Cities: Skylines 2 is the newest city-builder from Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order. Read on to see what the game did well, what it could improve upon, how it stacked up against its predecessor, and if it's worth your time and money.
Cities: Skylines 2 Review | Too Ambitious For Its Own Good
City-builders are among the most well-defined game genres, with few mechanical distinctions between titles—what you see is what you get, generally speaking. While many developers strive to break away from traditional city-builder mechanics to stand out, it's rare to see a developer double down on their genre-defining concept and sharpen it further. This is precisely what Paradox Interactive attempted with Cities: Skylines 2, the highly anticipated sequel to their 2015 hit.
Cities: Skylines 2 had a significant legacy to uphold, following in the footsteps of one of Paradox’s most revered titles. Determined to exceed expectations, the game introduced numerous new features while refining those from the original, aiming to combine the charm of the first game with superior mechanics. However, as this review will reveal, Cities: Skylines 2 embodies both the folly of Icarus and the ambition of the Tower of Babel. Despite its improvements, the game suffers from flaws that overshadow its advancements, making it an objectively better, but somehow more problematic experience.
Cities: Skylines 2 Story and Overview
Cities: Skylines 2 is a city-builder simulator that lets you make and manage your city across various maps. You will be tasked with every aspect of city management, including construction, zoning, budgeting, research, roadwork, public administration, and tourism. While the game doesn’t have a strict story or plot, you are welcome to stage your own scenarios and build a personal narrative using your city as its setting.
With the inclusion of an in-game chat log from your citizens, the option to view citizen histories, and a bank of voice-over newscasts regarding your city’s prosperity, you can pretty much catalog the entirety of your city’s history, although there isn’t an in-game narrative to coincide with that. Such is the case for most city-builders, although, as Against The Storm has proven, it’s not impossible.
Where Years of Ambition and Development Paid Off
Cities: Skylines 2 was always envisioned as a grander game than its predecessor, and in many ways, it is. The substantial developmental resources poured into this game are evident in its numerous new features and updated aesthetics. While not all these additions paid off, the successful ones ensure that the game is far from a total loss. Veterans of the first Cities: Skylines will likely recognize some of these features as ones that originated as mods or community requests.
The standout improvement in Cities: Skylines 2 is undoubtedly the enhanced road tool. In the original game, the limited road-creation capacity was a common frustration among players. Now, the road tool boasts support for elevation changes, improved snap-on functionality, upgrade brushes, and the much-anticipated Roundabout feature. Personally, I found this last addition particularly enjoyable, as creating efficient intersections has always been my Achilles' heel, and this tool was exactly what I needed. Additionally, the new roads facilitate utility connections across the city for energy, water, and sewage. Although this functionality was present in the first game, it's worth noting that road upgrades now also enhance these utility connections.
Another improvement I was particularly excited about is the revamped district and zoning tool. It now includes mixed zoning options and the ability to change building architecture styles directly from the zoning menu. The original game's zoning system was praised for its efficiency and effectiveness, and I agree, although the limited options between Industrial, Residential, and Commercial zones felt restrictive. In Cities: Skylines 2, not only can these zones be mixed once advanced zoning is unlocked on the tech tree, but there are also different property income levels. This allows players to create a more believable and diverse city with varying property values.
Having touched on the game’s tech tree, let's discuss it in detail. Similar to the first game, Cities: Skylines 2 features a milestone progression system that grants new facilities and city administration functions as you reach certain population thresholds. However, unlike its predecessor, Cities: Skylines 2 also introduces Development Points, which allow you to unlock various research nodes on an extensive tech tree. This change might spark some debate among fans, as it appears to be an unnecessary update to an already effective system. Nonetheless, I believe it was the right move. By giving players more control over what gets developed and when, it enhances replayability and adds a layer of strategic planning that city-builder enthusiasts are likely to appreciate and look forward to.
City Management Has Never Looked or Sounded This Good
Cities: Skylines has always prioritized immersive modern architecture over rampant stylization if you don’t count its many DLCs. Paradox has consistently focused on creating a realistic city-building experience, a standard by which many other city-builders are measured. With such a solid foundation, it’s challenging to imagine how Paradox could improve upon it for the sequel. The answer? A complete graphical overhaul.
Cities: Skylines 2 looks absolutely stunning with its new graphics and revamped architectural designs. The buildings and citizen assets are much more detailed than in the first game. Combined with the new features, this creates a truly immersive experience I haven't enjoyed in a city-builder since 2015. The music and audio are also top-notch—I'd even call them phenomenal. Alongside the feel-good, plucky music typical of city-builders, there are random radio segments featuring hosts and citizens discussing your city's development. While some might consider this a minor detail, for me, it was the finishing touch that tied the immersion together. There’s something deeply satisfying about the notion of your city being alive and thriving under your rule that plain music alone can't capture.
What Were Good Ideas On Paper Were Unmanageable In Practice
With everything I've discussed so far, one might be led to believe that this game was a smash hit—a well-earned second triumph for Paradox. In another world, at another time, it might have been, but it was not to be for ours. Paradox had plenty of great ideas on paper and even managed to execute many of them well. Unfortunately, not all of these ideas translated as effectively in practice and ended up becoming the main hurdle between this game and greatness. Simply put, Paradox bit off more than they could chew.
Chief among the new ideas that didn't pan out well is the game’s improved AI. This feature was highly anticipated when Paradox first revealed it in a trailer before the game’s release. Fans were excited about its potential to enhance immersion. While the AI did deliver on its promise, it did so too well, simulating traffic and citizen behavior to such a high degree that even high-end computers struggle in the late game. Performance issues begin to surface as your city’s population grows, worsening with every new road built and residential area zoned. Essentially, the game’s engine cannot handle its own complex simulation, leading to severe frame drops, freezing, and sometimes outright unplayability.
The game’s learning curve is also notably steeper than the first game’s, thanks to the plethora of new features and improvements. While the new tech tree helps by gradually introducing content instead of overwhelming players like the old milestone system did, there is simply more content here than a city-building novice could easily grasp. This isn’t necessarily a negative, as complexity is a hallmark of the city-builder genre, but Paradox could have made things more accessible. With better implementation of their new mechanics, they could have eased the learning process rather than complicating it further.
So, What’s The Verdict?
It’s a Big Step in The Wrong Direction For Paradox
Cities: Skylines 2 was Paradox Interactive’s failed second attempt at greatness. From the outset, their ambition was evident, with plans to introduce enhanced traffic AI, detailed citizen lifepaths, and a comprehensive graphical update. This commendable effort showcases a refreshing drive to innovate rather than resting on their well-earned laurels. Unfortunately, the fruits of ambition are not guaranteed, and in the case of Cities: Skylines 2, they were just out of reach.
Despite improvements in almost every aspect, the game suffers from significant performance issues and was plagued with bugs at launch. Many of the touted features failed to meet expectations or functioned poorly, leaving the game feeling more dated than its 2015 predecessor. It seems that Paradox overreached, their initial success propelling them into a rushed and less calculated development process. It was a big step in the wrong direction, clearly, one that prioritized innovation for innovation’s sake without regard for practicality and playability.
If the game ever becomes playable, it could be a worthy successor to an amazing genre classic. As it is now, though, you’re better off watching the growth of a city from a slideshow at your local museum. Sad as it is to say, Cities: Skylines 2 was simply too ambitious for its own good.
| Platform | Price |
|---|---|
 Steam |
$49.99 |
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Cities: Skylines 2 Product Information
|
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| Title | CITIES: SKYLINES 2 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | October 24, 2023 |
| Developer | Colossal Order |
| Publisher | Paradox Interactive |
| Supported Platforms | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S |
| Genre | City-Building, Simulation |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone |
| Official Website | Cities: Skylines 2 Website |
