Cities: Skylines is a city-building simulator. To be honest, it is a copy of SimCity 2000. And to be completely honest, there is nothing fundamentally new, no shocks for the genre in the game. But the thing is that this turns out to be the right decision: the game is captivating and constantly throws up new tasks, does not let you get bored.

Cities: Skylines Free Steam Account

There is no multiplayer, there are very few game modes. In fact, there is only one: you just build a city. You can choose the terrain on which you will create it, but the gameplay itself does not change. You start from scratch, as the number of residents increases, you get more opportunities, expand the territory, and so on.

Perhaps someone will remember the unpleasant hack job Cities XXL, which slowed down so much that I do not even want to talk about it. Cities: Skylines, on the contrary, is beautiful, interesting and looks very well thought out. Even playing the version that has not yet been released, I did not find any bugs, crashes, or impassable places in it. The Finns from Colossal Order, which many remember from Cities in Motion – a successful transport system simulator – have now released a real city builder Cities: Skylines. Let’s try to figure out what happened in the end: another fruitless attempt to outdo SimCity or an improved revolution in the genre.

But do you know what first caught our attention in this game, even without knowing what it was about? The fact that it was published by Paradox Interactive. I think many of my viewers know Paradox as the publisher of Europa Universalis. In terms of strategy games, in general, in terms of smart games, Paradox is trustworthy. Any game under their logo automatically attracts the attention of everyone who likes strategy games. Cities: Skylines is not the studio’s first attempt to create a good game in this genre. And that’s good: people already had experience, they got all the bumps and bruises and eventually released a really high-quality product.

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City Management in Cities: Skylines: From Planning to Development

We imagine ourselves as a mayor, charged with the best task of “growing” the city and guiding it towards development. The land we will explore is given through several types of maps, each with its own good characteristics. Although our options may be limited right now, there is room for creativity. We can design our own maps and distinctive objects with the help of the built-in editor and the support of Steam Workshop, which encourages sharing and partnership in the community.

On the other hand, the buildable area is quite substantial: although the initially available space is modest, we have the opportunity to constantly acquire new plots as we go.

It all starts in the usual way – with the laying of roads, along which we are allowed to create residential, commercial, industrial and, ultimately, office zones. Instead of a boring, drawn-out tutorial, the game is made with a special hint system that accurately guides us in the use of various mayoral tools in the process of creating through the gameplay.

City Development in Cities: Skylines: Mistakes, Subtleties, and Important Decisions

If we naively believe that simply sketching out a road and dividing the surrounding areas into zones will allow us to sit back and enjoy the growth of our city, we are in for a rude awakening. As residents begin to move in, it quickly becomes evident that there are no facilities for them to wash their hands, and without electricity, even the simplest tasks, like checking email, become impossible. Establishing essential utilities is a critical aspect of gameplay in Cities: Skylines. A single poor engineering decision can lead to catastrophic consequences for the entire population. For instance, if we overlook the fact that there’s a current in the river from which our city draws its water and mistakenly place the water intake downstream from the sewage outlet, the ramifications can be dire. Residents will soon find themselves falling ill, and the mortality rate will spike alarmingly. No number of hospitals will be able to help them unless we address the root cause of the issue.

However, that’s not the whole story. Let’s imagine we’ve done everything right: we’ve considered the flow of the river, and we’ve begun to grow and develop. So why, after a while, does the water in our homes start to smell, and why do the residents of our community fall ill? The reality is that the river into which we discharge our waste gradually becomes polluted. A water intake facility might find itself in a “bad water” zone, not immediately, but several years after it has been established. Cities: Skylines is filled with such intricate details that mirror real life. Take noise levels, for example. Silence is disrupted not only by wind turbines powering the city but also by bustling shops and the constant hum of cars on the roads. This is why residents often dislike living at intersections, as the chaos can be overwhelming. Moreover, constructing a new highway adjacent to a residential area might push families to relocate in search of a more peaceful existence. Of course, new ones will come to take their place, but a short time will pass and the population will decrease rather than grow, as will the income.

The district system. That is, you define some area yourself, it is painted over with a marker and becomes a separate district in your city. You can assign different social policies to these districts. For example, you can have reduced taxes for high-rise buildings for the entire city, but in a district with very expensive land, why not raise taxes for high-rise buildings? Since land is bought there. Of course, you can play differently: raise taxes, lower them, or, if there is no fire station built in the district, it is worth introducing a mandatory smoke detector to reduce the likelihood of fires. Or, if there are no communications, you can also regulate all this.

It is clear that for districts with industrial development it makes sense to introduce some policies, some tax rates, some restrictions, and for business districts – others. And so on. This is an important difference from SimCity, an important idea that affects the game. And if you do not go into small details, then this is still the same SimCity, which you can play normally and which is interesting. There are no problems with the Internet connection, no problems with performance. In general, throughout the game you can find only one minus – the road laying is done very strangely. Players are especially annoyed that you can’t immediately lay an intersection. If you are building a road that intersects with another, you can only build it to the intersection, and then continue further. That is, you can’t immediately lay it crosswise. And in general, the road laying is strange not only in this aspect, but in others as well.

In addition, it is not yet possible to make tunnels. You can make bridges (Page Up, yes), but tunnels – that is, underground – are not yet possible. The developers promise this in the next patches. But, in all fairness, these are all minor details. The game is already functional, it has all the functions for an interesting pastime. If you have played city-building simulators, then in City Skylines you will feel like a fish in water.

Cities: Skylines has a really large amount of content that keeps players engaged for many hours. The game introduces us to city policies that allow us to make important decisions. For example, we can decide to recycle waste to promote environmental sustainability or ban pets, sacrificing the happiness of residents for a cleaner environment. What’s interesting is that these rules can be adapted not only for the entire city, but also for specific areas whose boundaries we define ourselves, which allows for a rich community management mechanic. The game also provides natural resources that are ready to be explored and developed. Players can discover unique buildings that attract tourists, adding vibrancy and income to their cities. The transport system is another highlight, showing all the advantages of the developers, as they have created a complex network that players can improve and expand.

Why is City Skylines the best city building simulator today?

Anyway, let’s sum it up. City Skylines is the best city-building simulator out there right now. If you like these types of games, you definitely shouldn’t miss it. And the best part is that it already works without any hacks. Of course, there will be patches, but even now, I repeat, I played for a whole week before the game itself came out – and everything is great. I think I’ll play some more. You see, it even replaced Civa for me!

Colossal Order has undeniably crafted a truly remarkable city-building simulator that stands out in the genre. The city is always in a state of evolution, movement, and transformation, and despite the apparent simplicity of its gameplay, it offers no mercy to its mayor for any blunders or miscalculations. With an abundance of parameters, rules, sliders, and options to choose from, the game never feels tedious or monotonous. This is precisely the main issue that plagues the genre, which the Finnish development team has surprisingly managed to overcome quite effectively. Well, brace yourself, SimCity: it looks like your once-unquestioned throne is now wobbling precariously!

There are some problems with localization, but they lie in the fact that not everything is translated. By the way, the language is switched in the game itself, and not in Steam, as usual. That is, after launching the game, you can choose any language, and it will immediately appear without restarting. The problem with Russian is that in some places not all phrases are translated. But I think this is because the game is considered not released yet.

• Pros: Rich variety of content that can really give you emotions; a living city that is constantly evolving, giving new surprises; complex financial management adds depth and complexity; a smart and fun building upgrade system keeps players engaged; a beautiful small town Twitter function improves community interaction; a thoughtfully designed communication network creates an interesting dynamic; overall, the gameplay remains active without becoming boring.
• Cons: The base version gives you a limited selection of cards, which can feel limiting; also, there is no significant impact on the visual aesthetics of the city, which may disappoint some players looking for personalization.

Cities: Skylines system requirements

As is often the case with developers of these types of games, there is a noticeable lack of utilization of advanced user-created worlds in their performance benchmarks. This results in the system requirements to run Cities: Skylines being comparable to those of a computer that dates back fifteen years. However, if you decide to play the game on such an outdated machine, you will likely encounter significant performance slowdowns after just 15 minutes of gameplay, once you’ve constructed only a few streets and buildings. The “minimum” and “recommended” system requirements for Cities: Skylines are sourced directly from official channels and documentation. Meanwhile, the “high” and “ultra” specifications are compiled from modern hardware components based on extensive testing, as well as the current realities of the game with the latest patch and all available expansions.

How to play Cities: Skylines for free on Steam

Would you like to start playing Cities: Skylines but are hesitant to spend any money? Well, we have some great news for you! You can dive into this exciting world completely free of charge! We are happy to offer you the opportunity to play without any financial commitment through our free Steam account system. It’s very simple: just visit the VpeSports website, create an account and go to the section dedicated to free accounts. There you will find Cities: Skylines and be able to access the review page. Inside you will find the all-important download button, which will give you detailed instructions.

There is a small catch, however – to get an account, you need to leave a nice comment under the review. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult! Just make sure your comment is informative and positive. If your comment initially fails moderation, just edit it a little so that it complies with the rules. Once approved, you will receive your login details directly to your email.

Play for free! All giveaways on Telegram, support works here! This way you will never miss out on new games, useful guides and exciting updates. Yes, not only can you enjoy the game for free, but you can also stay up to date with all the latest news!

If something doesn’t go as planned, don’t worry! We have detailed instructions on our website called “How to Play Cities: Skylines for Free – Step by Step Guide”. Just go ahead, take a look and get ready to enjoy the game without any restrictions!