Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 367 sampled Steam reviews (325 positive / 42 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
Positive reviews don't converge on specific aspects.
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes17% mention it
- Controls & UI10% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
71%
48 reviews
5-15h
94%
81 reviews
15-40h
92%
63 reviews
40-100h
89%
71 reviews
100h+
90%
104 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 83 | 27 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 1465 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 90 | 67 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 90% | 84 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 7, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 5123 total reviews in window · weighted 217.7 up / 25.9 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (104)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
- 80
“It would be useful for Cities: Skylines to learn from Tropico in respect of political background, still with its obligation of being a good-quality city builder this strategy keeps up brilliantly.”
read full review ↗ - 90
- 90
“Easily one of the best city management games, if not the only pure one left. Build a city of your own, and watch it grow. This game was made as a response to SimCity and instead replaced it.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Easily one of the best city building games out there. For those that felt extreme disappointment from SimCity, this is the perfect game for you.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“For anyone who's looking to experience Cities Skylines and doesn't have access to a PC, this is the version to purchase. It's a thoroughly enjoyable game that really captures the old-school simulator catharsis. It's very addictive and with promises of more patches and potential for more DLC, it's probably going to be the long term leader of the city building genre on consoles for a long time to come. Heartily recommended to all who are interested!”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The city builder is back! Colossal Order has succeeded where others have failed. Cities: Skylines is a brilliant game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“With Cities: Skylines, developer Colossal Order has laid the foundations for the city-building genre to return to consoles. Simple controls, immeasurable details, and accessible gameplay all ensure that the urban planning sim is a fun yet challenging experience.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Cities: Skylines is everything we expected but never got from the Simcity series. Craving for a city sim resulted in ignoring the faults and shortages of the latter, something that is emphasized by Skylines' brilliance. The game shines with an extreme attention to detail spanning from macro to micromanagement and provides huge space where you can build your city.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“An excellent simulator, Cities Skylines immerses us in the joy of city creation with its solid foundations, lively mod community and amazing depth, despite its visual shortcomings and the lack of some options present in its competitors.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“In summary - here’s the city-builder you’ve been waiting for.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Cities Skyline is a welcome addition to the Xbox One, and consoles in general. It's a competently made city building game, one that hasn't been dumbed down for those that prefer a console to PC. It may take a while for the game to open up and kick into gear, but when it does, there is no limit to what you can build.”
read full review ↗
Fintendo
GameMAG
Hu3br
Kinglink Reviews
Total Gaming Network
Cubed3
PC Invasion
Push Square
LevelUp
GameWatcher
ZTGD…and 92 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch Notes for 1.21.1-f9Apr 15, 2026
- Patch Notes for patch 1.21.1-f8Apr 7, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Patch Notes for patch 1.21.1-f7Mar 17, 2026
- Dev Diary - Race Day #3 - Free UpdateMar 6, 2026
- New Content and Anniversary Patch - 1.19.2-f3Mar 25, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Mountain Patch - 1.18.1-f3Oct 29, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Patch Notes for patch 1.17.1-f4Jun 21, 2023
- Patch Notes for patch 1.17.1Jun 12, 2023
- Hotels & Retreats Dev Diary #2May 12, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Hubs & Transport Dev Diary #2Mar 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Patch Notes for 1.16.1-f2Mar 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Financial Districts Dev Diary #2Dec 12, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Financial Districts Dev Diary #1Dec 2, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Roads & Vehicles Dev DiaryNov 9, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Plazas & Promenades Dev Diary #5Sep 13, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Plazas & Promenades Dev Diary #4Sep 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Birthday patch 1.14.1-f2Mar 10, 2022
- Update on patch 1.14.0-f8Feb 11, 2022
- Airports post-release patch 1.14.0-f8Feb 10, 2022
- System Requirements UpdateJan 24, 2022
- Airports Dev Diary #5Jan 24, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Airports Dev Diary #4Jan 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- An Update from Cities: SkylinesNov 30, 2021