Summary
October 2023 is packed with new releases. FromAssassin’s Creed Mirageat the beginning of the month toMarvel’s Spider-Man 2andSuper Mario Bros. Wonderreleasing as October nears its end, there will be no shortage of new experiences for gamers to choose from. Included in this very busy month isCities: Skylines 2, a new city-building experience from Paradox Interactive. Following up on the success of the first entry,Cities: Skylines 2looks to expand on the series' formula and give players more options to build the city of their dreams.
TheCities: Skylinesfranchise has emerged as one of the best in the city-building genre. Afterthe pitfalls ofSimCityseveral years ago, Paradox Interactive has swooped in to fill the vacuum. Now the developer is taking everything it learned from the first game and applying it to a full-fledged sequel, after near-constant support forCities: Skylinesin the form of DLC packs and other tinkering. The development team has spent weeks updating eager fans on new features through in-depth video breakdowns, and with only a month until launch, the full picture forCities: Skylines 2is clear.
All the new features confirmed inCities: Skylines 2are as follows:
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New Progression System
InCities: Skylines, players had to grow the population of their city in order to progress and unlock new services, such as alternate power sources and larger fire stations. Now,Cities: Skylines 2relies on an XP system for progression, where players gain XP both passively as their population grows, and actively as they build new structures. There’s also whatC:S2calls ‘Development Trees’, which are essentially skill trees for certain city services. Nowplayers will have the choice to invest Development Pointsinto their desired trees, adding a layer of personalization to the experience.
Climates and Seasons
The weather inCities: Skylineswas standard across each map, regardless of whether it was a coastal area or something more inland.Cities: Skylines 2is overhauling its climate mechanics with weather cycles unique to each map. Some areas will experience heavy rain, others will be rather dry and arid, while some may be regularly blanketed in snow.
Deeper City Services
City services are growing inCities: Skylines 2. Instead of building multiple of the same building, players can now upgrade one building to enhance its utility. There will also be additional services to make city-building more realistic, like the new internet and telecom towers.
Map Changes and Themes
Players will have more options than ever before with maps inCities: Skylines 2. Maps are now five times bigger than they were inCities: Skylinesand map tiles don’t have to be connected. There will also be new themes for certain buildings, with North American and European architectural styles to choose from.
New Zones and Signature Buildings
C:S2’s zoning options are getting more granular as well, with residential zones getting a particularly robust enhancement. Now players can choose between various medium-density housing options when building their population.New signature buildings are also available inCities: Skylines 2to help boost the value of specific zoning areas.
Cities: Skylines 2has the challenge of launching at the tail-end of a very dense month for new releases, but its extensive list of new features should help it stand out.Cities: Skylineshas built up a dedicated fanbase over the years thanks toParadox Interactive’s attention to detail, and the developer appears to be flexing that attention to detail once again with the impending sequel. Luckily patient fans won’t have to wait much longer before they can design the metropolis of their dreams inCities: Skylines 2.
Cities: Skylines 2releases October 24 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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