Cities: Skylines

Unlocking things from a skill tree is a huge improvement. If I want trains early I can focus on unlocking them specifically, instead of having to build a massive city to unlock basic features.

Each episode just gets me more and more excited. I love that the cargo feels real now, and can be stored and managed more directly rather than just leaving it all to the game itself. I also love how most of the main transport types are there from launch.

I like the more realistic approaches to Taxis (with dispatchers as an upgrade) and the railyard + subway yard instead of magically appearing trains. It sounds like cars are the same with reference to people using Taxis if they don't own a car - no more pocket cars?

It also feels like the game has hints for potential regionalised play in the long term future, maybe an exciting DLC down the line? It feels like they're putting in loads of hooks that could be adapted to player created regions from what look like generic neighbours at the moment. The ability to create actual intercity rail lines, and cargo and airplanes feels like place holder for that kind of play which could be very exciting. It also looks like the random generation of cargo and passenger trains form outside connections that could clog up the railway system should be a thing of the past, as you control it.

I can't wait to play CS2!

Gave in and purchased it after seeing the first 3 dev videos. Justified it by telling myself it's a birthday present, even though it doesn't launch until several months after my birthday 😂