A Brutally Honest Review of Cities Skylines II 

I probably won't make Cities videos regularly. But I really wanted to review it! I might review the DLCs in the future.

I think, as a function of the game's mechanics, you can create luxury housing by zoning large low density residential lots far from the city center, providing them with plenty of nearby services & parks/amenity so they upgrade to the maximum level.

THAAAAAAAANKS FOR MAKING CITIES SKYLINES CONTENT! it's really nice to break up a little but of the regular in your channel, you should come up with more other cities skylines videos or the dlc's reviews if you're interested in, i'm sure a lot of your audience would love it too

Im really glad they gave you access to CS2! Love your Sims content too!

5:44 HELP- the way you were looking at me i can't😭😭😭

5:46 BAHHAHAHAHAHSHSHSUHSJSJJAJZJJWJ I AM DEAD THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME SO DEEP I GOT AWKWARD AT THE MOMENT 😭😭😭

I really liked your review, even though I'm a little bit more focused on the nerdier side of the gameplay, I like how the game caters to different kind of players. When you were plopping the buildings and just not caring about the topography it did gave me an itch hahahhaa, and you asking for a world map with more flat land was something I'd never considered bc for me playing with the terrain it's a fundamental aspect of gameplay, but you're right, I think a world map with less hills would be really cool for the casual player. I'm sad that you can't still have low income neighborhoods, I think it's an important aspect to consider for a realistic gameplay, and everytime I tried to make one on C:S they immediately develop unless they have horrible access to services and I want to make a decent place for low income households and for it to stay that way. Also, I'm glad you touched on your possibly biased opinion on the game since it was gifted to you, not a lot of people that got early access acknowledge it and it bugs me when they brush off the unfinished state of the game. I will definitely get it, but I will wait until they patch it. I hope we can see another review of it and its DLCs!

Regarding the slopes on the lots, it would have been nice if once you hit a certain steepness, it would fill in steps with some sort of cut and fill around them. That would have been nice. Same thing for pedestrian paths--if you make a steep angle, it puts in steps.

I love city building games, and I am still one of the SimCity holdouts that still plays to this day. I also have Cities Skylines but honestly, I cannot deal with AWSD keyboard movement. Why? Really why can't we use the mouse. Thanks SOS for your continued honest reviews. You say what we wish we had the guts to say out loud. Thank you.

O satch the moment you said "taking it deep" and looked into your eyes, that self awareness it made me giggle 😂

An excellent honest review. Thanks for a real personal insight into how you found this game. I will probably still purchase as I love the first game and have confidence that the issues will be ironed out with regular updates, sooner rather than later. I think your comments on everything will temper expectation with hope that the game is still fun to play. Great work.

Amazing to see that you play Cities, I'm new to Sims this year, played just Cities for years (console).

Thanks for this review - super helpful! I'm hopeful that Paradox will develop it and fix issues. Good example of this is Frontier, as they've been so consistent with Planet Zoo (especially with free updates and additional features). Similar to this would be ideal

I’m happy you’re making cities skylines content now! (And it seems like you took your silly humour with you) 🎉

I'm very excited about the game but the comments about performance issues make me think I’ll wait for a few patches and just buy it on sale.

“ I’m not much of a city building nerd, I just like building pretty cities”

I feel it will be fine. Crusader Kings 4 and Victoria 3 both launched with horrible lag and frequent crashes. Both were fine a month later. Life By You will probably be laggy the first month after EA starts - but it will be fine a month after that. It's just how Paradox games seem to launch.

They don’t allow modders to mod this game

Great review, very thorough. I feel that this serves as a recommendation to temper expectations, rather than avoid purchasing - at least for the many many fans of CS1. That's certainly the effect it has had on me :)

I appreciate your honesty. The goofy humor humanizes you. Subscribed and rung your bell. hehe

I loved this video! Motivated me to start up the first Cities again since the 2nd one doesn't seem too polished haha. But with my potato pc that already struggles with the first game the sequel would be impossible to run anyway... I hope that they can fix the performance issues... Would love to see a Hong Kong or Singapore inspired type of city, either via dlc or mods. I was never able to use mods to change the building styles in cities 1 so if they managed to optimize it better in 2 I'd definitely switch after getting a better rig.

I didn't expect you to release a CS2 review, after watching a few ones and knowing my pc I can't in good conscience keep my purchase, I'm just tired of half baked games being released because some tired ass showgirl had a deadline for sales

I would like luxury residential options too. Luxury skyscrapers is a thing, but every time I build a skyscraper the residents just complain that their house size is too small. Luxury residences with lower capacity but higher tax income would be great.

I’m an electrical engineer so you have no idea how excited I am to see there are transformers 😆 great review, thank you!

I’m Glad they gave you a Copy of CS2✨made feel good about my purchase 😊

I'm soooo gutted about the poor optimization, I've really been anticipating this game. Gonna get it on release day anyway and see how it goes. If I find it too bad I'll just upgrade my PC, it's been a while to be fair.

Congrats on the sponsored game Satch!!!

Thanks - I'm hoping for custom assets and maps being available soon.

I love this,cant wait to play this game

I will definitely be buying, but I may wait until they have some fun mods and packs out

I'm really hyped for this game for a while now. However, the past few days I've been disappointed with how they handled performance issues mainly and modding. I probably will just wait a few months before getting it. My laptop will thank me 😂

cities skyline doesn't work for me wen I try open it it says theres been a java script error does anyone know what that means?

My brutally honest comment, appreciate the review and glad they didnt waste any time on scenarios. However I do agree that a simple scenario used as a tutorial can be a good way to go for new players.

I think I might have started playing CS because of SoS! I find CS 1 a bit too tricky. I’m hoping CS 2 will be a bit more playable.

Most important thing I want fixed in these types of sims is services. It gets tiresome having to build a new school even when you have enough capacity because the current school isn't 5 yards away from their house.

Can you share you system specs? This will help me understand where my system stands better. Thanks!

I'm hoping for an unlimited money option because just like you I'm not all that into city management, nor keeping score, I'm just into building and seeing beautiful cities.

is it worth downloading the game?

The minimum hardware requirements got me 😢

Don't let these developers fool you with the now classic Tom Howard trick of making you believe its a fault of your hardware and not the unfinished (poorly optimized) game.

Just do some terra forming before placing. I always do this in in SimCity 4 before I build anything...

1:35 haha I'm the opposite, I want to make neighbourhoods full of crack dens etc

Thanks for this video 😊 you’re cool :) I’m about to buy a PC gaming for under $800. If you’ve got a recommendation please let me know. Thanks!

Whoa, he plays cities too!

Not me thinking when he said transformer he meant the movies transformers. 😂 i feel so dumb at times lol.

Wait… is it released? Now we are even getting sneak preview reviews on games as well…

Have you dyed your hair? They look different in a very good way.

I think they delayed the release on Xbox until next year

the water & animals look like wet plastic, and every building looks on fire after dark ;-)

5:43 - I never had a celebrity crush... until now...😏

Wish they would've updates skylines 2 feel of the game. The building mechanics are the exact same. You have to build against a road. They changed a few things with skylines 2, but this could've just been a dlc.. Not much has changed really it's the same game just a few add-ons really lol

Thank you for this video and being HONEST about it. I have been a city builder gamer for decades and loved CS1 - but this video It actually reinforces many of my reservations, from the minor to weird graphic blandness and water texture scaling, to major, such as not having bikes & associated infrastrucutre (which too me, does NOT make the game complete and DOES feel cash grabby), not having any tropical or desert environments, and no ability to start cities from rail stations or on islands with ferries/harbors. I can't create cities of my dreams if I'm bounded to road infrastructure first and foremost. So Idk how you feel it's a complete base game when in addition to not even having biking infrastrucutre and no tropical/desert environments, there's only what appears to be the most Caucasian type of North American and European architecture - the same amount of themes as CS1. Why not double it 4 and feature more BIPOC themes in base game, like for example, and East Asian and Hispanic/Mediterrnean themes? Huge demerits from me and I'm not gonna buy the game until it's optimized and more inclusive.

KSP2 all over again

I love Cities 1. I have so many mods and DLC. I think I'll wait until there's some mods and the bugs are worked out.

Yessss to the Cities Skylines content!!!!!!! 😍

This game is over complicated but at the same time bare minimum if you can make that makes sense. It’s over complicated in certain areas where I don’t think your average player really cares and then underwhelming or straight up missing things that we should have like

1:11 bottom "Dig Bickville"

Paradox, I hope you guys don't forget to hook Satch up with some Life by You keys.

I love the city's name lmao

yeah can't wait for bulldozer simulator and horrendously deformed houses.. Like Todd said you need to upgrade your pc for at leased 3080

I see you Mr. Bronzed King

I'll wait one or two years before I play it, even if I'm a big fan of the genre. It's just too unpolished and I think the graphics are really glitchy and a lot of buildings are too american and the props around them are just so ugly by design. And let's not talk about the poor performance. They've built up so much hype around the game and now they don't deliver. They need competition.

You can make gated communities, just make a district and add the "gated community" policy.

To be honest all the dlc of one should have been in the game.

Mr. Satch, CS1 has an undo mod that is free to download. I bring up free for a reason. I am told that CS1 has 450,000-500,000 free mods and assets. CS2 has announced that they are doing away with user mods and assets. One of the lame reasons they give is that someone might upload a copy written asset. Take the Hollywood sign for example. That was always the case with CS1. Someone may upload a d!c pic as well, but that should not stop the other 99.9 percent of good mods and assets. You are saying to yourself right now, well Geno why are they doing this?? CS1 is a very successful model. It’s the same reason Taylor Swift took over ticket sales for her concerts!! It’s a money grab. CS2 will, mark my word charge for mods. They will call them “Creator Paks” or “Road Tools DLC” I for one have already cancelled my $96.00 deluxe edition pre-sale just because of that reason. when companies had integrity they would release an “Update” to make the game better. Not this time around. You want an undo button? It’s in the “Deluxe Editors Pak” $9.99 Do you want better FPS? You will find that in our “Director’s Cut Pak” $12.99. Tired of Sims having Yoga Orgies on the sidewalk in front of the SniffinButt Coffee Shop? Just pick up the “No-After Dark Before 9pm Pak” $7.99. So, Mr. Satch I am out on CS2 until they optimize the game so I do not have to purchase my machine from NASA and they trust the customers that made CS1 such a great game to play.

While bigger can be better, i find most of the people complaining have PC envy 🤭

Can't realy judge this game tbh Course i m more into sims then city building Good game maybe

Honesty isn't brutal lies are what's brutal.

Its interesting to see praising RU-vid videos and exited tubers over this game, whilst Steam players complain over non-existing economy (!!!!), purely visual not simulated sims, kids not commuting to schools, free import of everything, XP based on placements instead of population, stupid traffic AI - u turns on highways etc. There is a massive marketing behing this game and that makes me wonder - especially when Steam Workshop is not supported - that tells you a lot. Are those videos paid? Or are the gamers wrong?

How the heck does somebody not know what a transformer is or does? Talk about oblivious to the world around them.

Couple more days before I can try it, but I'm kinda bummed about no bikes. I'm enjoying watching everyone's take but I'm excited to try and and see if my computer will handle it. Knowing paradox this will be upgraded and be a continual project so I'm ok with working with it as is for now. There is a special dlc/map with it for those who preordered.

I would love to see you being expelled of the city as mayor playing frost punk with those insuferble citizens

Satch why are you bronze? :D

i'm sold. I love playing god. WOw.

0:14 HELP

Yet another reminder to everyone to never preorder games. No matter the hype or how much you love the brand/ip, hesitate and do not preorder any games. If we as a community stop paying for half baked games and only gave our dollar for finished quality games, we would see a change in the industry. The reason why we have seen nothing but early access and unfinished garbage over the past 10 years is because everyone jumps to preorder they also jump to buy their bs premium editions. Its robbery and until people vote and take a stand with their dollar it will only continue to get worse.

I dont think he is bothered about this...

Lol is it nerdy to know what a transformer is, or is it quite basic general knowledge?

I would like to hear from developers if they are even able to get good optimalization like 2,3 times better than now. If it is even possible to do in this engine, if they say yes I have no problem to buy this game and know that eventualy the fps will be 2 times better and more stable.

As soon as you told me they gifted you the game and it's an AD warning in the description, your review ceased to be valuable.

I don't want cartoony

This guy isn't a real city skyline player.. Needs more celebrity mountains 😂😂😂

do i play or have any intention of playing city skylines? no. do I just want to hear Satch chat shit? yes

so you like messing around with tools oh matron ...... 🤣

WTF

cartoony graphics???? no thank you. Its 2023, one can demand a performance optimized game without ugly cartoon graphics! 😐

lucky i want to try it before i spend 50 bucks on it

I need my bi butt to calm down at how cute satch is looking today 😳

All software is buggy when its first released. Let's be patient.

And another review that doesn't mention anything about traffic... what is going on with that? Is traffic just not at all a concern? I am not exaggerating when I say that around 80% of my playtime of CS1 was spent monitoring traffic flows, adjusting my road network, fixing congestion, and expanding public transport. Traffic is the MAIN GAMEPLAY MECHANIC of the first game. It is what you spend the most time working on. But nobody reviewing CS2 mentions traffic congestion AT ALL. What in the world is this game? This doesn't seem like a Cities Skylines game.

Fake paid Review, nothing honest here.

you need to upgrade your PC bro