City builders have been a popular genre since the earliest days of PC gaming, with classic titles like SimCity allowing players to realize their most epic God complexes in whatever way they see fit. Those halcyon days might be long behind us, but the genre is still just as popular as ever, and more powerful hardware also gives developers the chance to put much more powerful tools in players' hands.
The best example of that in recent times is undoubtedly Cities Skylines, which is filled with dynamic tools and deep population simulations that make everything come to life. That said, it's always good to have a little competition, and a new contender is on the way soon that could have all the ingredients needed to make a real splash.
The Steam store page for Citystate Metropolis, an upcoming city builder from a solo developer, looks remarkably ambitious in scope, given its relatively humble origins.
Interestingly, the game has gone for a gridless zoning approach, which might be initially jarring for those moving across from games like Cities Skylines. If footage provided is anything to go by, though it results in much more natural looking settlements.
The buildings themselves are all...
