Recent reviews by ¡π

I love Cities: Skylines 1 and I admittedly do find myself enjoying Cities: Skylines II too. However some things must be said about the state of the game. As of December, over a month since the release, the game is still plagued with bugs as well as unpolished gameplay mechanics and unoptimised graphics. Fixes and developers communications come frequently and consistently every week however they're not very significant. The game was released when it wasn't ready as much as the developers hate to admit it. The game is in fact still in its early access beta stage at best. Until the game improves, this will be my main reason to not purchase the game at this current stage of time. It is simply not a game ready to be released.

Furthermore, from what we're seeing in the game and of its near future, C:S 2 is a major step down from the first game in terms of depth and quality that they provide. Lots of content and mechanics were cut from the first game, with no certainties whether they'll be reintroduced to the second game. If this is a part of PDX and CO's plan to intentionally cut content to later sell as potential DLCs, I'm sure the community will not be too pleased about it.

Finally, modding. We haven't seen what PDX modding workshop will be like, but what the first game did right was using the existing Steam workshop to publish and install mods on. Steam workshop is very user friendly and accessible, with reviews and comments that can keep users frequently updated on. Will PDX mods offer the same quality of life that Steam workshop offers? We shall see. I am not confident it will be any better than the proven Steam workshop though.

Tl;dr, don't buy this unfinished game, with its uncertain future state. Only buy it if you are very patient and willing to play through bugs and unfurnished mechanics as the patches and fixes come slowly every week.

yes

yes 👍

love this game, love the characters, love the visual and sound design, love the stages and the stories they tell. doubly fine game 👍

yes

yes

Updated review:
CA has abandoned the game, leaving it in shambles. An incomplete game with bugs left unfixed. Titled "Three Kingdoms" but without any of it in the game.

Aside from that, below is my previous positive review. I will still recommend this game on discount because it still plays differently from other TW in the series. There has been some updates, they were quite good too. Only problem is the bugs they introduced, and the lack of support to the game.

-----------------------

best total war game in the series. better diplomacy system, simple yet effective family trees, great design and amazing attention to details.

the new spy system has more depth yet is lacking at the same time. while you can do a lot with your agent like affecting trades, relationships and if it doesn't work out, steal and bail. However you won't find yourself using it often or effectively enough to make spying a significant part of your different gameplays

population size is back for settlements. you now need to watch your reserves for your army. food is not limited to any settlement only. food trading, ancillary trading, city trading are all available. the events add a layer of randomness to the campaign. coalitions and vassals are much more easily managed.

Wololo. Where is my mother? You sit on the computer all day playing! You know nothing of hard life! Wololo. Where is my mother? Where is my mother?
伐木工. 遵命. 猎人。
Olá. Preparado. Eu vou.
Ready. Laiyon!
Ja. Ik doe het. Klaar. Okee.
Woof. Woof. Woof.
Votre ordre? Très bien.
Highly recommended just for the very memorable and laughable quotes and taunts. I am a qualified multilinguist after playing the game.

very good.
poorly optimised.
but very good.

For a free game developed and published by just one man, it's very well done and has exceeded my personal expectation of this indie game. The game is single-player only. It explores different star systems, different playstyle, and has a dynamic narrative for the player to choose.

You can choose to role-play or simply sandbox it. Be a pirate or an escort. A cargo transporter or a passenger ship. Do missions, earn money to upgrade your ships and expand your fleet. Each planet has its own story, and there are many missions available. The game may get quite repetitive travelling back and forth, but that's when you stay in a location to hunt pirates. There is no shortcut, no pay to win or downloadable content. The game is entirely free and will likely to keep updating for free.

To sum up this game, this is a:
Single player
Free to play
Open world
Adventure
Action
Strategy
Role-playing
Sandbox
Simulator
Economy
Indie game.

The game is free and there's no reason to not try it. You either dislike it and uninstall, or stay hooked and keep killing pirates.