After a short detour in Civilization 5 with Queen Elizabeth as the leader of England, Civilization 6 will see Queen Victoria returning as the ruler of the country. As with everything else in the game, Victoria will be rendered in the game’s highly stylized, cartoony visual style.
Eurogamer reports that there was an actual reason for this art style being chosen, however, and it has to do with playability more than it does with how the game looks. According to lead designer Ed Beach, “We’re definitely concerned the most with readability,” said Beach. “That’s the big reason we’ve gone for a more stylized look. There’s like 30 or 40 different things that can be on a tile right now and being able to quickly identify what they are is important.”
I definitely agree- it seems like the designers have their priorities sorted, too. That, plus the fact that Civilization 6 actually looks good, makes me think that most people are just complaining because they want to.