Cities: Skylines 2 Reviews
Cities: Skylines II is a gripping experience and a perfect follow-up to the first game. Sadly, all of that is really dragged down by myriads of technical problems. For now, we can only hope that Colossal Order will fix most of the issue and gets the game to the state it deserves to be.
Review in Russian | Read full review
In its current state, it is impossible to recommend Cities Skylines 2, as the game proves to be unplayable, even on a very powerful machine. The game has enormous potential and could score much higher after the necessary corrections. It is important to note that this is not an early access version, but a "final" version that is being sold for 49.99 euros. Players have the right to expect a smooth and complete gaming experience for this price, and unfortunately, Cities Skylines 2 does not meet these expectations in its current state.
Review in French | Read full review
Intricate, intuitive, and ambitious, Cities Skylines 2 successfully integrates all the major improvements that players might have wanted. Something personal is lost in its larger scale, while performance problems spoil the beauty, but this could one day become the superior city building game.
We could go into more detail about the many innovations introduced in Cities Skylines 2, but what really matters is to emphasize the freedom of choice it offers the player.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Suffice it to say I’m excited for this game, and so much of me wants to recommend every bit of it. Right now, the performance issues make that very, very hard. I’m not sure why Colossal and Paradox didn’t delay all of it until 2024 instead of just consoles, but here we are. Much like other games that launched in a rough state, I’m certain that Cities: Skylines II will eventually be something to behold. For now, however, there’s a bit of buyer beware.
Cities Skylines 2 can be engaging – expanding your city provides a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it cannot overshadow a vast sea of greyness, identical, levitating cars and ugly graphics that do not explain ridiculous system requirements.
Review in Polish | Read full review
As far as world-building games go, Cities: Skylines II is second to none. The sheer volume of capability is staggering and the possibilities are endless for what you can create.
Cities: Skylines II is a city-building experience of epic proportions, filled with complexity and creativity. Its immense ambition in city design is complemented by an intricate web of services and an intelligent population. It may stumble under the weight of technical performance and a few bugs but the series still continues to redefine urban strategy in games. Colossal Order have truly delivered a living, breathing, dynamic city management game.
Cities: Skylines 2 doesn't rebuild the genre nor its identity, instead choosing to go bigger and deeper without losing sight of what made its predecessor work. With no better alternatives on sight, this will do.
Cities: Skylines II is a game that's ahead of its time in terms of both gameplay and hardware demands. It has taken significant steps forward in terms of quality, gameplay, and detail compared to its predecessor, although this comes at the expense of very demanding system requirements. In an era where city-building simulations are becoming increasingly scarce, Cities: Skylines II remains the top choice for fans of city-building simulation.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Cities Skylines II does its best to become the best city builder on the market and this first step surprises for how many things Colossal Order managed to improve. Of course it still needs more time to build (pun intended) on this foundation, but the ambition of this game was surely delivered with the right amount of love and care for even the little details.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cities: Skylines II is a modest improvement on its predecessor, integrating a good amount of features and content to feel like a worthwhile sequel. The underlying design remains great and should eventually reach its full potential, but a lack of structure and poor technical performance mean that it's not yet time to make the switch.
Skylines II is a good strategy builder that meets today's standards, but could have delivered a little more. You won't find anything in the management that you haven't seen in the previous game or in other city building games. We appreciate the opportunity to build a really huge megalopolis with a complex structure.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Perhaps the most complete and realistic experience we've enjoyed in the City Building Sims genre so far, the prestige of which is sadly marred by poor optimization in the graphics department.
Colossal Order already had a winning formula to work from thanks to the original Cities: Skylines. This sequel deepens the level of interactivity available to players, with more tiles to build on and more complex systems to design and implement. New players might need a little persistence to get to grips with the mechanics, but you’ll be able to transform a meek little hamlet into a sprawling concrete jungle — it’ll just take you a while to get there. Those returning to the series will feel right at home, with plenty of adjustments that mark Cities: Skylines 2 as a natural evolution for the series.
Although there are no major revolutions compared to the first chapter, or perhaps because of this, it can already be said that Cities Skylines II is a worthy heir to its predecessor, and in the future, with the release of the ever-present expansions and some technical adjustments it may even surpass the first Cities. In any case, the base created by Colossal Order is solid, the gameplay is addictive, and it is definitely worth a try.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cities Skylines 2 makes for a truly enjoyable city builder experience. The merit of its visual beauty and the excellent building and planning tools offered make it unique. It definitely needs to find some improvements in the technical aspect.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cities Skylines 2 brings its share of new features, including even more in-depth management of your city. The financial aspect is more difficult and may come as a surprise to some, but after a few attempts you'll get the hang of it. However, the heavy tutorial for older players and the numerous technical problems spoil the experience for many.
Review in French | Read full review
Cities: Skylines II has an extensive system that lets you control every aspect of a city's growth. Unfortunately some aspects could use more explanation and the graphic requirements are high, making it tough to get started.
While I absolutely enjoy Cities: Skylines and have seen the features that really make Cities: Skylines II a more enhanced version in terms of game mechanics, it is severely let down in my opinion with its graphics. I found myself getting frustrated that I could not have a smooth experience if I had the graphics even on medium. Against the previous game, graphically Cities: Skylines wins. I started to question why this second iteration was needed. Could they have not just upgraded the game mechanics in the first one and carried on building on what they had? I guess maybe it was not possible and perhaps the changes were too much for any existing cities to handle. It’s a shame as my experience has not been a massively positive one and despite having some better features and ways of doing things, it feels like a backward step in user experience at the moment. Let’s hope for some serious optimization to happen! For now, I would hold off from buying and maybe play it through the Xbox game pass library if you want to have a dabble.