Japanese Steam reviews of Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI: 77.8% positive, with performance complaints
Players writing reviews in Japanese left 1,291 reviews. 77.8% of those reviewers recommend the game. The sample covers reviews posted between October 2016 and October 2026.
Own research by 648 News. Every figure in this article was counted by us from 1,291 Steam reviews written in Japanese, collected between 2016-10-20 and 2026-10-05.
Overall recommendation rate
The sample contains 1,291 entries. 1,004 of them recommend the title, while 287 do not. That gives a positive rate of 77.8%. Steam lists a 77.8% positive score for its entire historical record. The platform shows 1,292 total reviews with a Mostly Positive label. The two figures coincide for the positive percentage, but the collected count covers a specific period rather than every review ever posted. The confidence interval for the sample ranges from 75.4% to 80.0%.
The numbers
Top praised topics
Gameplay, combat, and core mechanics appears in 569 reviews, representing 44.1% of all classified entries. Inside the recommending reviews, this topic accounts for 40.9%. Reviewers note that expansion packs balanced cavalry rushes and city-states, making warfare more stable. Loyalty systems limit unlimited expansion, and new farming aids improve peaceful play. Amount of content, length, and replayability is mentioned in 460 reviews, or 35.6% of the classified set. It appears in 36.4% of recommending reviews. Players highlight the variety of automatically generated maps and the deep strategic options unlocked by districts and governors. Performance, optimization, and bugs is discussed in 173 reviews, or 13.4% of the classified set. It shows up in 5.8% of recommending reviews. Some players describe the game as a time machine that consumes entire nights, while others appreciate the district planning.
プレイ時間が4,000時間逝ってた。
My playtime has passed 4,000 hours.
UI, controls, and key bindings appears in 31 reviews, or 2.4% of the classified set. It shows up in 1.8% of recommending reviews. Players note that the interface is clean. Price and value for money is mentioned in 59 reviews, or 4.6% of the classified set. It appears in 4.4% of recommending reviews. Reviewers compare complete editions with earlier titles and discuss sale discounts. Music, sound, and voice acting appears in 11 reviews, or 0.9% of the classified set. It shows up in 1.1% of recommending reviews. Players praise the culturally specific instrumentation.
Top criticised topics
Performance, optimization, and bugs dominates the negative feedback with 173 mentions, or 13.4% of the classified set. It appears in 40.1% of recommending reviews. Reviewers report frequent crashes, freezing when changing city names with IME, and long load times. Difficulty and balance is mentioned in 166 reviews, or 12.9% of the classified set. It shows up in 22.3% of recommending reviews. Players observe that barbarians are unnaturally strong across all difficulties, while the AI struggles to manage complex systems. Early game rushes become mandatory and technology boosts narrow strategic options. Online play and multiplayer appears in 37 reviews, or 2.9% of the classified set. It is present in 5.2% of recommending reviews. Reviewers discuss server stability.
GS込みで2,000円くらいなら買っても良いとは思いますが、それ以上はオススメしません。
I think it is worth buying for about 2,000 yen with Gathering Storm, but I do not recommend it for more than that.
Graphics and art direction appears in 59 reviews, or 4.6% of the classified set. It shows up in 5.9% of recommending reviews. Some players describe the visuals as cheap compared to earlier entries. PC port quality and Steam Deck support is discussed in 15 reviews, or 1.2% of the classified set. It appears in 4.2% of recommending reviews. Reviewers mention launch issues, OneDrive backup conflicts, and DX12 compatibility fixes. Japanese localization and translation quality is mentioned in 11 reviews, or 0.9% of the classified set. It shows up in 1.0% of recommending reviews. Players note that the translation covers the full text.
Playtime and reviewer profiles
The median playtime behind these reviews is 68.2 hours. The sample covers reviews posted from October 20, 2016 to October 5, 2026. Players writing reviews in Japanese frequently discuss core mechanics and content volume. Recommending reviewers mention gameplay, combat, and core mechanics in 40.9% of their posts, and amount of content, length, and replayability in 36.4%. They also praise performance, optimization, and bugs in 5.8% of their reviews. Non-recommending reviewers focus more on performance, optimization, and bugs, which appears in 40.1% of their posts. They discuss difficulty and balance in 22.3% of their posts, and mention online play and multiplayer in 5.2%. Characters and character design appears in 34 reviews, or 2.6% of the classified set. It shows up in 2.6% of recommending reviews. Players discuss the unique leaders and their visual designs. Story, scenario, and writing is mentioned in 32 reviews, or 2.5% of the classified set. It appears in 2.6% of recommending reviews. Reviewers note that the campaigns focus on historical figures and specific victories. Developer or publisher conduct appears in 2 reviews, or 0.2% of the classified set. It shows up in 0.1% of recommending reviews. Players mention patch schedules and DLC release strategies. The data shows a clear split between players who value strategic depth and those who prioritize technical stability.
Methodology and sources
Data
Steam user reviews, retrieved with Steam's public review listing between 2016-10-20 and 2026-10-05: 1,291 written in Japanese. Steam's own all-time totals for Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI were read on 2026-10-23.
How the reviews were classified
Every review was read by a language model, which rated how positive it is, how much concrete detail it gives, and which of 15 fixed topics it talks about. The counts and percentages in this article were then computed from those labels in ordinary code, not by the model. Automatic classification makes mistakes, so single percentages should be read as approximate. Reviews of fewer than 15 characters were not sent to the model; they count as positive or negative from the reviewer's own recommendation and carry no topic.
Limits
People who write a Steam review in Japanese are not a representative sample of everyone who plays in Japan, and the language of a review does not establish where its author lives. Steam's default filter for off-topic review activity was left on, so periods Steam marked as review bombing are excluded from the counts in this article. Reviews that arrived after the retrieval date are not included.
Links
Data from Steam. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation.