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Cities: Skylines II | Review Thread

Draugoth

Gold Member

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Game Information​

Game Title: Cities: Skylines 2

Platforms:

  • PC (Oct 24, 2023)
  • PlayStation 5 (Spring 2024)
  • Xbox Series X/S (Spring 2024)
Trailer:

Developer: Colossal Order Ltd.

Publisher: Paradox Interactive

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 74 average - 70% recommended - 8 reviews

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MetaCritic - 74/100 - PC Version - 20 Reviews

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Critic Reviews​

BossLevelGamer - Jake Valentine - 9 / 10
Cities: Skylines II is a very worthy sequel to the popular 2015 city-building that improves upon the original. It could stand to use some quality-of-life updates, performance optimization, and mod support, but don't let that deter you from diving in.

But Why Tho? - Matt Donahue - 9 / 10
Cities Skylines 2 is a worthy successor to the long standing original city builder

Cerealkillerz - Steve Brieller - German - 8.4 / 10
Cities Skylines 2 improves on the beloved first part of the series. While it misses scenarios and dedicated tutorial missions, it captivates from the first minute on with the premise of building your own dream city and optimizing all the little details. Be aware though, that even with high end hardware the performance is abyssmal. But Colossal Order already promised to deliver performance improving patches and an early WIP patch we could use made the situation way better already. With the performance upgrade and the yet to come mods from the community, this game will surely be the new frontrunner of city building games.

LadiesGamers.com - Paula Moore - Loved
Cities: Skylines II has much to life up to, and you. know what? This is a fantastic start to a fabulous game. I’m excited for the future of city building. The game will take off once the modders get to work and Colossal Order pushes out the usual updates.
If you buy Cities: Skylines II, you can expect unfamiliarity, familiarity, surprises and the occasional frustration. But once you settle into it, plenty of new gameplay mechanics will keep you on your toes.
I love it, and I can see that Colossal Order love their game, too. I predict Cities: Skylines II will be even more successful than it’s predecessor.

PC Gamer - Christopher Livingston - 77 / 100
The city builder sequel is packed with big improvements but a fair share of disappointments.

Saving Content - Scott Ellison II - 5 / 5
Colossal Order offers an intricate deep simulation of a city builder. Aside from the taxing performance, it’s simply amazing to see in motion. For the price, you get a metropolis-sized game full of options. It’s also one of those things where I can’t wait to see what this game is like eight years from now. Cities: Skylines II offers the next-generation of the city builder that constantly impressed and amazed.

VideoGamer - Antony Terence - 8 / 10
Cities Skylines 2 is a well-loved home that picks smart renovation over a sweeping revolution. With incredible visuals and immaculate detailing, few cities can eclipse this colossal effort in terms of sheer freedom and choice.

cublikefoot - Claire Ferrin - Avoid
The performance issues really just sour the entire experience. The game should not have been released in its current state and I would recommend waiting for further optimization.
 
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HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...d-performance-for-cities-skylines-ii.1601865/

MORE MODS FOR EVERYONE

We know you have been waiting, and now it's time to share the latest developments regarding modding in Cities: Skylines II.

First and foremost, our in-game editor is currently in its beta phase and will launch shortly after release. While we look forward to unleashing the power of creative modification to all of you, in preparation, we are collaborating with a talented group of creators working behind the scenes - ensuring you'll have amazing mods to dive into on the launch of the mods platform.

While the modding tool will have a basic framework at its inception, we are dedicated to its continuous expansion and enhancement, making it a central focus of our development efforts moving forward. More in-depth details about the editor and its roadmap ahead will be shared shortly - keep an eye out for our dev diaries.

Secondly, we're introducing Paradox Mods as the new mods platform for Cities: Skylines II. One of the core reasons for this is its inclusivity; modding capabilities will be extended to players across platforms - both PC and console - aligning with our commitment to provide as many as possible with the opportunity to modify and enjoy the game.

For console users, this means you will be able to access Asset Mods in the library. Yes, you read that right! We know it is a huge part of the Cities: Skylines experience and we're beyond excited to introduce a solution that makes mods available to everyone. As with all major updates, we are fully aware of the learning curve it might present, but we're committed to providing resources to ensure a smooth transition to Paradox Mods.


A NOTE ON PERFORMANCE AND OUR COMMITMENT TO PLAYERS

On another note, we've noticed the concerns raised about Cities: Skylines II performance, especially after our previous statement with raised minimum and recommended specs. As we've always believed in transparency, we'd like to further shed some light on the current state of the build.

Cities: Skylines II is a next-gen title, and naturally, it demands certain hardware requirements. With that said, while our team has worked tirelessly to deliver the best experience possible, we have not achieved the benchmark we targeted.

In light of this, we still think for the long-term of the project, releasing now is the best way forward. We are proud of the unique gameplay and features in Cities: Skylines II, and we genuinely believe that it offers a great experience that you will enjoy.

We will continually improve the game over the coming months, but we also want to manage expectations on performance for the coming release. Our ambition is for Cities: Skylines II to be enjoyed by as many players as possible, and we're committed to ensuring it reaches its full potential.

Thanks for your understanding and continuous support. We're lucky to have a community as passionate and dedicated as you.
 

GHG

Gold Member
The performance issues really just sour the entire experience. The game should not have been released in its current state and I would recommend waiting for further optimization.

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it's on gamepass ;)

Being on gamepass doesn't make it ok for them to release a blatantly unfinished product (they are literally telling us it's unfinished).

There's something called early access on Steam. They should try using that instead.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
The bulk of the complaints in that review seems to be that the terrain doesn't auto-level.
Talk about making a mountain out a molehill (pun intended).

Terrain not working as intended in a city building game seems like a pretty big deal to me.
 

marjo

Member
Terrain not working as intended in a city building game seems like a pretty big deal to me.
But it does work. It's simply an aesthetic artifact that's only apparent when you zoom in close. It doesn't affect gameplay at all.
 

CamHostage

Member
If there was ever a game not to buy at launch and get a decent experience in 3-6 months time.... this is it.

Eh, it's a playground game. Story-based games which only run well half a year after you've already played it are a total bummer, but a game that's just about experimentation, why wouldn't you play it some and then play it some more if you want to play it?

(If there were rampant save-corruption bugs, sure, never touch the thing, but if it's just clumsy or chunky in launch but still mostly what you're looking to play, I feel like I'd play unless it was seriously unfun to deal with. I can always decide to wait by just not playing. If it really sucks permanently, that'd be a harsh lesson, but there have always been games you might buy with performance issues, the difference now is that the research before buying isn't very hard so you can make the call if it's worth it now or not.)
 
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diffusionx

Gold Member
Even when the devs out and out state the game is unfinished, people still rush to it, lmao no wonder these companies behave the way they do.

I'll wait until the console versions are out, at least.
 
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Reactions: GHG

Paasei

Member
Paradox warned everyone about the poor performance. I'm waiting just a little before buying this game. Will also give me more time with Spider-Man 2.
 

Pandemic

Member
Still looking forward to its release. Disappointed by the reviews and was expecting better from the game but hoping to have some of the issues, more so around performance, resolved over the next few weeks.
 
If you buy this now despite the devs pretty much saying it's unpolished, you are part of the problem.
There were numerous red flags if you have watched any of the dev diaries and preview gameplay videos.

I'll stick to CS1 for now.
 

lefty1117

Gold Member
Oh, put the pitch forks down folks!! It's on Game Pass!!

As long as it's on Game Pass, it's subscribers will accept any old shit. I just want to remind you that you still pay for these products...

Well that's the beauty of GP ... they can put their stuff on GP and the gameplay metrics will tell the story. As a GP subscriber I don't have to shell out any extra money and there are plenty of other things to play. GP doesn't make the problems go away, but it does prevent me spending extra cash on something that turns out to not be so good.
 

Bkdk

Member
Seems like initial release will be mostly negative on steam looking at the reviews and what they have to say, it's going to be a shitshow. Will check back in a year.
 
benchmarks from a german site

Spoilers: it runs like ass, as predicted.

On High preset settings in 1080p, the 3080 paired with 5600x averages less than 25fps. A 4090 can only manage 38fps. In 1440p this drops to 16fps and 29fps average respectively.

Absolutely laughable.

EDIT: sorry, was looking at wrong numbers. The 79fps for 4090 is for very low preset settings.
 
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HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
benchmarks from a german site

Spoilers: it runs like ass, as predicted.

On High preset settings in 1080p, the 3080 paired with 5600x averages less than 25fps. A 4090 can only manage 79 fps. In 1440p this drops to 16fps and 73 fps average respectively.

Absolutely laughable.
Ice Cube Movie GIF


And I plan on playing in ultrawide, 50 fps here I come
 

GHG

Gold Member
Well that's the beauty of GP ... they can put their stuff on GP and the gameplay metrics will tell the story. As a GP subscriber I don't have to shell out any extra money and there are plenty of other things to play. GP doesn't make the problems go away, but it does prevent me spending extra cash on something that turns out to not be so good.

bender bender case in point regarding the discussion we were having the other day.

Not singling you out in any way with this post specifically lefty1117 lefty1117 , you're within your rights to use the subscription in the way you describe.

Anyway, this is very much unsurprising after what the devs have said:

 
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killatopak

Gold Member
It’s Paradox so I expect 1 billion dlc. However, they‘re always solid enough that you’ll get endless hours from them. I’ll just wait for performance updates.
 
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Omega.X

Neo Member
Wouldn't it just make more sense to play a modded version of the first game with all of the DLC at this point?
 

StereoVsn

Member
If there was ever a game not to buy at launch and get a decent experience in 3-6 months time.... this is it.
I'd give it a year. That way first round of DLCs will release, things will get patched up, mods will release and price will get lower.
 

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Holy shit people criticizing Gamepass while it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the quality of the game, the dev or the editor. I seriously wonder about the mental health of some of you, get help for real.
It's not Microsoft's fault you realize that, right? If there's anyone to blame, it's Paradox. So turn your criticism towards them because they deserve it.

At worst, I'm glad I don't have to pay €50 just to be massively disappointed. Paradox is slowly turning into one of the shittiest companies. Crazy.
 

Pakoe

Member
What the fuck man, I was really looking forward to this (no preorder tho cause fuck em).
This is just bad and it makes sense that the console versions are delayed.
Seems like another early release.
 

Mownoc

Member
4090 on 1080p High reaches a whooping 38 FPS.



WeQCWGV.jpg
wtf. I expected it to be CPU performance issues not this.

No wonder they delayed the consoles. RX 6700xt is 72 fps on very low, 18.3fps on high at 1080p. PS5 is more like a 6600xt so it could probably hold 60fps on very low settings, high drop below 15fps. Imagine what the Series S would be.
 
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