While I really enjoy the modern take on city building, Cities: Skylines 2 falls short in several areas I hoped would be improved from CS:1. Although some features have been enhanced, many aspects feel very similar to the previous installment. Below are my thoughts, the good, the bad and the ugly!

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth playing at the moment: Yes and No. If you’re looking for a modern city builder and don’t mind some rough edges, then yes, it’s worth trying. However, if you prefer a more polished experience and want to wait until the issues are resolved, then it’s best to hold off.

• Engaging Sim Life: Just like in Cities 1, watching your sims go about their daily lives is a pleasure. The new feature allowing you to track a sim throughout its lifespan is a welcome addition.
  
• Improved Road System: The revamped road-building tool, including slip lanes for highways and dedicated turning lanes, is a significant improvement. While these features could have been added via mods in Cities 1, it’s great to see them included in the base game.
  
• Enhanced City Services: Power, water, and sewage now travel underground, eliminating the spaghetti-like pipes of the previous game. Additionally, there are more city service buildings available, offering varied services to your sims.
  
• Expandable Buildings: Many buildings now come with extra modules to increase their capacity. For instance, schools can be expanded with additional buildings, which reduces the need for numerous schools and service buildings as seen in Cities 1.
  
• Mixed-Use Zoning: This feature, which I wished for in Cities 1, is now officially supported in Cities 2.

• Stagnant Gameplay: The game doesn’t evolve with city size. Managing a small city feels identical to managing a large one, unlike other city builders that offer varied and evolving gameplay.
  
• Lack of Challenges: There are no significant constraints or meaningful decisions. Problems are typically solved by simply "building more," making the gameplay feel repetitive and flat.
  
• Limited Improvement: Although certain features, like highways, have seen improvements, fundamental issues with the grid layout and overall gameplay remain. These issues appear too deeply embedded to be resolved without a major overhaul in a future installment.

• Modding Platform Shift: Moving from the Steam Workshop to a third-party 'Paradox Mods' platform is a poor decision. Despite some solid features, this change detracts from the ease of modding that the first game provided.
  
• Poor Aesthetics: The grid-based design and focus on American urban sprawl lead to bland, unattractive cities. Specialized industry zones and modern industry representations are particularly weak, resulting in uninspired city layouts unless you sacrifice density.
  
• Bugs: The game still has several significant bugs, even after recent patches. For example, homeless people may remain indefinitely in your parks, which detracts from their intended use and overall enjoyment. Although the developers are aware of this issue, the lack of progress in addressing it is concerning.

I wish Steam offered a middle-ground review option, rather than just "Good" or "Bad." While I enjoy the game, it remains quite rough around the edges. If you can tolerate some bugs and occasional issues, it might be worth trying. However, for most players, waiting 6 months+ is probably the best option. Although I believe the game will have a long lifespan, I’m concerned that its poor initial reception might impact its future.