Cities Skylines II Gameplay Trailer Revealed

On Xbox’s Showcase stream, one of the reveals was the official gameplay trailer for Cities Skylines II which is one of the few games I’ve taken an interest in so I’m going to take the opportunity to have a look and break it down.

Cities Skylines II GamePlay Trailer

The first shot of the trailer shows us a motorway junction which was an area that the first game struggled with, especially concerning the ramps requiring mods to make them look reasonable. In the trailer, we can see that Cities II has improved upon this with the on and off-ramps connecting to the roads a bit more cleanly and even including more room for cars to merge rather than instantly going into the lane.

Better Buildings

In the next shot, we are shown the progression of buildings which upgrade from small homes into larger apartment blocks which all look a lot more realistic than the first game showing that Paradox listens to the community who wanted something more realistic. In the background of the shot we can see the skyline of the central financial district with large tower blocks which look a lot more weighty and taller than the ones in the first game which is a great improvement.

DLC Content From The First Game Will Be Included

The next two shots show more views of the city streets with the improved buildings as well as road infrastructure with mini roundabouts that blend well with the road. In these same shots, we see both trains and trams which reassure me that they will be in the base game as well as the other DLC content from the first game which honestly got out of hand and almost rivals the Sims. In the background, I can also see what looks to be a University building which is confirmed in a later shot with the university features of the Campus DLC. Later shots also show the advanced industries DLC systems which greatly overhauled the boring base game industries system.

Improved Road Tools

We are given some gameplay shots with the menus in view specifically showing the road-laying tools which have been overhauled considerably. The trailer shows wider options to bulk build roads specifically in grids making the system a lot quicker. Going back to the seamless mini-roundabouts, the trailer shows them as an alternative option for junctions which looks to be a toggleable switch between normal junctions and mini-roundabouts which will be great for those that like the traffic management aspect of the game.

Modular Power Plants

Power plants in the first game were a bit dull and very small leading to several mods to create fully modular power plants. It seems once again paradox has listened and shown off a Coal Power plant which is actually massive like real-life power plants plus looks to be modular with upgrade options shown in the UI.

Seasons

If you were one of the people who thought the Snowfall DLC was a bit naff only being able to build on specific snow maps then your cries have been answered with the introduction of seasons. The final shot of the trailer shows off the seasons cycling through to Winter with snow around the city which is nice for that extra details and possibly could have an effect on various in-game mechanics such as traffic. I imagine seasons could be disable if you preferred and they may be adjusted based on what type of climate you choose like in the first game with the options of tropical, temperate and boreal.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I have high hopes for the game as it looks great so far and has improved upon many of the aspects I disliked in the original game but with the state of gaming currently I don’t want to get my hopes up too much and won’t be buying straight away. Luckily the game is going to be available on game pass which should give me enough of an opportunity to try it out before deciding.

You can watch the trailer yourself below and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments.