Cities Skylines Snowfall Review in 2023

It’s time to review one of the first DLCs for this game considering all expansions are released. We’ll get back to some historical facts and figure out whether it worth buying Snowfall in 2023.

Cities Skylines Snowfall DLC Release

7 years ago the second Cities Skylines DLC was released. Back then it added some interesting features and winter ambiance. For a relatively new game, it was interesting even though a lot of people were waiting for other new features such as more transportation options which eventually were added with further expansions. I decided to have a look at Cities Skylines snowfall DLC now when I have all other DLCs.

Cities Skylines Snowfall Features

So what were the new Cities Skylines Snowfall features? Let’s see:

Snow. Finally, you can pour some mulled wine, get yourself a blanket and dive into the winter city building. Seriously, at Christmas time it’s great to play Snowfall and have the 1st season of Fargo playing in the background (that’s why I prefer Cities Skylines Snowfall PS4 edition). Blizzards, Aurora Borealis, forests covered with snow – everything is included.

Heating. Sure your citizens need to live in warm houses and this new mechanic will add some struggle for you. You will need to add some pipes and build heating stations. Thanks to that your electricity usage will decrease as citizens stop using electric heaters. 

Snow on the road. Yes, if you happen to dig out your car after a good night snowfall then you should like this level of realism. You’re getting snow on the roads, snow dumps, Cities Skylines snow plow and road maintenance service. 

Trams. For me it’s one of the strangest decisions but they decided to add trams to this particular DLC. Everyone loves trams.

Winter Unique Buildings and Parks. Another cool part that adds winter holiday ambience – winter sports arenas, frozen fountains, spa and so on.

Maps. You’re getting 3 Cities Skylines Snowfall maps with winter visuals, I’ve reviewed those here.

Is Cities Skylines Snowfall Worth It in 2023?

For me personally that’s one of the worst of Cities Skylines DLCs. 

First of all, the grey and white picture bores you pretty fast. In most cases, winter visuals are just painted assets from the vanilla game. Winter landscapes can be more interesting and bright but it looks like devs decided to save some effort. The buildings added after Snowfall release sometimes would appear in their summer version.

New game mechanics such as heating and Cities Skylines snow on the roads don’t add much of new experience as they’re pretty similar to existing features.

You can say I’m a dreamer but I would expect seasons to change but that’s not the case in this DLC (or any other expansion).

Maps don’t let you use the full range of the new features. Sure I’d like to recreate some mountain resort but this is almost impossible with the maps provided.

On the other hand, Cities Skylines Snowfall trams are amazing and actually that’s the reason why I purchased this expansion.

And sure it’s pleasant to play Cities Skylines Snowfall expansion on winter holidays even though it’s hard to get back to it after the holidays are over.

To summarize, it makes sense to buy it either for trams or for winter city building ambiance. If you’re choosing among numerous DLCs then most likely you shouldn’t go for Cities Skylines Snowfall right away.

Cities Skylines Snowfall Tips

I’ve formulated some Cities: Skylines Snowfall tips for playing in 2021 when all DLCs are released.

• Use the European scheme and you can recreate Stokholm or similar Scandinavian cities.
• Get Snowfall after you get Mass Transit and thanks to that you’ll be able to create cable car lines for your winter resorts.
• A similar tip – get this DLC along with Parklife and you will be able to build winter national parks with fireplaces and hunting cabins.
• Trams are much better with transportation hubs from the Sunset Harbor DLC