I love 7th, it gives lots of great optional rules that enhance play and make the game fit more of what I want from the table than older versions. If 7th was going to be another 6th (5th, 4th…) then there wouldn’t really be any point, so it’s good to see some extra changes and option for those that want it.
There was a limitation that the new edition had to be backward compatible with the old, so while there is some change, it’s maybe not as radical as I’d like, but is sufficiently near the old set that long time fans can use it (or carry on using previous editions with new material that comes out).
Pushing rolls adds a lot to games and leads to many exciting situations in the sessions I’ve played and run. I’ve no problem with escalating conflicts on the fly. One thing to note is that if you’re pushing you should be narrating what it is you’re doing to put extra effort in rather than just declaring a reroll. So you might go from quitely trying to browbeat someone to shouting in thier face - you might get what you want, but if you mess it up again the fallout will be more profound.
Of course the good thing about strictly optional rules is you can choose to use them if you want, and ignore if you don’t - keeping those who want a more classic experience and those who want something new both happy.
I also like Luck, as the “I missed by one” frowny face from players can be draining. Steadily seeing an Investigator get more and more unlucky as time progresses is great for the setting. I recommend calling for Luck rolls relatively often (or having the bad thing happen to the unluckiest investigator when there’s a choice) if using Luck as a resouces as there should be a consequence - and it gives players the incentive to only really use Luck if they definitely want to make that roll, not willy nilly.
I also like Bonus and Penalty dice as an easy way to boost or hamper rolls based on circumstance with no extra maths needed to work out new special success etc. from changing the percentage. A lot of people I’ve played with like the simplicity.
Another change is that around fights and struggle, so there aren’t a bunch of different skills depending on if you kick or punch someone and drawn out fights with lots of roll to hit / dodges making things go quite some time in dice rolling. Active opposition and the quicker rush to some kind of resolution fits more with where I want the weight of my time in Cthulhu games.
There are other tweaks and changes, but these are my main ones. Folk who don’t have any issues with earlier editions can carry merrily on, using the new source material with little effort needed to adapt - and for people wanting something a bit different like me - we have some great new toys to play with.
So overall, 7th is a great edition, if you wanted a new edition of Cthulhu. if you didn’t then you can stick to one of the previous ones without losing much.