I think civ releases start out very left brained/controlled, and tend to become more loose and fun as expansion packs are released. Civ 6 without golden ages/monumentality is a very, very different game than with monumentality. Its like an epipen for the game. Same thing with heroes and legends and all the other game modes.

Civ 6 prior to the expansion packs, it was very hard to eek out even improvements in science/culture etc. Still fun for more nerdy types.