I know that the Civilization series has always been alternative history, but this latest DLC pack seems a bit out there. Available on July 23 either individually or as part of the “Frontier Pass,” Civilization VI will be getting the Ethiopia DLC pack that contains not only a brand new civilization to use but a cult of Cthulhu worshippers. No, I’m not pulling your leg.

This comes as part of the “secret societies” that are being introduced to the game. Throughout your playthrough, you can recruit or join different sects that will stick around for the duration of your campaign. One of these is the Void Slingers, which are a group of people that believe in old gods and mythical deities. I wish I could say that was weird, but then people believe in a floating piece of Italian food.

More than just being added for the oddity factor, these secret societies will grant players a special governer that doesn’t need to be assigned to a particular city. These officials will even have unique abilities, meaning they’ll be able to take over districts without going through the tedious steps of diplomacy.

For the more mundane additions to Civilization VI, the new update will contain the titular Ethiopia as a society. This civ will gain extra faith from international trade routes and is more diplomatically inclined than other civs. As such, their special buildings revolve around increasing their diplomatic prowess and will allow you to designate specific districts to diplomacy.

To make use of the new civilization, you’ll need to own the base game and either its Gathering Storm or Rise and Fall expansions. That kind of goes without saying considering the new season pass was released a little over a year after the last expansion.

It has been a while since I last played Civilization VI, but the more recent updates seem to be moving the series in a strange direction. I suppose I can’t fault any developer for creating a free battle royale mode, but I’m not sure how that really applies to a game like Civilization. Then again, the series has always embodied the “dog eat dog” mentality of politics, so maybe it is a better fit than I realize.

Source: YouTube

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