Cities Skylines 2 review: a solid foundation for a spec-hungry future classic

After years of expansions and DLCs, Colossal Order and Paradox are finally pressing reset on Cities Skylines. For this sort of simulation game, this is a huge moment. These titles aren’t so much games as they are platforms for years of content and expansion – and so starting fresh is a very big deal indeed.

Thankfully, Cities Skylines 2 is a smartly-designed and clearly very carefully considered reimagining and retooling of much of what made the first game a beloved heir to the city-building genre. With that said, it’s also a game that is clearly the foundation for a platform that’ll run for the next decade – with struggles and slight cut-backs that relate to that.

If you’re new to the whole shebang, the Skylines series is a descendent of the likes of Cities in Motion and (of course) SimCity; where you’re put into the role of a benevolent eye-in-the-sky mayor and let loose to dictate everything about how the city is designed and functioned.