“Every new feature added to the game through Sunset Harbour is worthy of its place and brings something new and exciting to the table. That being said…”
Sunset Harbour is the latest of Cities Skylines major DLC packs. As the name suggests, the theme of the content this time around is largely water-based; following on from similar additions focussed around After Dark activities, Snowfall, Natural Disasters, Mass Transit, Green Cities, Industries, Parklife and University Campuses. This lengthy list alone demonstrates the longevity of gaming’s best city builder, as well as its developers’ commitment to consistent support and addition of content. So, five years after the game’s initial release, how does the latest DLC hold up?
A brand-new fishing industry and water treatment options headline the Sunset Harbour package, whilst other additions include out-of-city transportation options and new styles of entertainment. Each of these adds something previously unseen to the game, and each brings with it its own merits. The fishing industry element allows you to concoct, construct and control the full production line process from catching sea fare to selling it as product. You start quite simply by building fisheries along your open water assets, dictating optimal routes for your sailors to traverse in the quest for tasty goods. Transporting these onto the manufacture stage, new factories and warehouses allow you to provide jobs for your citizens and control the flow of product simultaneously. Depending on your economic vs environmental outlook, you can choose to dictate this process in a sustainable way or via a more heavy-duty approach. Each method brings its relative merits, of course, and ultimately poses the dilemma of cash in the bank vs the happiness of your citizens. Whichever way you choose to control this aspect of your game, the addition of a fishing industry fits naturally amongst the existing assets of Cities Skylines and is an interesting new route to prosperity.
Whilst it is intended to be secondary amongst the feature highlights of Sunset Harbour, water treatment is perhaps my favourite new addition to the game. Allowing you to re-use wastewater rather than aimlessly pumping it into your freshwater system, the water treatment option fits nicely in line with the green energy technologies and policies already available in Cities Skylines. It is also of benefit to the new fishing industry, allowing you to expand your fishing routes further and wider without the limitation of avoiding polluted areas. Most notably, however, wastewater treatment came into play heavily on the new desert-based map included in the Sunset Harbour DLC. With water being extremely scarce on this map, the ability to reuse waster water is crucial. This testing twist on the usual day-to-days of setting up a new city made both the new feature and the new map the most interesting and exciting additions to Cities Skylines for me, forcing me to change the way I played and introducing a genuinely new base-level challenge.
Another big shake-up which can change the way your city operates in Sunset Harbour is the addition of inter-city bus links. Creating a direct route-in for visitors to your city, your entertainment and commercial districts can be allowed to thrive. More visitors and potential movers to your city allows you to speed up your cities growth and income more effectively than before. On the topic of entertainment options, too, your skies become the newest playground for your citizens in Sunset Harbour, with a new aviation club attracting a certain clientele for recreational activities. As ever, all of the new features which the DLC pack introduces fit seamlessly into the main game as if they had always been present, simply broadening your options for building the city of your desires.
Every new feature added to the game through Sunset Harbour is worthy of its place and brings something new and exciting to the table. That being said, the additions do little to overhaul the overall game experience in the same way as, say, the Natural Disasters DLC. The changes to the game in Sunset Harbour are far less overt and act almost entirely to evidence continues support of Cities Skylines. Not one new aspect is negative for the game, but none provides quite the shake-up that the price tag would imply. At half the price on a sale in the future, Sunset Harbour is well worth picking up. Equally, if you have seen everything else that Cities Skylines has to offer already, this DLC may be the going-back-in point that you need. For more casual or newer players, though, this is one to wait for.
Cities Skylines: Sunset Harbour is available on Xbox One. PlayStation 4 and PC
This review is based on the PC Version of the game
You can purchase this DLC here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1146930/Cities_Skylines__Sunset_Harbor/
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Cities Skylines: Sunset Harbour
Ahoy! Cities: Skylines - Sunset Harbor introduces the fishing industry, new mass transit options, and important city services. Increase your city's entertainment with the Aviation Club and fly with passenger helicopters and private planes. Create cities across five new maps and build fishing infrastructure to develop your agricultural industry.
Product Currency: GBP
Product Price: 11.39
Product In Stock: SoldOut
3.5
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