City idle

About

City idle is a single player casual management game with economy, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Grest Games OÜ and was released on September 8, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Experience a city-building game, where the citizens are fully simulated and every decision you make impacts their lives. From the Stone Age to the Iron Age and beyond, watch your civilization evolve and progress under your guidance.

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71%

Audience ScoreBased on 160 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Engaging and satisfying city building and resource management gameplay with deep optimization and micromanagement elements.
Relaxing and casual experience with well-balanced progression and no forced pay-to-win mechanics.
Free-to-play with an active economy and tech tree that encourages strategic planning and experimentation.

Lack of offline progression and reliance on having the game open, making idle aspects very limited.
Some frustrating bugs, glitches, and poor AI behavior causing population starvation and halted progress.
Limited content with only one static map, absence of sound/audio, and high prices for speed-up microtransactions.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
43%
21%
The gameplay is an enjoyable blend of city-building and strategic optimization with some unique mechanics, especially in research, that encourage thoughtful play rather than idle progression. While the game offers a relaxing yet complex experience, it suffers from occasional bugs, obscure mechanics, and small annoying behaviors that may frustrate some players. Overall, it’s a fun and engaging free-to-play city sim with room for more content and polish.
- “It's not super optimized and can be quite buggy but the gameplay itself is fun, relaxing, and can be quite complex.”
- “There are some interesting mechanics that I haven't seen before, such as the way you complete research.”
- “While it has idle aspects/moments, there is a high degree of opportunity for pretty much constant re-optimization in a completely non-trivial set of mechanics that forces, or at least encourages you to actually think if you want to get the most out of your limited territory.”
- “Some mechanics are awkward at times or hard to figure out.”
- “Firstly, I do not see how this game is an idle game; there's no offline progression, and if you tab out of the game for long enough, it just pauses. It's more of a city management game with research. I do enjoy it though, but there are some annoying mechanics I don't enjoy at all and also some small annoying behaviors.”
- “The only downside is that the mechanics are slightly obfuscated (though the documentation is excellent where it exists, there are a lot of details that the player is unlikely to fully grok).”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game features charming, low-grade pixel graphics with a nostalgic, retro aesthetic that some users find cute and visually appealing. While the minimalistic art style fits the concept well, the lack of sound and simple visuals may reduce immersion for some players. Overall, the graphics are functional and pleasant but not highly polished or detailed.
- “The pixel graphics are really cute (just take a look at the sheep having a nap).”
- “Actually neat to just watch something cool with a visual aesthetic straight outta Maxim's 1995 Sim-offerings.”
- “Great art style that complements the fun gameplay.”
- “The graphics are pretty low grade and the lack of audio removes immersion.”
- “Minimal graphics, but solid gameplay.”
- “The pixel graphics are really cute (just take a look at the sheep having a nap), though progress is slow; that's standard for an idle game so I don't think it's an issue.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is notably time-consuming and can feel tedious, with players often waiting extended periods to progress colonies or complete tasks. Although the gameplay offers a fun civilization-building experience, the slow pace and repetitive nature push many to consider in-game purchases or external aids to speed up progress. Strategic management of upgrades and building coverage is crucial to mitigate the grind and improve efficiency.
- “Game has potential, but it has been made insufferably grindy and limited with the space available.”
- “I've been grinding for 3 weeks now to even get a colony up, took 2 weeks to get the colony ship, but now I'm waiting on it to load up so the colony can be built!”
- “Having played a bit, I now understand why other players are complaining they have to be hit with a $60 charge; it's not that the purchase is necessary (you can leave it for hours like most idle games), but it's tedious to watch your civilians behave like single-celled amoebas when constructing even a building next to them, to the point you'd want to accelerate the process.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game generally performs well and offers engaging, complex mechanics that encourage ongoing optimization, despite occasional bugs and less-than-perfect optimization. Most players find the gameplay smooth and enjoyable, with frequent opportunities for strategic adjustments.
- “I don’t understand most of the negative reviews, it almost always feels like you have something to do, optimizations to be made, etc., and the game just plays great 99% of the time.”
- “It's not super optimized and can be quite buggy but the gameplay itself is fun, relaxing, and can be quite complex.”
- “While it has idle aspects/moments, there is a high degree of opportunity for pretty much constant re-optimization in a completely non-trivial set of mechanics that forces, or at least encourages you to actually think if you want to get the most out of your limited territory.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that adding more features, such as unlimited speed ticks, would significantly enhance the game's replayability and overall value.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features aggressive monetization, with significant content and progress heavily restricted behind in-app purchases.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is somewhat lacking, with optimization issues and occasional bugs, but it still offers an enjoyable and engaging gameplay experience.
- “It's not super optimized and can be quite buggy but the gameplay itself is fun, relaxing, and can be quite complex.”