Cities Skylines 2 launched on October 24, 2023 with sky-high expectations and immediately crashed into the ground. Performance was terrible, features were missing, simulation systems didn’t work right, and players were furious. Now, two years later, YouTuber Clint Basinger of Lazy Game Reviews has taken a fresh look at the troubled city builder to see if Colossal Order managed to fix what went wrong. Spoiler alert: they mostly haven’t.
The Long-Awaited First Expansion
LGR’s November 7, 2025 video focuses on the Bridges and Ports expansion, which finally launched on October 29 after being delayed twice. This DLC was originally supposed to arrive in mid-2024, about six months after the February 2024 Beach Properties asset pack. But Beach Properties was such a disaster that Paradox Interactive apologized, gave it away for free, and delayed Bridges and Ports to Q2 2025 so they could fix the base game first.
Then they delayed it again to Q4 2025 after their early access testing group told them the content wasn’t polished enough. The extra time supposedly went into adding depth and refinement based on feedback. After nearly two years of waiting, players who bought the Ultimate Edition expecting regular DLC drops finally got their first proper expansion. The question LGR set out to answer was simple. Is it worth the asking price, and has the base game improved enough to justify returning?
What Bridges and Ports Actually Adds
The expansion includes 20 new bridges split between movable types like drawbridges and lift bridges, plus static designs for both road and rail. The movable bridges open to let ships through, complete with animations showing the process. Players also get customizable modular ports where you can build cargo facilities piece by piece, a new ferry transport system for passenger boats, expanded maritime industries including fishing and offshore oil rigs, and three new maps designed around coastal gameplay.
On paper, this sounds substantial. In practice, LGR found the content underwhelming for the price point. The bridges look nice and function properly, which is more than could be said for some Cities Skylines 2 features at launch. The modular ports offer flexibility in design, letting you create harbors that fit your city’s specific needs rather than plopping down pre-made structures. But the overall package feels thin compared to what Cities Skylines 1 expansions delivered, especially considering how long players waited for it.
The Base Game Two Years Later
Beyond the DLC evaluation, LGR spent considerable time examining whether Cities Skylines 2’s fundamental problems have been addressed through patches and updates. The answer is mixed at best. Performance has improved compared to the catastrophic launch state, but it’s still nowhere near acceptable. Players with high-end gaming PCs struggle to maintain smooth framerates in medium-sized cities, and larger metropolises become slideshows regardless of hardware.
Traffic simulation, one of the core pillars of any city builder, remains buggy and illogical. Cars make strange decisions, public transit doesn’t flow naturally, and building efficient transportation networks requires fighting against broken AI rather than working with intelligent systems. The homeless population mechanics that were supposed to add realism mostly just add frustration, with citizens refusing to move into available housing for no apparent reason. Multiple patches have tried fixing this, but the underlying issues persist.
Missing features continue to haunt the game. Bicycle lanes, a staple of modern urban planning and a heavily requested feature, still aren’t in the game two years after launch. The promised asset editor that would let players create custom buildings and objects remains in development with no firm release date. Console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X that were supposed to launch alongside the PC version in October 2023 have been delayed indefinitely, with Colossal Order admitting they can’t get the game running acceptably on that hardware.
The Regional Packs Bright Spot
Not everything has been terrible. Colossal Order deserves credit for releasing several free regional content packs throughout 2025. These themed asset collections based on different architectural styles from around the world have been well-received. They add visual variety to cities without costing extra money, and they actually work properly unlike some of the paid content.
The detailers patch in early 2025 also brought quality of life improvements for players who enjoy spending hours perfecting small sections of their cities. New placement tools, better asset variety, and improved terraforming options have made the creative side of city building more satisfying. For players who prioritize aesthetics over simulation depth, these updates represent genuine progress. But they don’t address the core problems that keep Cities Skylines 2 from being what it should have been at launch.
Cities Skylines 1 Versus Cities Skylines 2
The most damning evidence of Cities Skylines 2’s failure comes from player count data. According to SteamDB, the original Cities Skylines from 2015 regularly has equal or higher concurrent player numbers than its sequel. A ten-year-old game with dated graphics and outdated systems continues outperforming the brand new version because it actually works and has a decade of content, mods, and polish behind it.
Cities Skylines 1 accumulated 14 expansion packs over its lifetime, each adding meaningful gameplay systems and substantial content. The modding community created thousands of custom assets, buildings, and total conversion mods that transformed the game into whatever players wanted. Even without mods, the vanilla experience offered deep simulation and smooth performance. Cities Skylines 2 can’t compete with any of that, and it won’t be able to for years at the rate Colossal Order is going.
LGR’s Verdict
Lazy Game Reviews didn’t pull punches in his assessment. While acknowledging some improvements and praising the free regional packs, LGR concluded that Cities Skylines 2 two years after launch is still not the game it should have been on day one. The Bridges and Ports expansion adds content that’s nice to have but not essential, and certainly not worth the premium price given how thin it is compared to Cities Skylines 1 expansions.
More importantly, the base game remains plagued by performance issues, simulation bugs, and missing features that were standard in the original. LGR’s recommendation was clear. If you already own Cities Skylines 2 and have been waiting for it to get better, check out the free updates but maybe skip the paid expansion unless you’re desperate for those specific features. If you don’t own the game yet, just play Cities Skylines 1 instead. It’s cheaper, runs better, has way more content, and is simply a superior experience in almost every measurable way.
The Brutal Steam Reviews
LGR’s assessment aligns with the broader community sentiment reflected in Steam reviews. Cities Skylines 2 sits at a mixed rating with only about 55 percent positive reviews overall. Recent reviews paint an even grimmer picture as patience runs out. Players who gave Colossal Order the benefit of the doubt at launch are now two years deep into waiting for the game to become what was promised, and they’re running out of goodwill.
Common complaints focus on the performance problems that persist despite numerous optimization patches. Even players with RTX 4090 graphics cards and top-tier processors report choppy framerates and stuttering. The game’s simulation feels shallow compared to the original, with citizens and businesses making nonsensical decisions. The lack of modding support due to the missing asset editor has strangled the creative community that made Cities Skylines 1 thrive for a decade.
What Went Wrong
Industry observers point to several factors that contributed to Cities Skylines 2’s troubled development. Colossal Order is a relatively small studio that was tasked with creating a massive sequel while also supporting the original game’s console versions and maintaining Cities Skylines 1 on PC. They were stretched too thin, trying to do too much with limited resources.
Publisher Paradox Interactive shares blame for pushing the game out in October 2023 when it clearly wasn’t ready. Financial pressures and shareholder expectations likely drove the decision to launch despite obvious problems. The disastrous reception hurt both companies financially and reputationally, proving that rushing releases costs more in the long run than delaying for proper polish.
The technology choices also caused issues. Cities Skylines 2 runs on an updated engine that’s supposed to handle larger cities and more complex simulations, but it hasn’t lived up to that promise. Optimization has been a nightmare, suggesting fundamental architectural problems rather than simple bugs that can be patched. Fixing these deep issues requires more time and expertise than Colossal Order appears to have available.
FAQs
Who is LGR and why does their opinion matter?
Clint Basinger runs the Lazy Game Reviews YouTube channel, one of the most respected voices in retro and simulation gaming. His thorough, honest reviews have built trust with over a million subscribers, making his critiques particularly influential in the PC gaming community.
When did Cities Skylines 2 launch?
Cities Skylines 2 released on October 24, 2023 for PC only. Console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been delayed indefinitely due to performance issues, with no release date currently set.
Is Cities Skylines 2 worth buying now in November 2025?
According to LGR and most reviewers, no. The game still has significant performance problems, missing features, and simulation bugs two years after launch. Cities Skylines 1 offers a better experience for less money with far more content available.
What is the Bridges and Ports expansion?
Bridges and Ports is the first major expansion for Cities Skylines 2, adding 20 new bridges, customizable ports, ferry transport, maritime industries, and three new maps. It launched October 29, 2025 after being delayed twice from its original mid-2024 target.
Why are Cities Skylines 1 player counts higher than Cities Skylines 2?
The original game from 2015 works better, runs smoother, has vastly more content after a decade of expansions, and supports extensive modding. Many players simply prefer the reliable older game over the troubled sequel.
Will there be bike lanes in Cities Skylines 2?
Bicycle lanes have been promised and mentioned in multiple developer updates but still aren’t in the game as of November 2025, two years after launch. Colossal Order continues saying they’re coming soon without providing specific timelines.
When will the console versions release?
Unknown. Colossal Order stated in March 2025 that console versions won’t arrive before summer 2025, but that timeline has passed. The studio admits it cannot optimize the game to run acceptably on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware yet.
What happened to the asset editor?
The asset editor that would let players create custom buildings and objects has been in development since launch with no firm release date. Colossal Order is reportedly separating it from the Unity Engine to improve performance, but progress has been extremely slow.
Conclusion
Cities Skylines 2 stands as a cautionary tale about launching games before they’re ready and the long-term damage that causes. Two years of patches, updates, and one delayed expansion haven’t been enough to fix the fundamental problems that plagued the October 2023 release. LGR’s honest assessment confirms what player counts and Steam reviews have been saying all along. This game needed at least another year in development before going public, and now it might need several more years to reach the quality level it should have launched with. For players looking to build virtual cities, the message remains clear. Stick with the original Cities Skylines until the sequel proves it deserves your time and money. Based on the current trajectory, that might not happen anytime soon. Colossal Order has a lot of work ahead, and whether they can turn this around or if Cities Skylines 2 will join the list of disappointing sequels that never recovered remains to be seen.