Recent reviews by WeGoToMars

I would never have imagined that any game would be this addictive and fun to play despite running at 6-12 FPS at 1080p with ultra-low graphics on a potato laptop with an integrated Intel Xe GPU. There are still a lot of general bugs and quirks in the simulation, but the gameplay is simply outstanding and made me completely lose track of time. I wish the devs all the best, as it's very clear Cities Skylines 2 has incredible potential.

I only bought this because they announced the next DLC comes out in at least 6 months (the announced release date is Q1 2024), and I would play the game before then and would like some new content. Although I gave Paradox my money, there are fundamental problems with the whole idea, and this feels like a repeat of the disastrous Victoria 3 release seven months ago.

I don't understand the idea of launching an "immersion pack" when the current state of the game seriously lacks adequate mechanisms to properly implement those flavors. It's impossible to have an immersive representation of Dreyfus affair without a mechanism that deals with acceptance within different cultures and religions. It's impossible to represent the challenges faced by the French in Algeria without a system that deals with guerrilla warfare, ethnic separatism, and garrisons (no, it wasn't a matter of wiping out some irregulars with your advanced troops). To have a "divided monarchy" requires a mechanism that deals with various aspects of monarchism (or any ideology, for that matter). The idea of a flavor pack that aims to cover different and complicated aspects of historical France, all requiring serious rework of core mechanisms, was doomed from the start. The saddest part is that they would likely never go back and properly fix it (at least not for free), leaving one of the most important nations in this content purgatory.

Paradox, you are stepping on a slippery slope by locking actual gameplay content behind pre-orders. I understand that you need to monetize the long-term support of your games, but this is simply the wrong way to go about it.

I'm writing this review on March 13, the day when version 1.2 was finally released. So, I can finally declare...

We absolutely should criticize Paradox for releasing an obviously unfinished product. However, update 1.2 fixed pretty much all the annoying bullshitry from the original version. The AI is no longer lobotomized and plays aggressively, Laissez-Faire+Multiculturaism is no longer stupidly overpowered, performance and UI are massively improved, with private construction taking out a big chunk of tedium from the game. Also, the new war score system removed much of my frustration with the infamous war system, which is a huge win.

TL;DR - the game is now what it should've been released as 4.5 months ago, and it's a pretty damn good game.

EDIT: Another thing I haven't mentioned is the awesome change to NOT requiring Ironman to get achievements. It has been a staple of Paradox game design for a decade (since EU4 was released), and until Victoria 3, I never realized how awful of a mechanic it was. People clowned this change when it was announced, saying that it would make achievements pointless (which they already are, there is software that would unlock them for any game in one click). Instead, it unlocked a goldmine of lost potential, with achievements that are fair, but tough, and aren't just excuses for cheese, exploits, and crashing your game to savescum the RNG.
I need to say that the current achievements are pretty unimaginative, but we can see that devs would get much more creative later on, as they did with HOI4 and EU4.

amogus

I'm editing my review from the bombing campaign. The Gaijin did listen and did made economy and gameplay changes that the community previously thought was impossible. Well, my hat is off, at least for now.