There was a time when just the mention of the phrase ‘city building game’ would evoke fond memories of Sim City and, to some extent, Tropico. Both of these incredibly successful IP’s have made the transition from PC to console and, in doing so, have introduced a new generation of gamers to what is probably one of our favourite genres bar none.
But with the introduction of Cities: Skylines on the Xbox One it seems there’s a new kid on the block and the race for the number one spot in the city building genre just got a whole lot more interesting.
Developed by Australia-based Tantalus Media ( those of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Sonic Mania fame ) Cities: Skylines has been ported over from the PC where it garnered much critical acclaim and a passionate following among fans worldwide. The games latest outing on to the Xbox One is probably one of the finest examples of a city building game we’ve ever played.
Targeted at gamers prepared to think their way out of problems, as opposed to simply blasting their way through a level, Cities: Skylines takes almost every aspect of Sim City and does it better.
Like most games of this type gamers start Cities: Skylines by learning the ropes. You get to build roads, power stations and your basic structures. As your confidence grows the game unlocks new facilities, many of which have to be earned by meeting certain criteria. For example, you get to build a magnificent cathedral only after you’ve got 2000 abandoned buildings in your city. Excellent.
As your population grows you’ll find yourself juggling the need to encourage sustainable commercial growth with the need to keep your population happy. Tax them too much and your citizens will become disgruntled and leave. Tax them too little and your coffers shrink and your city quickly stagnates and slides into recession. But the better you get at handling these conflicting and often contradictory demands, the more Cities: Skylines rewards you. Once we’d built two airports we finally unlocked the ability to construct a London Eye. A priceless moment that had us rubbing our hands and grinning like a randy uncle at a family wedding.
Tantalus Media has also catered for gamers who simply want the freedom to explore and build without the annoying need to make filthy lucre. Should you so desire, you can choose to have unlimited money and all of the games facilities unlocked from the get go, which means the world of Cities: Skylines will be immediately laid before you. A tempting proposition but one we’d recommend you avoid if you want to experience the real thrill of building and growing your own city from the ground up.
Graphically Cities: Skylines is nothing short of a visual treat. Take a look at the screenshot accompanying this review and you’ll see what we mean. Tantalus Media has taken full advantage of the monster processing power of the Xbox One to produce one of the best looking city building games we’ve ever seen. A few years ago to get a game to look this good, you’d need a ninja PC powerful enough to run an airport.
For anyone prepared to take on the task of building and running a modern city, Cities: Skylines will easily soak up hundreds of hours of your life. We’ve been playing the game for just two weeks and we’ve only managed to scratch the surface. The only minor gripe we had was the odd absence of a time control facility. As you build your city you’ll spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen. Similar city building games offer the useful option to speed up time so you can more time building and less time watching the clock. Hopefully this feature will make its way to a list of future updates.
This minor niggle aside Cities: Skylines is a fantastic offering for anyone familiar with city building games. For newbies curious about the genre, then there can be no better introduction. We loved every minute spent playing this game and you will too. Go buy.
9 out of 10