Cities: Skylines

Death by a thousand cuts.

The base game is very basic, and you'll be quick to find things that where included in Transport Tycoon Deluxe (1995) or SimCity2000 are blatantly missing and packed into tiny tiny DLCs. So yeah, even if you buy the base game at 90% off I consider it to be so stripped down it's not worth considering it to be a playable city builder. So then you check what DLC you might want and quickly find that to even get to a point where a basic city builder experience is achieved you are spending well beyond what a AAA game would normally cost.

To top that, if you are a completionist and want the whole thing you are looking at spending $400 or more. At that price point it's hard to see the value proposition making sense from a consumer standpoint.

Just to see what the full game with all DLC is actually like, I "played it at a friends house". It's quite good, but not $400 good. Maybe if the base game wasn't stripped down to a point where it's boring to play for more than an hour and the full DLC experience wasn't this ridiculously priced it might have grabbed me more... but in the end I regret buying the base game, regret spending time on it and I am committed to never buying the DLC unless the entire purchase comes down below $35. I just wouldn't be able to enjoy myself knowing I paid more than that.

I love this game but the choice to update it in such a way that breaks some of the best mods keeping this game alive in 2025 while you flounder over your absolute dumpster fire of a sequel is dastardly and and a P.O.S move. the game was fine. We literally dont care about whatever 10 year content you wanted to throw in. get a grip

Imagine making a subscription-based service for a 10 year old game. Atrocious.

good game, but for ducks sake, the dlcs cost (at least in the current sale) almost 30x the base game price... also why do you have to have your own launcher? it get's annoying and makes it harder to play on linux

Cities: Skylines is the perfect game for anyone who loves building, planning, and managing a city from the ground up. It gives you complete control over every aspect of your city, from zoning and traffic management to public services and policies. The level of detail is incredible, and the freedom to design your city exactly how you want makes every playthrough unique.

The game does an amazing job of balancing creativity with challenge. It starts off simple, but as your city grows, you'll face real-world urban planning problems like traffic congestion, pollution, and budget management. Solving these issues is incredibly satisfying and keeps you engaged for hours. The modding community also adds endless possibilities, with new assets, mechanics, and features that take the game even further.

Cities: Skylines is one of those games where you sit down to play for an hour and suddenly realize the whole night has passed. Whether you're a casual player just looking to build a beautiful city or someone who enjoys the challenge of optimizing every system, this game has something for everyone. It's an absolute must-play for city-building fans.

You like complete game? I present to you DLC, You turds think you can enjoy a game without paying extra? DLC IS FOR YOU. MAKE GAMING GREAT AGAIN BY BUYING 2000$ WORTH OF BRAINDEAD CONTENT THAT JUST ADD NUMBER IN THE GAME.
You want content? Fawk off with this non-sense!! WE HEIR TO MAKE DE MONEY. You, YOU, CONSUMER, GIVE US YOUR MONEY!! HEY SHEEP, IM TALKING TO YOU!!! YOU WANT US TO MAKE A SUBSCRIPTION FOR A 2015 GAME? FINE!!

Excessive quantities of dlc that are necessary to have a complete game. Some of which feeling like they were just tacked on with little regard for how they fit into a city given the limited size of maps. Runs terribly, and still runs bad in the sequel. Have fun running mods when the mod creators fill your page file with 50GB of uncompressed assets. Straight up don't bother, you'll be fighting the game more than anything as it's mechanics aren't fleshed out enough for what you'd want to do with the systems.

Love this game to bits.
This development and publishing team is something else though.

They struggle to make the right move consistently. Even in instances where there could be literally no wrong move they defy expectation and release SUBSCRIPTION services for a decade old game- as a little "thank you" for its literal 10th year of existing. As if insult to injury they are not even cheap GamePass levels of subscriptions. We are talking $52.99 CAD for 6 Months access- OVER $100 Canadian dollars for a YEAR subscription. They have clearly been aspiring to be the Adobe of the gaming genre with this one.

Keep in mind, this move for subscriptions is just the newest "What are you even doing" move in a long list of them from this group. Just off the top of my head:

First it was the endless DLC slog that added just enough useful crap in between that actual utter garbage that you'd be hard pressed not to buy it for $20 here, $20 there.
On to the "Paradox Launcher" update where they post launch, years later, added the additional pop-up prompt.
Coupled with the brand new "If you start this game you consent to us harvesting data from you" Terms of Service changes.
Followed by another handful of shlock DLC.
Straight into the ongoing disaster that was Cities Skylines 2. No content, ugly content, broken content. They walked back their own deluxe edition content because how awful it was. Radio silence. No initial mod support, no Steam Workshop support- now you need to use their service "Paradox Mods" to get community mods to fix their broken game

Now here we are. As a huge thank you for ten years of people playing the original game that made them the leaders in this genre. Ten years of content creators, streamers, youtubers. Ten years of modders who made the game amazing to play-

Subscriptions. Subscriptions and THREE more DLCs on the 25th of March.

It seems after the Cities Skylines 2 pre-order money has dried up they have doubled back to this gem to stomp and squeeze a little more out of it instead of trying to make CS2 palatable.



So here is a helpful list.
- Avoid all "Radio" DLC. Its overpriced filler garbage for bundles to inflate the price.

- The Content Creator packs are big hit or miss'. There are youtubers who have reviewed the packs content.

- Don't buy the Map bundles. Workshop map creators are incredible. Use the workshop.

- Mods will make the game. Use the workshop. People have made "collection packs"

- The big DLCs that add to or change the game are as followed: After dark, Snowfall, Natural Disasters, Mass Transit, Green cities, Parklife, Industries, Campus, Sunset Harbour, Airports, Plazas & Promenades, Financial Districts, Hotels & Retreats.

- Never pay full price for this stuff. I recommend you look up "isthereanydeal" (is there any deal) They list every legitimate site that has authorised game keys. There are other places too. Just don't pay full for this.

Subscriptions. Ha.

Big fat "NO!" to all attempts to integrate a subscription model into a single-player game! Instead of debugging and polishing the second iteration of the game, the devs decided to do a quick money grab by seemingly giving away the first base game and, at the same time, introducing an all-dlc subscription! A subscription to get access to all those overpriced dlcs! Such a shameful act of disrespect to the players must not be tolerated! If these bunch of lazybones succeeds, each and every new game will be cut into pieces and then infinitely sold to us – players – via atrocious subscriptions!

I love City Skylines, but not enough to recommend a game that has SO much DLC that the company making it builds a whole new subscription service around it.

Games like this is the reason why many people just play it via other means. A few hundred dollars in DLC, and then to celebrate their anniversary you can enjoy paying a subscription fee if you want them instead. Because we live in a world where everyone loves even more subscriptions!

They could have done better bundles and deals instead of a subscription. But they are betting on you forgetting that you subbed and continue paying it for a while, even after you are done playing it. I could pay the 10 bucks and get a lot of hours played in that single month and be done with the game. And then cancel it. Or they could just charge 30 bucks for a bundle with everything. The cheaper subscription will probably net them more since people do forget. I would prefer paying 30 bucks over 10 for the month.

But, they won't do that, so I won't pay them another cent.

When you are so delusional about DLC pricing that you need to add a subscription service for it :D

Score: 9/10

Cities: Skylines is one of the best city-building games out there, offering a relaxing yet deeply engaging experience. It’s the perfect blend of creativity and strategy, allowing you to shape your city however you like while tackling the unique challenges each map presents.

I’ve built countless cities across different maps, and no two have ever felt the same. The game constantly keeps you thinking—whether it’s optimizing traffic flow, managing resources, or handling unexpected crises. Watching a small town grow into a thriving metropolis is incredibly rewarding, and the freedom to experiment with layouts and policies makes each playthrough feel fresh.

If you enjoy slow-paced, thoughtful gameplay where you can take your time and build something truly impressive, Cities: Skylines is a must-play. It’s a game I keep coming back to, and I doubt I’ll ever stop finding new ways to design the perfect city.

The game is better than CS2 and I enjoyed the game. But I am not impressed to see a subscription model added to a 10 year old game,

CIties 2 is still terrible to this day. Economy has had updates, but still not running properly. lodging is an issue, no customers but brings in mega cash. high education people? do they exist?

Cities 1 is great, but with it's age why is all the DLC still so damn expensive?
The amount of DLC that is almost a requirement will set you back $100 quite easily.

Time for paradox to drop pricing by 50% permanently, then have sales from those prices.. the game is 10 years old, theres no reason DLC should be full priced.

Don't buy if you don't plan on spending atleast 100 euros more on DLCs. (just pirate the game)

This game is easy or challenging depending one the setting one inputs. There are tons of helpful mods, and its very immersive in all the layers of city building, right down to trash, crime, sewage and traffic. I can play this game for hours, also very relaxing to sit in and just create.

I love this game. But i recommend after the game being out for a DECADE...wait until they make a sale that is at least 75% for everything. If you cant wait, I only recommend purchasing the base game, industries, nightlife, and mass transit. The others are money grabs and mostly add assets that the community members already significantly provide (thank you to you community members for such a memorable experience). Thank you Colossal Order for developing such a beautiful experience. However, I am very disappointed that at a 10 year anniversary this company (I think its the publisher's move) still did not provide a decent sale. That is how insulting this is being perceived; so you receive a not recommend. To celebrate publicly but not really include/provide access for all is diabolical levels G.

Cities is one of my favorite games. Every time I come back to it, I spend days playing it before not touching it again for the year. I really wish it had more content, but I'm too poor to afford all the DLC. The fact that this game is OLD and has excess DLC, all of which is full price, is really demoralizing to someone who's already struggling for the basics. c:

Has 500 DLC's all being sold at full price despite releasing an inferior sequel.

Borderline unplayable without mods, if I could rate this game I would give it a 3/10, but the mods bring it easily up to a 7 or 8.

But they are mods made for free by the community, and given Paradox's nature as a bunch of greedy bastards it's probably only a matter of time before they start bundling and charging for mod packs like they are with Crusader Kings.

Paradox you are a shell of your former selves and it's just sad to see how you have fallen into the greed trap.

Game is good, but this company doesn't respect it's customers. You can buy DLCs for this game relatively cheap off of random keystores, yet they want to start a subscription service to catch ignorant customers who lack this knowledge. Mind you, this is being done 10 YEARS after release AND after the failure of the newest game in their series. Do not fall for this trickery. If you do not own this game already, or if you are thinking about buying DLC for it, look on safe, alternative market places for sales rather than opt into a subscription service that will likely cost you more in the long run.

Best game ever. I still preferred it over sequal, and it's great that new content is still coming to this game...

was playing and then the FUCKING game fucking crashed and i lost over 3 fucking days of progress (a whole ass transit hub, some random fucking interchanges and shit) and now im so fucking frustrated over a game. recommended

With the additional DLC's, this game is a constant for me. I currently still prefer it over the latest version but I assume that is because the latest updates to the new game is still in its infancy.I love going back trying different maps in this game and creating stories out of my builds. Thanks to the City Planner plays youtube I have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the game and often find myself absorbed in to the reality and metropolis I have built. It helps me feel better about the chaos that is this world and city I live in.

its really Fun, i can spend hours without a Break. but i musst say that the Dlc´s are way to overpriced so stay away, or get it in a Sale, i do not recommend to buy City skylines to the people who doesnt have alot of money.

great game better than the second one for now more content and more mod friendly 10/10 would recommend

Such great games, such awful business practices. I wait more than half a decade for a normal game to go on sale, and then I pay $20–$30 a game that runs well and includes all its dlc. I wait more than half a decade to buy a Paradox game, and end up paying more than you would for an "Ultimate Edition" AAA game at launch, and that's only cherry picking the absolutely necessary dlcs. I love Cities: Skylines, but I refuse to play any other Paradox game because of their pricing. The performance is also god-awful on top-tier systems, in 2 days it celebrates its 10th anniversary since release and it still can't break 60fps on top of the line hardware with all settings set to the lowest preset. Upscaling and frame generation don't even shine either, because the starting framerate is so awful.

this game is so in depth and for the first one in the series, with some mods, its damn near perfect. The graphics are a bit goofy, with cars lifting their wheels around corners, and the vanilla buildings leave something to be desired. Gameplay however is smooth and user friendly. 8/10 game, my favourite city builder.

Good for making digital trainsets too

The gameplay loop is pretty simple but satisfying, however I find it gets boring once your city gets to around 12-13k population. I keep coming back every now and again and try to build a better city than before.

Ignore the recent off-topic Beijing bots, this game is great

Just remember that if you have all DLC, you'll need a lot of RAM. For me, 16gb runs great with every single DLC, but with mods, you might need more. This game is the reason I upgraded to 16gb, as it couldn't even start with 8gb.

lovely game but majority of the really good shit is behind a paywall for dlcs, company needs to stop money hoarding and start giving a fuck about their playerbase. might be more worth to just get a pirated version with all the dlcs already in.

They bricked the game for Mac users and will not update. Stole money and ran. Trash developers. Too bad. I was really enjoying the game.

作为我接触过的第一款印度公司开发的游戏，十分符合我内心对印度人的成见，希望公司全体成员被印度人播种，加快印度化进程

By far my favorite city builder, and much better than the sequel!
However, a lot of the DLC should just be included in the base game... paying 200$ just for DLC on top of the entry fee is just ridiculous... otherwise a great game tho!

It's a great simulator of building a city and managing it. It is hard enough to understand for a beginner, but those who will understand it will probably be easy but definitely interesting. I often played simCity 4000 as a kid, remember this game? This is similar and much better. I generally do not wish that I bought this game

Tried to get on after a few years absent. all maps locked behind a DLC pay wall. Greedy POS game developers making a previously playable game a money dump. No thank-you!

"Cities: Skylines" is a highly acclaimed city-building simulation game that offers players a robust and immersive experience in urban planning and development. Launched in 2015, the game allows you to create and manage your own city, from the ground up, giving you the freedom to design intricate road networks, zoning areas for residential, commercial, and industrial use, and developing public services like schools, hospitals, and transportation systems.

One of the standout features of "Cities: Skylines" is its deep simulation mechanics. The game intricately models the needs and behaviour of citizens, which means you must carefully balance factors such as traffic flow, pollution, traffic congestion, and the economy to ensure your city's growth and sustainability. This attention to detail adds a layer of complexity that appeals to both casual players and hardcore simulators alike.

The game excels in its modding community, offering extensive support for user-generated content. Players can download and share an array of mods, which can enhance gameplay or add new features, from custom buildings and vehicles to entirely new gameplay mechanics. This has significantly extended the game’s longevity, as dedicated modders continuously create fresh content that keeps the experience engaging and customisation.

The graphics and visual design are also noteworthy, providing a vibrant and detailed city-scape that evolves as you build your metropolis. You can zoom in to street level to observe the daily life of your citizens and see how your decisions impact their happiness and productivity. Alternatively, you can pull back to get a grand view of your sprawling city, showcasing your planning and design skills.

Furthermore, "Cities: Skylines" has received numerous expansions and downloadable content (DLC) packs that introduce new gameplay elements, such as natural disasters, new city policies, and even international diplomacy, further enriching the game experience. Each expansion adds unique mechanics and challenges, ensuring that players always have fresh content to explore.

Overall, "Cities: Skylines" stands out as a great city builder due to its depth, flexibility, and community engagement. Whether you're a city-building veteran or a newcomer to the genre, the game offers hours of engaging gameplay, making it a must-play for anyone interested in crafting their own urban environments.

This is a good game mostly because mods like RICO make it bearable but it's also unstable when modded and very cpu/gpu intensive, but dang this game is addicting.
The amount of content locked behind DLC is incredibly annoying though.
You should buy the sequel instead.

expectation:
build the dream city you wanna live.

reality:
learning actual road hierarchy.
learning how to balance tax and budget so i wont go bankrupt.
learning where to place hospital, police station, fire station, and school so my citizens will be able to use it 100%.
build the dream city you wanna live.

the best city planning game out there but so far it encourages only a very car centric layout (vanilla), no matter how efficient you design the road network or alternative commuter lines, logistics especially to factories and commercial will be challenged, just wished it had more flexibility instead of thousands of mods only changing assets. nonetheless masterpiece of a game

I can get sucked into this game for hours, I absolutely love it!! I first started playing it on the PS4 and recently switched to PC after resparking the love for this wonderful city building game! Can be a pain sometimes with how you need to manage your traffic build up but oh well, finding a way to get around it is so satisfying when it does work!!

loved many of the early version of this game before steam came on scene. Personally i'd still purchase but i'm not recommending because there some broken parts and very difficult user interface-user controls. simplify and win should be the motto here, but nope.. tons of minutiae into little inconsequential functionality.

Cities Skylines is an ok city building game. Just ok. Everything is oversimplified which makes building cities way too easy and boring. And anything that could add complexity of variety is locked behind a paywall.

I highly recommend this game, even above its successor, CSII. The modding community has been around for this game far longer and has come up with some truly amazing things. The base game is absolutely unplayable, but with the right mods this game can last hundreds of hours and give years worth of fun in the long term.

Fun game but the amount of DLC is genuinely overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking for

This game is great for creativity and managing your own city!

The best city builder I've ever played. I started with the original SimCity when I was a kid and loved it. I haven't played them all but I've played most and this take the cake for me.

Overall, it's not so much a city-building simulator as it is a road-laying simulator. Most of the game revolves around solving traffic problems, congestion, building complex interchanges, considering where, to where, and how much traffic will be moving, and so on. The actual district planning and economic aspects are a relatively small part of the gameplay.

Designing roads can be really interesting, but this game isn't so much about city-building as it is about one of its many aspects. Other aspects (besides roads) are either not implemented at all or are done quite superficially. The game also lacks a comprehensive tutorial, which is critically important for successful road planning, so playing without guides on the internet would be very difficult.

I can't say the game is bad, but it won't appeal to everyone. I'm giving it a dislike simply because it's not my taste, but if you're interested in spending hours designing roads and solving congestion problems, it's definitely worth a try. I didn't notice any critical bugs. The colors are pleasant, and the overall atmosphere is quite relaxing.

I just can't recommend any game that has over $400 of DLC. Which is unfortunately the common theme for games published by Paradox, and it is a practice that should be discouraged. Now, many of the available DLC's here are only audio, but there is still over $200 of game content locked behind premium DLC. And premium is a key word here because it feels like you're always paying a premium for your return. For instance, $5.99 is what it takes to get some re-skins of buildings (not new ways to play, just new art design), and that doesn't even get you all of the re-skins. There are over 20 such, similarly priced, DLC add-ons that do nothing other than add a bit of variety to your city's aesthetics. Which is an important thing to consider because the base game does end up looking a bit bland. This does not even comment on some of the other "premium" offerings that are pretty shallow for the asking price.

To its credit, this game is a good city builder with a lot of depth. I just don't think that it is worth the price even during one of the heavy discount periods that often come up.

The game is such a cool concept, but whoever coded the traffic is just completely moronic. You can truly build how you want your city to be. You are a slave to the stupid code and must build around it. Ruins any aspect of fun and design that would make this an interesting game that dosent make you want to pull your hair out.