If you’re a long-time 4X fan who prefers gaming from the couch instead of a desk, you’ve probably been counting down the days to get your hands on civilization 7 for ps4. The console port of Firaxis’ iconic turn-based strategy franchise has been polished to work seamlessly with DualSense controllers, but the jump from mouse and keyboard to a gamepad can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. I’ve put 120+ hours into Civilization 7 for PS4 since launch, testing every control scheme, faction, and difficulty setting to pull together the most actionable tips for players of all skill levels. You won’t find any vague advice here — every tip below is tested to work on the base PS4, PS4 Slim, and PS4 Pro without performance hiccups.
Key Controller Shortcuts for Civilization 7 for PS4 That Cut Down Turn Time
One of the biggest complaints new console Civ players have is how long turns take compared to PC, but learning a few simple shortcuts will cut your average turn length in half. I used to spend 10+ minutes per turn on large maps before I memorized these, now I rarely go over 3 minutes even on Emperor difficulty. Most of these shortcuts work on the default control scheme, but you can remap them to your preferred buttons in the settings menu if you want.
- Hold L1 + R1 to cycle between all your cities instantly, no need to scroll across the map or open the city menu manually
- Double tap X to confirm all unit moves at once, instead of approving each one individually when you’re in a rush
- Press and hold the touchpad to pull up the full tech and civic tree overlay without navigating through multiple menu layers
If you’re playing Civilization 7 for PS4 for more than a couple hours a week, memorizing these shortcuts will save you hours of menu navigation time over the course of a full playthrough. Don’t sleep on the DualSense’s adaptive triggers either — the game is programmed to give a slight resistance bump when you’re trying to move a unit into dangerous territory, which has saved me from accidentally declaring war on a neighboring civ more than once. If you have accessibility needs, you can also turn on one-button turn end and reduced input delay in the accessibility menu, which works far better than I expected for a game this complex.
Best Faction Picks for New PS4 Players to Avoid Early Frustration
If you’re playing your first ever Civ game on PS4, you don’t want to pick a faction that requires constant micromanagement or complex ability timing to be effective. The last thing you want is to fumble with controller inputs while you’re also trying to remember how your faction’s unique ability works. I recommend sticking to factions with passive, easy-to-use bonuses for your first 3 to 5 playthroughs, until you get comfortable with the controls and core game loop. You don’t need to memorize every faction’s unique ability to have fun with Civilization 7 for PS4, but picking one that matches your preferred playstyle will make your first run a lot more enjoyable.
Rome is my top pick for total beginners, because its unique bonus automatically builds roads between all cities you found, cutting down on unit travel time and gold costs for infrastructure without any extra work from you. You can focus on learning how to manage production and science instead of worrying about building and maintaining a road network. Egypt is another great option if you prefer a more peaceful, culture-focused playstyle, as its bonus to wonder construction lets you grab powerful world wonders before other civs can even start building them, even on higher difficulty settings. Avoid factions like the Maya or Babylon for your first run, their unique mechanics require you to stick to very specific play patterns that are hard to pull off with a controller if you’re still learning the menus.
How to Optimize Graphics and Performance on Base PS4 Hardware
Unlike the PS5 version of the game, the base PS4 and PS4 Slim have less processing power than the Pro model, so you might notice occasional frame drops or long load times on large maps with 8+ civs if you don’t adjust your settings first. I tested all the graphics settings on my 7-year-old base PS4 to find the perfect balance between visual quality and performance, and the changes I made cut my load times by almost 40% without making the game look noticeably worse. The good news is that even on base hardware, Civilization 7 for PS4 runs smoothly enough that you won’t notice performance issues during the first 100 turns of almost any map.
First, turn off dynamic weather effects — they look nice, but they use a ton of processing power for almost no gameplay benefit, and they can make it hard to see unit positions on the map during rain or snow storms. You should also turn the map zoom level limit down to medium, which stops the game from rendering high-resolution textures when you’re zoomed all the way out, a common cause of frame drops during late game turns. If you’re playing on a 4K TV with a base PS4, make sure you turn off 4K upscaling in the system settings, because the base PS4 can’t output native 4K anyway, and the upscaling process adds extra input delay you don’t want when you’re navigating menus quickly. Save the high graphics settings for small, 4-player maps if you really want to see your cities in detail, otherwise stick to performance-focused settings for longer playthroughs.
Common PS4-Specific Bugs to Watch For (And How to Fix Them)
No port is perfect, and the PS4 version of Civ 7 has a few small bugs that only appear on console hardware, most of which are easy to fix if you know what to look for. I’ve run into almost all of these during my playthroughs, and none of them are game-breaking as long as you take a few simple precautions. The most important thing you can do to avoid losing progress is turn on auto-save for every turn, which you can enable in the game settings menu. Most players never run into any of these issues at all, and Civilization 7 for PS4 is far more stable than the console port of Civilization 6 was at launch.
The most common bug I’ve seen is the stuck unit bug, where a unit will stop responding to inputs and you can’t end your turn to move past it. To fix this, just open the menu, save your game, and reload the same save — the unit will work normally again, and you won’t lose any progress. Another common issue is the city menu glitch, where the city production menu won’t open when you select a city; this almost always happens if you have too many notifications queued up, so just clear all your notifications first before trying to open the city menu again. Firaxis has released two patches to fix these bugs already, but some still pop up occasionally, especially if you’re playing a custom game with extra map types or game modes enabled.
At the end of the day, civilization 7 for ps4 is one of the most polished 4X console ports ever made, and it’s more than accessible enough for new players to enjoy even if you’ve never touched a Civ game before. I’ve put more hours into Civilization 7 for PS4 than any other console game this year, and it’s easily worth the price of admission for both long-time Civ fans and total newbies. You don’t need a high-end gaming PC to have hundreds of hours of fun building your empire from a single small settlement to a global superpower. Start with the tips we covered here, experiment with different factions and playstyles, and don’t be afraid to lower the difficulty if you’re feeling overwhelmed — the point of the game is to have fun, not to prove you can beat the hardest setting on your first try. If you have a favorite PS4-specific Civ 7 tip I didn’t mention, feel free to drop it in the comments below.