#6 is a game that is just on that bubble for me between the bottom and top 5. While this may be part of a series, this is the first one to achieve colossal success; even more so by beating a AAA competitor in the same genre.
#6 Cities Skyline:
Colossal Order’s Cities series has had niche success over the years, but it wasn’t until Skylines that the studio and series achieved widespread praise. Taking their in-depth traffic simulation model, CO coupled that with the ability for players to fully define their cities and transportation systems; giving a sense of realism to the proceedings. Transportation is a big deal, as the Cities series originally was focused on the transportation model, before transitioning over to city building as we talked about in our podcast.
All the more impressive is that Skylines was able to beat SimCity 5 at its own game; by creating an attractive game and engine for fans and modders to enjoy. Skylines managed to be the best selling game from Colossal Order and managed to show that the city building genre still has legs to it; despite the lack of new city builders in recent years. Since the release, the developers have continued working on the game and have released an expansion that added in day/night cycles.
As a fan of city builders, it was great to see a game like Cities Skylines be successful and prove that the genre still has some life in it. However, also as a fan of city builders, is where my main problem with the game stands.The game lacks the depth and variability to make each play a different experience. Similar to Anno 2205, the progression model is firmly set in the meta-game, not with new mechanics or growth to the gameplay.
Still, Cities Skylines sets an amazing foundation (no pun intended) for the future of Colossal Order and the franchise; and hopefully this will be the first of many more city builders in the future, both from Colossal Order and from the rest of the industry.
We’re getting to the really amazing stuff now, and #5 is a great example of a lot of gameplay in a small package.
