It's unfortunate that I have to give Cities Skylines 2 the thumbs down. As one of many players and enjoyers of the first title, Cities Skylines 2 was ( in theory ) the best game I would ever play since the release of the original from nearly 9 years ago. The improvements to traffic and cim AI have not been realized in the product we received. Production chains are dysfunctional and issues that originate in the first title ( ie. industries importing goods from abroad rather than buying from local suppliers ), are still present here. The addition of new zoning types has been wonderful, but the lack of big-box retail, mixed ( commercial + office ) zoning cuts the new feature shorter than its full potential. The addition of parking as a core mechanic in city management would be incredible, if we were given more options for parking ( especially when there is a lack of underground parking for mid-to-high density residential structures ). Public transportation is a chore to manage, despite the new UI displays for tracking their performance. Traffic and transportation overall, however, is hampered by the odd path-finding calculations which result in cims traversing 10 km to work and back on foot rather than taking a car or the bus. That's on top of the scaled simulation which only actively uses a fraction of your real population to simulate around the world.

Cities Skylines 2 feels like an Early Access release. It is not a complete product and one that is dotted with bugs and issues throughout. The lack of promised modding support on a timely schedule is simply stacked atop an already bad experience. I would highly recommend any prospective buyer to instead purchase Cities Skylines 1 and explore the countless mods on the Steam Workshop which features creators from all across the world.

It's unfortunate that I have to give Cities Skylines 2 the thumbs down. As one of many players and enjoyers of the first title, Cities Skylines 2 was ( in theory ) the best game I would ever play since the release of the original from nearly 9 years ago. The improvements to traffic and cim AI have not been realized in the product we received. Production chains are dysfunctional and issues that originate in the first title ( ie. industries importing goods from abroad rather than buying from local suppliers ), are still present here. The addition of new zoning types has been wonderful, but the lack of big-box retail, mixed ( commercial + office ) zoning cuts the new feature shorter than its full potential. The addition of parking as a core mechanic in city management would be incredible, if we were given more options for parking ( especially when there is a lack of underground parking for mid-to-high density residential structures ). Public transportation is a chore to manage, despite the new UI displays for tracking their performance. Traffic and transportation overall, however, is hampered by the odd path-finding calculations which result in cims traversing 10 km to work and back on foot rather than taking a car or the bus. That's on top of the scaled simulation which only actively uses a fraction of your real population to simulate around the world. Cities Skylines 2 feels like an Early Access release. It is not a complete product and one that is dotted with bugs and issues throughout. The lack of promised modding support on a timely schedule is simply stacked atop an already bad experience. I would highly recommend any prospective buyer to instead purchase Cities Skylines 1 and explore the countless mods on the Steam Workshop which features creators from all across the world.