead, what you can hope for is a complex but easy to follow game of Civ that you’d gladly playthrough again. One that doesn’t feel broken or at odds with what it’s trying to do. Civilization VI: Rise and Fall hits that sweet spot, with deep and rewarding new features that provide a more cohesive and memorable experience than the base game. Where no path feels too detrimental, whilst highlighting self-evident things like the power of religion and a well-stocked army. From the new Golden Ages through to the Governors and expanded Districts, if you’ve ever been a fan of the series – now’s the time to jump back in.

It's not a revolution, but Rise & Fall is a great addition to Civilization VI. It new great ages system works so well with the base game and improve the general experience with new and clever options.

Rise and Fall adds numerous new leaders, buildings, units, and wonders. It also tinkers with the nation-building strategy in some bigger ways thanks to the additions of loyalty and golden ages. In the end, Rise and Fall’s moment-to-moment action isn’t dramatically different from the base game, but the new bells and whistles provide a good excuse to return to Firaxis’ excellent strategy game.

Rise and Fall brings some interesting improvements to Civilization VI. The new mechanics do not stray too far from the base game, but they broaden our options, and allow us to create our own stories when playing.

Civilization is at its best when it enables you to tell your own stories. But at release, Civ VI didn’t do such a good job at that. Rise and Fall fixes this in many ways, giving your better ways to expand your civilization without resorting to combat. It adds a quest-like element with a significant penalty or reward, and most of its news leaders add variety to the game.

A good expansion with some transformative features and plenty of good ideas (even if some of them don't land exactly on their feet). Not a revolution but a placid evolution of a great base game.

Rise and Fall is a great addition to the Civilization VI foundation, not only because it adds a number of unique and interesting mechanics to the classic Civilization gameplay, but also because it adds a much needed layer of depth to the Civilization VI base game after the franchise’s transition from the content-rich peak of Civilization V. Fans of the series that were reluctant to move from V to VI due to the discrepancy of strategic depth between the two games may find Rise and Fall to fill that complexity void in the Civilization VI base game. I’d also recommend newcomers to the Civilization series pick up Rise and Fall along with the base game for their first foray into the series, as it’s a great showcase for the addictive, strategic depth that the series is renowned for.

Rise and Fall does exactly what an expansion needs to do, and brings the wayward Civ players back into the fold.

If you have wasted great gobs of your life playing Civ 6, or feel like you have figured it out, this is a good expansion to make you rethink a game you thought you knew.

The downloadable content Rise and Fall adds a lot to the main game. The DLC provides more depth into the systems of the game and forces players to make wise choices. The new content keeps players busy, but doesn’t always improve the game.

Rise and Fall is a strong addition to the base game and helps it reach higher in the ranks of a Civ game. The new features change the way each game plays out and give some needed variety to each match in a way that is genuinely interesting and immensely satisfying.

A very worthwhile expansion of the venerable strategy game, whose new features seem a natural, and surprisingly realistic, extension of the original game.

Rise & Fall doesn't reinvent Civ VI but it does expand its repertoire in meaningful ways. [Issue#270, p.56]

A worthy expansion. There’s a lot to sink your teeth into and keep you more busy than ever while playing, even if some of it is a bit more on rails than you might ideally want it to be.

Rise and Fall feels a lot like Civilization V's first expansion, Gods and Kings. It adds some missing features back into the mix—thank you city flipping—but there are still other holes (Espionage still needs work) and some of the implementation here is messy.

Rise and Fall works so well with the base game that lingering issues are minor. It enhances, rather than overcomplicates, systems that were already deep and layered to begin with, while introducing features that keep each game engaging from start to finish. Ages in particular provide room for struggling civs to climb the ranks in the late game and keep leading civs on their toes, and the Governor and Loyalty systems add to the city-specific strategies that helped make the base game great.

Rise and Fall is a great addition to Civilization 6 that doesn’t quite go far enough to be essential.

A net positive, though it leaves me awaiting the expected second expansion for Civilization 6’s true golden age.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 6: Rise and Fall is packed with content and offers many new ideas for the game we know. Unfortunately the original game has not been improved in all ways.

Is Civilization XX worth $59.99? Note that I use XX to illustrate a random Civilization series entry, and not, dear God, Civilization 20. Except for the hardcore Civ folks (and there are a lot of them), the question often seems to result in the answer, no, keep playing Civilization XX-1 and wait for the price to drop, and in this case, as a $29.99 expansion pack, I feel that Rise and Fall does too little to merit going full price. It won’t drag me away from Civ V, but for people who liked VI, Rise and Fall does succeed in prolonging the sweet middle game competition between the early it takes me 20 turns to create a settler and I own the world and just need to wait to finish conquering everything.

Civilization VI has gained a rich expansion with numerous, very sensible changes. Gameplay mechanics are more complex; there are new civilizations, a loyalty system, dark and golden ages - there is no point in going back to the core game. If only this add-on cost a bit less.

Civ VI is undoubtedly a better game with the addition of Rise and Fall - especially when you are struggling to hold everything together through a Dark Age. However, I do not think this expansion brings it to a place where all of its core ideas have really gelled yet.

A solid, but safe expansion of the base game.

All the additions brought to the strategic table by Rise and Fall fit harmonically into the main game. But they rarely constitute this to be a must-have. Especially since it doesn’t address one of the main problems of the main game, the sometimes highly incompetent AI.

Rise and Fall extension adds a lot of content and new gameplay mechanics, some of them being better than others.

Quotation forthcoming.

The Rise and Fall expansion is a welcome addition to Civilization VI. While the Loyalty, Ages and Alliance mechanics stand out as the best additions, the newly added governors seem somewhat lacking, and the AI needs more work in order to properly cope with the new Alliance and Emergency mechanics.

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.

Rise & Fall falls a bit short of our expectations as the new features lack some impact on the gameplay , while the diplomatic inconsistencies of the IA makes alliances hard to make. The new civs and new content still make it a content to own for the fans.

Rise and Fall brings a lot of changes to Civilization 6, both massive and barely noticeable, but, surprisingly, none of them alter the familiar gameplay flow. The Ages, loyalty, and governors are half-baked and barely scratch the surface of their true potential, while still dimwitted AI feels even more feeble-minded because of the new features.

Rise and Fall is a novel yet slightly disappointing expansion that accomplishes very little of worth. In fact, it often feels at odds with what Sid Meier’s Civilization is, changing the game’s flow into a senseless time intensive marathon. While past Firaxis expansions often gave you creative and interesting new tools to play with as you see fit, Rise and Fall instead seems hellbent on corralling the way you play, and the end result is a more restrictive game than what we had on launch.

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.

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]