Developed by Tantalus Media and published by Paradox Interactive, Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition brings the original city-building simulation to Nintendo Switch 2 with a collection of additional content and several improvements over the previous Switch release. The original version struggled with performance and visual clarity, making this new edition a welcome opportunity to revisit a game that remains one of the more compelling entries in its genre. However, while the additional content and improved technical performance make for a more attractive package, the extent to which this release takes advantage of Nintendo’s newer hardware is open to debate.
The appeal of Cities: Skylines lies in the freedom it gives players to transform an empty plot of land into a functioning urban environment. What starts with a few roads, residential zones, and basic utilities gradually develops into a complex network of neighborhoods, commercial districts, industrial areas, and public services. As the population grows, so do the responsibilities involved in keeping the city running. Education, healthcare, policing, electricity, water supplies, taxation, and public transportation all need attention, while traffic congestion can quickly become a problem if the road network is poorly planned. This steady expansion creates a satisfying cycle of solving problems and unlocking new possibilities, although the number of systems to manage can be intimidating for newcomers.
The simulation’s greatest strength is how interconnected its mechanics are. A new residential district might generate additional tax income, but it also creates greater demand for schools, healthcare, and transport. Industrial development can stimulate the economy while introducing other considerations, and inefficient road layouts can cause congestion that undermines an otherwise successful city. Players must constantly weigh immediate needs against longer-term planning, making expansion feel like a series of meaningful decisions rather than simply placing buildings on a map. There is also considerable room for personal expression, whether the goal is a sprawling metropolis, a compact town, or a collection of distinct districts with their own identities. The ability to zoom down to street level and explore the results from a citizen’s perspective adds a welcome sense of scale to the experience.
The new Expanded Edition makes a particularly important improvement to the amount of space available for construction. The previous Switch version was restricted to nine buildable tiles, whereas the Switch 2 release allows players to develop up to 25. That additional room makes ambitious projects considerably more feasible, giving experienced city planners greater freedom to create expansive suburbs, industrial districts, and transport networks without running into the same limitations as quickly. The inclusion of a map editor also provides an opportunity to customize the landscape before construction begins. Ten DLC expansions and content packs broaden the possibilities further, introducing additional options associated with nighttime development, winter conditions, environmentally conscious cities, harbors, maps, and other themes. For newcomers, this is a substantial amount of content to explore; for returning players, it provides more variety than the original Switch package.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version also benefits from a more stable performance than its predecessor. The original Switch release struggled to maintain consistent frame rates and image quality, particularly as cities became more populated and the simulation grew more demanding. The newer hardware delivers a considerably more comfortable experience, with smoother menu navigation and fewer obvious performance problems as the city expands. Players can choose between a Performance mode targeting 60 frames per second and a Quality mode targeting 30 frames per second with an emphasis on visual fidelity. The Performance option is a welcome addition to a game involving frequent camera movement, detailed road placement, and constant interaction with menus, although the difference between the two modes may not always be especially noticeable. Quality mode can already provide a sufficiently stable experience, while the Performance option offers an alternative for those who prioritize responsiveness.
The controls remain a more complicated matter. Cities: Skylines has to accommodate a considerable range of construction and management tools, and translating that complexity to a controller inevitably involves layers of menus and contextual options. The basic interface is usable, but navigating between different tools can still feel cumbersome, while the cursor occasionally requires more precision than its sensitivity comfortably allows. A precision mode that slows cursor movement makes selecting smaller elements and positioning roads easier, and the improved responsiveness of the interface helps reduce some of the friction. USB keyboard and mouse support provides another option for players who prefer more direct control over construction. Nevertheless, the absence of touchscreen controls is disappointing for a portable city builder, particularly when the game involves so much detailed selection and placement. The lack of native Switch 2 mouse-mode integration also makes the implementation feel less tailored to the system than it could have been.
Visually, the improvements are less convincing than the performance gains. The original Switch version could look noticeably blurry, so the more stable presentation is certainly appreciated. However, the Expanded Edition retains much of the appearance of its predecessor rather than delivering a substantial visual overhaul. Buildings and streets can still appear soft when viewed up close, while the difference between the graphics modes is not always particularly striking. That matters less when managing the city from a high vantage point, where the overall layout is more important than individual textures, but it does limit the sense that this is a version designed specifically to showcase the Switch 2. The environmental options, including adjustments to weather, fog, and time of day, offer additional opportunities to customize the atmosphere, although these features do not fundamentally change the presentation.
In terms of audio, the included Deep Focus Radio and Carols, Candles & Candy content adds to the package’s radio and seasonal offerings, but the expanded selection of content should not be mistaken for a demonstrated overhaul of the game’s audio. As with the visuals, the central appeal remains the simulation itself: watching traffic circulate, neighborhoods develop, and the city gradually take shape is what keeps the experience engaging over extended sessions.
The larger question is whether these additions justify purchasing another version of a game that was already available on the original Switch. For newcomers, the answer is considerably easier. Cities: Skylines remains an absorbing simulation with enough interconnected systems to sustain lengthy building sessions, and the combination of improved performance, a larger construction area, and ten included DLC expansions makes this a more complete portable package. Returning players have more reason to hesitate, however. Although the additional buildable tiles and performance options are worthwhile improvements, much of the underlying experience remains familiar, the interface still has its frustrations, and the visual changes are relatively modest. The lack of a free upgrade path also makes the price harder to justify for anyone who already invested in the earlier version, even if a loyalty discount softens the cost for eligible owners.
Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition is therefore a better way to experience the original game on Nintendo hardware, but not quite the comprehensive upgrade its name might suggest. The underlying simulation remains deeply engaging, and the Switch 2’s more capable hardware makes managing a growing city substantially more comfortable than before. The expanded building area and bundled content also provide meaningful benefits, particularly for players who missed the original release. Yet the conservative visual improvements, lingering interface issues, and lack of more ambitious platform-specific controls prevent this edition from feeling like a truly fresh take. For newcomers looking for a substantial city builder they can play at home or on the go, it is an appealing proposition. Existing Switch owners, on the other hand, should weigh the additional content and improved performance against how much they are willing to pay for a familiar experience.
Score: 7.7/10