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Essays 03 October 2023, 17:14

author: Retromaniak

Cities: Skylines. 32 best tycoon and economic video games in 2023

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Visuals of Cities: Skylines can really be an eye-catcher. - 32 best tycoons in history - top economic strategies on PC - document - 2023-09-27
Visuals of Cities: Skylines can really be an eye-catcher.

CITIES: SKYLINES IN A NUTSHELL

  1. Year of release: 2015
  2. Platforms: PC, MAC, PS4, XOne, Switch
  3. Theme and type: economic city builder set in modern reality

Originally launched in 2011 by the Finnish Colossal Order studio, the Cities in Motion series, which focuses on the development of urban transport infrastructure, has received quite mixed reviews from critics and gamers despite its good sales results. However, developers quickly analyzed the mistakes made in two games and drew the appropriate conclusions. As a result, already in 2015, they came up with extremely successful Cities: Skylines, which was a natural development of their previous achievements. This time, the developers decided not to limit themselves solely to transport issues, offering an extensive city simulator, which successfully competed with such titles as the reboot of the cult SimCity series or the competitive Cities XL series developed by Focus Home Interactive.

As in the above mentioned titles, in Cities: Skylines, your main objective is to build a well-functioning modern city. This is not all, because at the same time we have to take care of various needs of its inhabitants, plan an efficient urban transport network (which is particularly important), as well as take care of finances, allowing for further investments and rapid development of our metropolis.

The city can be divided into several districts and you can set taxes for them. Then, you can create regions focused on industry (among others, petrochemical industry and agriculture) or idyllic suburban areas full of parks and gardens. At the same time, we constantly have to take care of citizens' satisfaction, their education and the availability of adequate workplaces.

Cities: Skylines, is one of the newer releases, characteristic for its attractive, fully three-dimensional visuals - this comes at the price of having a good PC or a modern console - yes, console, as the title was released in 2017 on PlayStation and Xbox One, and on Switch the year later. It should also be noted that although the game by Colossal Order studio was not free from bugs and minor flaws on the day of its release, the game has received lots of patches and updates which significantly improved the gameplay. Also, a few smaller and larger add-ons introduced completely new elements to the game. It's worth noting that there's full support for mods. Cities: Skylines is constantly being developed by the community of players.

  1. The game's page on Steam
  2. Game's page on the Microsoft Store
  3. Game's page on Epic Games Store

Constructor HD

By sabotaging competition in Constructor HD, things can get out of hand pretty easily. - 32 best tycoons in history - top economic strategies on PC - document - 2023-09-27
By sabotaging competition in Constructor HD, things can get out of hand pretty easily.

CONSTRUCTOR HD IN A NUTSHELL

  1. Year of publication: 1997/2017/2019
  2. Platforms: PC, PS1, PS4, XOne, Switch
  3. Theme and type: construction company simulator with gangster elements

In 1997 an unusual economic strategy called Constructor made its debut on PCs (and a year later on PlayStation), developed by the British studio System 3 Software. Thanks to a slightly different approach to the classic subject, this production has achieved considerable commercial success and received many positive reviews.

Two decades after its premiere, game designers have decided to release a new refreshed version of the original called Constructor HD. This product has offered a thoroughly refreshed HD graphics and almost unchanged mechanics of the original, with all features that determined its former success.

In Constructor HD, gamers take on the role of construction company owner, and their main objective is to develop business and eliminate competitors. During the game we have to arrange lots of construction materials and resources which are essential to erect various buildings (adapted to customer's requirements). These provide rental income that allows player to develop further in the business and leave all competitors behind.

The game of System 3 Software is distinguished by the possibility of using various methods and solutions that are not necessarily legal. To intimidate competitors and gain an advantage, we can hire hippies, psychopaths, thieves or saboteurs who, on our behalf, can harm competitive companies. Over time, there is even the option of using mafia services.

Although Constructor HD was released in 2017, it should be remembered that this is a refreshed version of the title from the 90s, so in many aspects, it stands out from most of the modern titles of this genre. The refreshed version of the game doesn't discourage with archaic visuals. Importantly, like the original from 1997, Constructor HD was released not only on PCs but also on consoles - in this case on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The remaster version - Constructor Plus - from 2019, was also released on Nintendo Switch.

  1. Official website of the game
  2. The game's page on Steam
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