I have had Civilization VI on my wishlist since before it released, but it has not reached a price point where I would buy it. And I really have mixed feelings about those hours for each game, but let’s set aside whether I should play 4Xs.
Civ VI is the “bonus game right now” for the February Humble Monthly. $12 for the game plus two DLC is a good price point. Except I am not sure, given that there are already four other DLC and a pending expansion. Hmm, that still sounds not horrible, because if I can get the remaining DLC half-off at some point, that is still cheaper than the digital deluxe version at half off. The real target is 75% off, but an extra $6 to have most of it right now has some merits. Or should I reasonably expect a better package in the near future?
Part of the point of this DLC nonsense is to hide the inflation. It is an $80 game, being sold as a $60 plus optional DLC (or just give them the $80). Plus an expansion. Plus who knows what else more, probably more if the current stuff sells. That probably worked better the first few times. Now I have a reasonable expectation that more will be added on, but not enough information to know when I will know what all of that is. Which pushes me towards “wait until there is some sort of game of the year edition, with a good sale, in a year or two.”
But I cannot say that I would be hurt by having spent $12 while waiting for that year or two.
Your opinions are sought on both the particular case and how you are dealing with this in general. I frequently find myself dealing with it by ignoring the latest and greatest in favor of the many Steam games I am still gradually trying out.
: Zubon
The DLCs are just new civilizations. They are fun but you can experience the whole game without them.
I would wait. I have heard mixed reviews on Civ 6 from everyone I know. Most of the complaints stem from the lack of features carrying over from Civ V. A bit like how The Sims always starts bare bones and that franchise is starting to suffer for it as customers are expecting more robust sequels.
I plan to wait a couple years after two expansions are released and flesh out mechanics. I have only ever played Civ V and I found the base game shallow on its own and moved on (same with my friends). Didn’t begin to enjoy it until I got the two expansions. So I prefer to get a GOTY edition in two years with everything for 20 instead! My back catalog has at least ten games plus 40 I am following that I would buy now if I had time to play!
“Your opinions are sought on both the particular case and how you are dealing with this in general. I frequently find myself dealing with it by ignoring the latest and greatest in favor of the many Steam games I am still gradually trying out.”
This is what I do as well. So many games to try that I am not in a rush to play the latest hype. The only temptation I have right now is Divinity 2. But I calmed that down to wait for a year’s worth of patches. Then I will press buy.
I’m in the same situation with the same reasoning, but the sweetener here is the fact that you get Civ6 *and* some mystery games for $12. I usually find at least one or two that I would have been fine paying $5 for, which means the price of Civ is even lower.
The other way to look at it is that you’re not really saving any money if you wait for the $20 GOTY option and then don’t actually like Civ. This gets you in for $12, or zero dollars if you end up hating it but like $12 worth of mystery games.
I have it, and have played it far, far less than any other Civ game. I still don’t know what is wrong with it, as a lot of the new stuff is interesting, but it doesn’t all come together and click. Perhaps the expansion solves the issue, but I’m not putting down more cash yet to find out.
Is this a game that sounds interesting to me / worth my time to play? Is it at an acceptable price point for the time I’m likely to spend on it / enjoyment I’ll get out of it?
That’s my general algorithm, and it usually winds down to waiting for a 75% off sale.
For stuff I’m more intensely interested in, I might bite anywhere from 30-50% off as long as I also answer yes to the question “Am I going to play this -now-?†aka this instant or within the next 1-2 days.
In general, the Humble Monthlys aren’t too shabby if you haven’t bought recent-ish games lately (risking duplicates that drive down the usefulness value of the bundle) and are open to trying out a variety of good but aging/decent/indie gems.
I got Total Warhammer from Humble Bundle last year and it was clear that the bundle brought a lot of new players to the game many of whom went on to spend far more than the original $12 on dlc. I suspect that the inclusion of Civ 6 in Humble monthly ensures that the remaining DLC will keep their price for at least six months if not longer. Regardless $12 is a very low price to try our the game so it is a very low risk. I say go for it.