Cities Skylines II - Build the city of your dreams

Cities Skylines II: a game for everyone

Let’s begin by reminding you that the new Cities Skylines II will be available for the major modern gaming platforms: Windows (both via Microsoft Store and Steam), Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. The game’s retail price will be €49.99 for the Standard Edition and €89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. You could buy it directly here at Gamecardsdirect, the one-stop gift card shop, or you could buy credits for Steam, Xbox or PlayStation. In any case,  you will have the advantage of a friendly and very safe environment, offering plenty of payment options for your convenience.

A new Cities Skylines built on an old foundation

When you make a game about something as complex and detailed as building and running a whole city, it’s easy for things to go bad and ruin the experience. The original Cities Skylines managed to strike a good balance among all the different gameplay components, receiving great praise from the players. While some areas could be improved, the game managed to do almost everything egregiously. Its sequel, Cities Skylines II, has ambitious plans of topping its predecessor in every single aspect, and while the release date is still a little time away what has been shown so far seems to corroborate the claims. Cities Skylines II already seems a great game, ready to deliver impressive features and attention to detail when it releases on October 24th.

An eye on what’s new in Cities Skylines 2

All aspects of the game have been improved and made better and easier to use. The developers list many general areas of improvement, these are just a few of them:

• Better road tools: laying down roads and intersections has never been easier. You can now even design parallel roads, which is very useful for multi-lane highways, and easily add entrance/exit ramps.
• Improved Traffic AI: the traffic AI has been rewritten to provide better navigation, considering many variables such as road length and traffic conditions in its pathfinding.
• New cinematic camera: Players can now adjust practically every possible setting in order to take the perfect shot, up to selecting the time of day, the weather and the Cinematic Camera speed (for videos)
• Sound and Music: proper sound placement works wonders when it comes to game immersion. In Cities Skylines II every place has its own distinctive sound loop, which plays dynamically according to the time of day, the weather, the camera position and other factors.

The biggest game-changer

As nice as the above features are, the one that we believe will most impact your gameplay experience is the introduction of climate and seasons. Unlike its predecessor, Cities Skylines II lets players select which kind of climate they wish to build their city in. A place built in a northern climate will have lower temperatures, shorter days and likely plenty of snow in the winter. Yes, because now as time passes the seasons change, temperature and daylight times vary accordingly, and this has a huge effect on the quality of life of your citizens. Speaking of which, players are well advised to take good care of them, since it’s ultimately its inhabitants that make a city prosper. Players will have to keep them healthy and happy, providing all sorts of services where requested, and swift relief in case disaster happens. Didn’t we tell you that Cities Skylines II now has disasters, too? Your city can be struck by a hail storm or a tornado, for example. Forest fires are an issue, too… better be prepared!

About the different versions of Cities Skylines II

As usual with many games nowadays, Cities Skylines II will have an Ultimate version too. Players who opt for the Ultimate will instantly unlock the San Francisco set when the game is released on October 24th, and will receive the following content in yet-to-be-announced dates:

• Q4 2023: the Beach Properties asset pack and the Deluxe Relax Station radio channel
• Q1 2024: the Urban Promenades and Modern Architecture asset packs, plus the Soft Rock Radio channel
• Q2 2024: the Bridges and Ports expansion, and the Cold Wave Channel

Players who preorder either version of Cities Skylines II will receive 9 landmark buildings and the Tampere Map (Tampere being the place where the game developer is located).