Cities: Skylines - Snowfall (Xbox One) Review

First off, alongside this DLC, Paradox has released a new patch. This one adds weather effects into the game, from rain and storms, to fog, and now the cities can be viewed in a completely different light. The team has also patched in the fast-forward function from the PC version, making it much easier to hit progression milestones, and there have been a couple of bugs that affected play pretty badly now fixed. This extra dynamic feel makes Skylines a lot more entertaining to play as it provides a little extra visual flair for those long grinds between milestones.

Onto the Snowfall DLC; here there is…wait for it… the addition of snow! Well, among other features, obviously. What does this mean for the residents of the cities? Now there is a requirement to build heating pipes and snow plough depots to tackle heavy snowfall, plus keep the city running smoothly and efficiently. Managing these new requirements adds to the already fairly deep system and breathes new life into the action for those who might have already had their fill. In order to balance the new requirements of the winter, if heating pipes aren't built residents will use electrical heating, resulting in a large cost to them and, therefore, a reduced happiness level. It's this level of thoughtfulness that really helps create an atmosphere that is cosy and comfortable rather than becoming a stressful mess like some other tycoon or management releases.

The visuals for the snow, and the general lighting, lead to an indescribable feeling of comfort that only the best snow levels provide. The warm glow of the lights contrasting with the white layer of cold, the slow and relaxing background music; it's indescribable. That snow level feel! It's great to have the visual variety; the white vs. the greens, browns and greys. It is a shame, though, that the model polygon count couldn't be a little higher or even just a tweak or two to the LoD (Level of Detail) settings to allow for a bit more immersion.