If you are crazy about Japan or Korea, as most Singaporeans are, you can now brush up your knowledge of the countries’ histories with the latest Brush and Blade DLC (downloadable content) for Sid Meier’s Civilization VII.
The fifth DLC since Civilization VII’s launch last year, Brush and Blade focusses on the East Asian civilisations of Japan and Korea. It adds two leaders to the roster, four new civilisations to play and four new wonders to build and discover.
Sid Maier’s Civilisation VII, which was released in February 2025, had its quirks — read our review for the Civilisation VII base game here. The turn-based strategy game played on a board game format with hexagonal tiles was great fun for its depth, satisfying gameplay and historical accuracy, but the forced “soft reset” at each Age transition was disorienting. This is addressed in the game’s latest Test of Time update which I also had the opportunity to experience in this playthrough.
Personally, I hesitate to start a Civilisation game as time passes so quickly whenever I fire it up. With its addictive “one more turn” gameplay, you will unwittingly lose track of time when focused on playing out a multi-step grand strategy and resolving complex crises.
Sushi versus kimbap
The Brush and Blade add-on features two new 16th century leaders, namely Toyotomi Hideyoshi who has militaristic and diplomacy attributes and has been touted as the unifier of Japan through strengthening Japan’s political and social policy reforms; and Yi Sun-sin, the brilliant Korean navy admiral who has militaristic and scientific attributes and has been credited for blocking the Japanese invasion.
History had pitted these two together in the late 16th century when Japan attempted to invade Korea and were successfully repelled by Yi Sun-Sin’s naval forces. For those interested in this part of history, Brush and Blade lets you re-enact or alter the history for Japan and Korea.
Besides the new playable leaders, Brush and Blade also includes four new civilisations to play, which are Heian Japan, Sengoku Japan, Goryeo Korea and Joseon Korea.
There are also four new Wonders – two buildable wonders in the form of Mireuksa Buddhist temple for Korea and the Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace for Japan, as well as two natural wonders to be discovered, which are Jeju Island’s Seongsan Ilchulbong and Japan’s tallest waterfall, Nachi Falls.
As with other Civilisation VII’s civilisations, each of the new Brush and Blade civilisations has unique abilities, units and buildings. For Sengoku Japan, the unique units Shinobi and Samurai are unlocked during the Exploration Age, which adds some distinctive character to the playable civilisations.
The Brush and Blade DLC is a treat for Japanophiles and Koreanophiles and history buffs who hope to replay the iconic war and even change history and see how things play out. As always, I love the effort, research and thought that goes into making the game accurate to history, including Toyotomi’s iconic head dress in the game.
In my playthrough for Brush and Blade, I was hoping to change history when I played Toyotomi and tried to keep Sun-sin as a friend and trading partner without direct conflict, while trying an Economic victory and pushing back the Achaemenid forces of Xerxes. However, Sun-sin attacked a Japanese ally and triggered an all-out war but fortunately this led to an unintended Military victory for Toyotomi.
Sure, the DLC offers some new reasons to play Civilization VII if you are a Japanophile or Koreanophile, but the biggest reason to dive into the game now is not actually for that.
Test of Time update
Playing the Brush and Blade DLC is a good time to revisit the updates to the game and the changes since the game’s launch over a year ago. The biggest game changer for Civilization VII is the Test of Time (Update 1.4.0), which is a free update released mid-2026.
Besides a host of improvements, achievements and accomplishments allowing more options for players, the most significant enhancement in my opinion is the ability to play the entire game through all the Ages with the same civilisation. Known as Time-tested Civilisations, you can select this option at the start of a new game and choose whether to retain or change your civilisation at each Age transition.
Having to restart at each Age transition was my biggest grouse of Civilization VII when it was launched. It was a bold gamble that offered a kind of “new beginning” during a new Age, though personally I prefer to keep to the same civilisation throughout rather than dealing with a huge identity crisis after each Age transition.
Don’t fret about being limited by your chosen civilisation’s potential. The new Syncretism mechanic lets you create new builds from another civilisation’s Unique Units or Infrastructure but only if it is currently in its Apex Age, which lets you borrow from other civilisations what yours realistically should not have.
One other improvement which I really appreciate is a detailed breakdown of the factors determining your relationship with other leaders. This is supremely helpful in circumventing or taking certain actions proactively or attempting to amend your relationships.
The update also adds more options for Peace deals to settle wars, which helps a lot especially when you are strapped for money or influence and need to make up for the shortfalls with the other.
As a bonus, the update also adds a free new playable leader, Alexander the Great, famed for the invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
And with an even more recent 1.4.1 update, the developers have added a new hot-seat multiplayer mode where gamers can play together physically by taking their turns on the same device, just like old-fashioned board games. This is great for families and friends playing together where you can bond or bicker over the game!
TL;DR
Civilization VII’s Brush and Blade DLC is the newest DLC focusing on Japan and Korea. Although the DLC offers more content and replayability for the base game, it is rather pricey, costing more than one-third of the price of the base game. For two playable leaders, four civilisations and four wonders, it might not be worthwhile for players who aren’t die-hard history buffs of Japanese and Korean history.
That said, even if you are planning to skip out on the Brush and Blade DLC, Civilization VII is worth playing or replaying today. The recent free updates to the Civilization VII base game are chock-full of improvements, options and accomplishments, as well as a new playable leader and hotseat multiplayer mode.
The Test of Time update, in particular, includes the option to retain your chosen civilisation throughout the game. Without the immersion-breaking and identity crisis from the original, as well as a host of improvements to fuel your conquest, it makes Civilization VII enjoyable again.
Civilization VII: Brush and Blade DLC is available at S$39.00 for PC on Steam, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, the Switch version of the DLC is not available in the Singapore Nintendo eShop, but it is on the US eShop for US$29.99 (around S$38).
