Review of "Cities: Skylines II," the sequel to the classic city-building game!　A realistic urban development simulation that you can really get into!

This is the highly anticipated sequel to the hit "Cities: Skylines! The realistic feel of the game has been enhanced while maintaining the same level of power!

Cities: Skylines II" is the sequel to "Cities: Skylines," a city-building simulation game released on Steam in 2015. The previous title, "Cities: Skylines," is a renowned masterpiece of urban development simulation and has been ported to consumer consoles such as PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Many gamers have been eagerly awaiting the release of this sequel to the classic.

Cities: Skylines" is a city-building simulation game in which players take on the role of a city mayor and develop their own metropolis by improving the lives of citizens and promoting industry.

The basic flow of the game is that after building roads and infrastructure such as electricity and water supply, and developing residential areas and industrial zones, residents begin to live in the city. As the number of residents increases, problems such as crime, fire, and waste disposal will arise, so the "Cities: Skylines" series is characterized by its overall very realistic creation, such as building the facilities necessary to deal with these problems and make the residents' lives better. And, of course, that realistic feel is firmly maintained in this latest installment.

So, let's start the game from the "New Game" menu. The first step is to select the map where the game will take place. Each map has different characteristics, including "Archipelago Haven," where a chain of islands is surrounded by water, "Twin Mountains," where a small river flows between mountains, and "River Delta," where a river meanders through a large delta and separates it from the rest of the country. The climate and latitude (northern or southern hemisphere) are also different, making the means of attack different and interesting. If you like city-building simulation games, you may already be excited from the point of selecting this map.

Let's develop the city by setting up roads, plots, and infrastructure! Pay attention to the real-life citizens!

As mayor, your city development begins with the construction of roads. In fact, road construction is so important in this game that it can be said to be the foundation of the city. If the roads are built well, the flow of people will improve, the economy will revitalize the city, and the city will become more and more active. Roads are the main artery of a city, and in this game, you can build roads as you like, with curves and intersections as you wish. This freedom is one of the major attractions of this title.

This freedom is one of the main attractions of "Cities: Skylines II, This is a good point for efficient and speedy urban development.

Once the roads are in place, the next step is to set up the parcels. The zoning process determines the type of buildings that will be constructed in the selected area. There are various types of parcels, including residential parcels where people live, commercial parcels that provide services and jobs to residents to increase their annual income, and industrial parcels that operate most efficiently near resources but also have the risk of pollution. The choice of where and which parcels to create is a major concern in urban development, and at the same time, it is one of the most exciting aspects of the game.

Once the plots are set up, the next step is to develop the infrastructure, such as electricity, water, and sewage.

First, power. Needless to say, power is very important, and without it, most things in the city cannot operate. Generating facilities such as thermal power plants and wind turbines are installed in the right places and connected by power lines to deliver electricity to the city.

Then there is water supply. Water systems are important not only for the proper operation of households, businesses, and industries, but also for the health of citizens. Install groundwater pumping stations where water from underground sources can be used, or intake facilities on the banks of water bodies, and connect them to the city with water pipes.

And sewage. If sewage is not properly managed, the city and its citizens will be adversely affected, so make sure that this too is well maintained.

Incidentally, all of this infrastructure is integrated with roads. In other words, when you build a road, electric lines and water and sewage pipes are automatically built at the same time. This is very innovative and easy to use, and I felt that it greatly enhances the playability of the game.

Once the roads and infrastructure are in place, buildings will be constructed one after another on the set plots as time goes by. It is no exaggeration to say that this experience of "building your own city" is the most exciting part of the game. Once the buildings are built, people start to live in the town, and one of the main features of this title is that each citizen living in the town has a real life. You can learn in detail about their age, wealth, where they live, where they work, and what they are doing, so it is inevitable that your time will melt away just watching them.

In addition, a social networking service called "Chirp" exists in this world.
This service is like the X (Twitter) of this world, where people in the city post their thoughts and various information about their daily lives. Not only positive posts, but also some complaints about the city. The key to success in this game is to listen carefully to the voices of these citizens. Check them carefully, make improvements, and work hard to create a better city. By the way, you can also click on the heart mark on the "Chirp" post to give a "like" reaction! It is a small detail, but it is a realistic and interesting direction.

Beginners are also at ease! Don't get lost with milestones and a full tutorial!

In a city development simulation game with a high degree of freedom, it is easy to get lost in a situation where you lose sight of your objective, "What should I do next ......? In a highly flexible urban development simulation game, it is easy to lose sight of the objective, but this game has a "milestone" system that solves this problem. Simply put, these are so-called "city levels," which are raised through the construction of roads and buildings, as well as through the accumulation of experience gained from increasing the happiness of residents.

This allows the user to earn funds and points to release "progress panels" that unlock new facilities and other items. In other words, the more you develop a town, the better it becomes, and the more you can do, the more you can expand what you can do. This system gives players a major objective that is easy to understand and at the same time provides motivation to continue playing.

There may be some people who are interested in urban development simulation games with a high degree of freedom like this title, but are reluctant to get involved because they feel that there are too many things they can do and that the game is too complicated. For such people, there is no need to worry, as there is a full tutorial. Starting with "Road Basics," the tutorial takes you through the process of creating residential and commercial parcels (......), one by one, with detailed text. This makes it easy to play, not only for players who have not played the previous game, but also for players who are new to city-building simulation games.

While it is fun to play while worrying about how to manage funds and develop a city, sometimes you want to try building a city freely without being restricted by anything. For such players, this title allows them to turn on or off unlimited funds, unlock all milestones, natural disasters, etc. before the game begins. This freedom to play according to the user's needs is one of the charms of this game, whether it is to enjoy building a box garden as you wish or to use it as practice before starting the main game, which has various restrictions.

Cities: Skylines II" is a deeply addictive game that is recommended as a companion for the upcoming year-end and New Year's holidays!

So, this is my introduction of "Cities: Skylines II".

Cities: Skylines II" is a true game of time theft that allows you to enjoy free and realistic city building as much as you want. It is a perfect title for the upcoming New Year vacation season, so if you are interested, please give it a try.

• Game Info.
• Cities: Skylines II
• Maker: Colossal Order Ltd.
• Genre: Simulation
• Release date: October 25, 2023
• Compatibility: PC (Steam)
• Price: 6,990 yen (as of November 26, 2023)
• # of players

Nero Hyakkabe

Writer who buys too many games. Currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. His works include "Todorouni tantei no chozen taru jikenbouki (Roaring Luck Detective's Chosen Case Book: Detective Annihilation Hall Murder Case)" (Seikai-sha) and "Yubisaki kaidan: 140 kanjaku no kaihon (Yubisaki ghost stories: 140 scary stories) (PHP Kenkyujo).
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