Over the weekend during the Xbox Games Showcase, we got more information about Cities: Skylines II, including an official release date, pricing, and also a preview of some features we can expect to see in-game. Most notably, there’s been a complete overhaul of several key game aspects including refreshed road-building mechanics (native grid construction, anyone?), new zoning abilities, and much more. Cities: Skylines II launches October 24 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. I’m excited about this launch, so head below as I unpack everything we know about the upcoming Cities: Skylines II in out trailer deep dive below.
New Cities: Skylines II trailer looks to bring some mods and expansions into the base game
Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order are partnering yet again in the city-builder genre with Cities: Skylines II. We’ve been following the game throughout this year but now it’s finally here – the official release date and some features. Cities: Skylines II continues what players know and love from the iconic franchise, but with updates that the community has been asking for.
Let’s start out with road building. From the trailer that was released over the weekend, we can see that road building has been completely overhauled. Now, there’s five options when it comes to constructing a road, when we’re used to just three. You’ll still get the straight, curved, and freeform road tool, but now a new freeform tool is in the list, as well as grid. Yes, you read that right, you can now straight up construct a full grid in one click. This will make building out your starting city or new neighborhoods a breeze. There’s also been updated mechanics for building bridges, joining roads, and more.
Another pretty notable upgrade that we saw in the Cities: Skylines II trailer was when two dollar twenty (the Cities: Skylines content creator who made the video for Paradox) drug a road through another road. Typically, this isn’t possible in the original Cities: Skylines game, as you have to click on each road as you build. However, in Cities: Skylines II, you’ll be able to just drag through a road and have the intersection automatically built for you.
Roads aren’t the only thing getting updated, though, as now zoning will be even more intricate. The RCI meter that we’ve come to know and love in Cities: Skylines has been overhauled in Cities: Skylines II. There are now what looks to be six meters in the trailer. Two look like residential, one being low-density and the other high-density, then possibly two for commercial (as the same), and then another two for office (replacing industry?) but only time will tell what all they actually stand for.
We’re also going to get deeper simulation and better AI in Cities: Skylines II. The choices you make in the game will have “ripple effects across the city” so you’ll have to think before acting on a number of things. One of those things is traffic, which is also being overhauled in Cities: Skylines II. Now, instead of just seeing traffic flow, you’ll also see traffic volume. Sometimes, you might have an intersection that flows well but just has a high volume of cars show up red, which could impact your overall traffic view in the game. Now, you’ll see volume and flow separate, as well as a break out over time to see if there’s certain times of the day where traffic is heavier. This will be interesting to see play out. Is there a 5 o’clock traffic rush as people get out of work? What about 7 o’clock morning commute traffic? Does adding public transportation cut down on rush hour? This will be interesting to see play out in game.
With all that out of the way, let’s take a little deeper dive into the other aspects of Cities: Skylines II that will be different from the original title. You’ll start by picking a map, which is normal, but now the maps have their own environment, challenges, climate, and opportunity. Then, you’ll have to work to build out the city, which can now be larger than ever before. You’ll have an “unprecedented level of freedom” to “manage your population and city with each choice having a meaningful impact on your citizens” according to the CEO of Colossal Order. More on the intricasies of the game will come out over the next few weeks in a series of deep dive videos from Colossal Order, and you can bet that we’ll keep you up-to-date on everything Cities: Skylines II as it comes out.
You can pre-order Cities: Skylines II on all platforms for $49.99, though the Ultimate Edition comes with several expansions, a San Francisco set, and more for $89.99.
9to5Toys’ Take
I’m excited for Cities: Skylines II. As someone who recently got into the original Cities: Skylines, and already has nearly 26 hours logged at the time of writing, the incoming sequel seems even more fun to me. I’ve had a blast learning the ins and outs of Cities: Skylines, but Cities: Skylines II updates so many things that I’ve wanted to experience in the original game. Building grids will be easier, traffic will be simpler to understand, and the zoning looks to be both easier and slightly more challenging.
I can’t wait to learn more about the game and give it a try when it releases on October 24, later this year.
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