Cities: Skylines (2015)
A city-building simulation game from the studio behind the Cities in Motion games. Heavily inspired by the SimCity series, Cities: Skylines features robust traffic management and a variety of post-release expansions.
First released
Mar 10, 2015
Franchises
Cities: Skylines
Developed by
Colossal Order, Tantalus Media
Published by
Paradox Interactive AB
Platforms
Mac, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia
Genres
Simulation
Themes
Management
Rating
PEGI: 3+, ESRB: E
Releases
- NSW - Cities: Skylines NIntendo Switch Edition United States
- PC - Cities: Skylines Deluxe Edition United Kingdom
- PC - Cities: Skylines United States
- PC - Cities: Skylines Deluxe Edition United States
- PS4 - Cities: Skylines – PlayStation 4 Edition United States
- XONE - Cities: Skylines - Xbox One Edition United States
Community reviews
Best city builder out there.
After the epic fail, that was SimCity, I gave up hope for a good, relaxing city building game. Then, I came across Cities: Skylines and my hope was restored.
Right from the start, the appeal, calm music and peaceful, non-forced gameplay had my deepest respect. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You start with your piece of land, which you choose at the start of the game, and start building your glorious city.
The mechanics are well implemented and work great. You start small, having limited building, roads and facilities at your disposal. As your city grows, new buildings will unlock. This keeps the game in balance and is, at the same time, some sort of tutorial which lets you know what you might need next, now that your city has grown.
If you want more control and freedom, you can also play sandbox mode, in which you can choose unlimited funds, create your own landscape and make everything exactly the way you want. I used this mode a lot to create (or trying to do so) a realistic presentation of my hometown and its districts.
Although the game never really ends, the goal is to create a healthy, accessible and proper functioning city, in which your citizens are happy. At the start of the game, this is easy, because the city is small and does not require that much facilities and work, but later on, you are managing fifty things at a time, constantly keeping an eye on your finances, happiness in the city and problems that need your attention. Although I really liked playing the mayor of my humble city, later on in the game, I sometimes lost a little control and overview of what needed to be done and were some problems originated from. However, this is to be expected when your city grows and grows.
Visually, this game looks amazing. The detail does not just include landscape and buildings, but also people, cars, traffic lights and much more. Every person and car is animated properly and, when zooming in, the game almost feels like watching a movie. I could enjoy myself for a good hour just looking and checking out my city while zooming in.
In terms of sound, the best aspect of this game is the ambient, calming music. The little ping sounds when something is happening, the many voices when a lot of people are in the same place, the sound of cars stuck in traffic, it is all just right.
The buildings and options in Cities: Skylines are endless. Besides the public service buildings, you can build parks, monuments, wonders, art, and so much more. Each new building adds something to your city in terms of functionality and look, and it makes your city look so much more alive.
The modding community for this game is awesome. So many new vehicles, buildings, skins, landscapes and mechanics are added each day and, when you are finally done with the base game, it opens so many new possibilities.
By far, the best aspect of this game is it’s calming and relaxed nature. You are playing a videogame, but for me, it feels like a little vacation in which I certainly do stuff, but can just relax and watch my citizens go to work, read some info about them, give them a new name, attach myself to that person and then realize that I am playing a game.
It is the experience from this game that I missed from SimCity and I am really happy that this game came along my path. Needless to say, I definitely recommend this game.
Right from the start, the appeal, calm music and peaceful, non-forced gameplay had my deepest respect. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You start with your piece of land, which you choose at the start of the game, and start building your glorious city.
The mechanics are well implemented and work great. You start small, having limited building, roads and facilities at your disposal. As your city grows, new buildings will unlock. This keeps the game in balance and is, at the same time, some sort of tutorial which lets you know what you might need next, now that your city has grown.
If you want more control and freedom, you can also play sandbox mode, in which you can choose unlimited funds, create your own landscape and make everything exactly the way you want. I used this mode a lot to create (or trying to do so) a realistic presentation of my hometown and its districts.
Although the game never really ends, the goal is to create a healthy, accessible and proper functioning city, in which your citizens are happy. At the start of the game, this is easy, because the city is small and does not require that much facilities and work, but later on, you are managing fifty things at a time, constantly keeping an eye on your finances, happiness in the city and problems that need your attention. Although I really liked playing the mayor of my humble city, later on in the game, I sometimes lost a little control and overview of what needed to be done and were some problems originated from. However, this is to be expected when your city grows and grows.
Visually, this game looks amazing. The detail does not just include landscape and buildings, but also people, cars, traffic lights and much more. Every person and car is animated properly and, when zooming in, the game almost feels like watching a movie. I could enjoy myself for a good hour just looking and checking out my city while zooming in.
In terms of sound, the best aspect of this game is the ambient, calming music. The little ping sounds when something is happening, the many voices when a lot of people are in the same place, the sound of cars stuck in traffic, it is all just right.
The buildings and options in Cities: Skylines are endless. Besides the public service buildings, you can build parks, monuments, wonders, art, and so much more. Each new building adds something to your city in terms of functionality and look, and it makes your city look so much more alive.
The modding community for this game is awesome. So many new vehicles, buildings, skins, landscapes and mechanics are added each day and, when you are finally done with the base game, it opens so many new possibilities.
By far, the best aspect of this game is it’s calming and relaxed nature. You are playing a videogame, but for me, it feels like a little vacation in which I certainly do stuff, but can just relax and watch my citizens go to work, read some info about them, give them a new name, attach myself to that person and then realize that I am playing a game.
It is the experience from this game that I missed from SimCity and I am really happy that this game came along my path. Needless to say, I definitely recommend this game.
The best city sim.
An ideal game for all age groups. This game is very peaceful and a very chill experience.