Cities: Skylines II

Our analysis

More than two years after a rough, near-early-access launch, the game is judged improved but still deeply troubled, with the long-delayed Bridges and Ports DLC and a recent patch finally fixing long-standing issues like broken office and commercial job counts while boosting player numbers. The new modular harbors and region content add welcome creative freedom, but performance still tanks once the simulation runs at speed, the audio is weak, animations are missing, and the opaque simulation often drives population away without explaining why. Mods remain essentially mandatory to make it shine.

Our analysis

An ambitious city builder with a much larger scale and great building tools, satisfying districts, specialized industries, and a fun progression overhaul. However it released in an unacceptable technical state, running poorly and looking ugly even on low settings, with various bugs and missing granular detail. The advice is to wait for patches.