It's as dire as anticipated: Cities Skylines 2 experiences severe performance issues, even on high-end gaming PCs. Notwithstanding, there are commendable aspects to the game.

The Cities Skylines 2 community has playfully likened it to Crysis, a game known for its demanding technical requirements upon its 2007 release. Recent tests by the gaming press reveal that Cities Skylines 2 indeed bears the unfortunate distinction of being perhaps the "most hardware-intensive game" to date, as reported by PC Games Hardware.

On a moderately equipped computer, there were noticeable frame rate fluctuations and "extraordinarily severe stutters." Surprisingly, even on a high-end PC, the game exhibited suboptimal performance.

Nevertheless, the Finnish development studio, Colossal Order, had cautioned about potential issues ahead of the release and is actively working on improving the game's code.

However, even with a further optimized pre-release version, problems persist, according to PC Games Hardware. The magazine speculates that some of these problems may be attributed to in-game mechanics causing waiting times, rendering even the most powerful hardware less effective.

Cities Skylines 2 currently holds a Metacritic average rating of 77 percent, with the German magazine Gamestar assigning it a score of 74.

Substantial technical problems are also acknowledged, leading to a 10-point deduction. Regarding gameplay, the consensus is that "Cities Skylines 2 excels as a traffic simulation but falls short as a city-building game compared to its predecessor."

The English-language magazine PC Gamer praises the game for its new features outside city limits, such as the creation of farms, oil extraction facilities, and mining operations.

On the contrary, IGN is critical of Cities Skylines 2 for striving for realism but faltering in fundamental functions like zoning, awarding it a score of 60.

Despite these issues, there is optimism that Cities Skylines 2, with future improvements and expansions, will surpass its predecessor. Based on the Unity Engine, Cities Skylines 2 is set to release on October 24, 2023, for Windows PC, with a console version slated for 2024.