City Island 5 - Building Sim | Game Brain

City Island 5 - Building Sim is a Simulation game that offers a good story and perfect gameplay, accompanied by masterful visuals and an ingenious soundtrack. However, the game is very grinding and can be disturbed by ads. As described by the game itself, it's an offline City Building Simulator where you can grow your town into a city on multiple islands. Despite some bugs, the game has its hilarious moments.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 10,000 reviews

graphics495 positive mentions

monetization591 negative mentions

Great graphics and engaging gameplay that allows for creativity in city building.
Fun and addictive, with a variety of buildings and islands to explore.
The game can be played offline, making it convenient for users.

Progression becomes slow and frustrating as buildings and expansions become very expensive, often requiring real money to advance.
Frequent crashes and bugs, especially after updates, leading to loss of progress.
The game often requires watching ads for rewards, but many times the rewards do not register after watching.

monetization
663 mentions
6 % positive mentions
5 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback from users, primarily due to the excessive and intrusive nature of ads. Many players report frequent forced ads during gameplay, which disrupts their experience and often fail to provide promised rewards, leading to frustration. While some users acknowledge the option to watch ads for bonuses, the overall sentiment is that the game feels like a cash grab, with high in-app purchase prices and a reliance on ads that detracts from enjoyment.
- “There is the option for in-game purchases, but they are not necessary nor are they forced on you like in some games.”
- “If you have patience, the in-game purchases are not required to progress through the game.”
- “You can play with no ads and spend no money if you want.”
- “The constant, incessant ads that randomly pop up, that are required for getting any rewards has almost made this game unplayable.”
- “Way too many forced ads, prices are way too expensive, they force other stuff on you and they eventually steal your gold coins and gold keys.”
- “I was enjoying this game despite the constant flooding of ads and crowded button layout on the screen.”
graphics
635 mentions
78 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive a generally positive reception, with many users praising their quality, detail, and artistic style. However, some players express disappointment with certain graphical elements, such as cartoonish designs or glitches, and suggest improvements like better rotation options and more realistic animations. Overall, while the graphics are often highlighted as a strong point, there are calls for enhancements to elevate the visual experience further.
- “The graphics are fantastic and love that I can move from island to island so easy and workers from any island can work on your new island.”
- “The graphics and detail are so wonderful and have that great balance of realistic/cartoon feeling but not cheesy.”
- “I love the graphics and the progression of the building of the city with it allowing you to open up different areas.”
- “Graphics let this game down, it's all too small.”
- “Too confusing and it looks like a child's game because of the graphics.”
- “The graphics are the worst.”
gameplay
118 mentions
51 % positive mentions
46 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally well-received, with many players enjoying its mechanics, graphics, and ease of navigation. However, a significant number of users express frustration over intrusive ads that disrupt gameplay, slow progression due to high costs for in-game items, and occasional crashes. While the game offers a fun and addictive experience, the balance between monetization and user experience remains a critical concern for many players.
- “Great gameplay and has the option to grow your city in offline mode.”
- “I love the gameplay and the mechanics of the game; it is a great and enjoyable game... keep it up!”
- “Amazing gameplay and I enjoy every single moment.”
- “I enjoy the game, but forced ads during normal gameplay are ridiculous.”
- “A cute game ruined by aggressive ads that start spamming you just a few minutes into gameplay.”
- “You have made the game unplayable with constant pop-up ads that freeze or just restart your gameplay. Ads for rewards that don't give the reward or say no ad available, but a pop-up ad plays seconds later—just another money-hungry game company.”
stability
113 mentions
4 % positive mentions
1 % neutral mentions
96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with frequent reports of freezing, crashing, and glitches that disrupt gameplay. Many players experience issues with ads causing the game to lag or fail to grant rewards, and updates have seemingly exacerbated these problems rather than resolve them. While the game is enjoyable, the technical issues have led to frustration and disappointment, prompting some users to uninstall it altogether.
- “I've just started playing, but no glitches or issues yet.”
- “A fun strategy city building game with no glitches; it's fun in your spare time on the couch.”
- “Design is great with no glitches.”
- “The constant crashing and freezing is ridiculous... I had fun building things and when the game freezes/crashes nothing gets saved, everything I did got undone.”
- “I can't play the game; it always freezes and I have to close out. It's done this pretty much since I downloaded the game.”
- “This game only gets a 1 star because it freezes too much and boots me off... it's slow uploading... fix the problem and I'll give it a 5 star because I like this game.”
story
76 mentions
14 % positive mentions
80 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is criticized for its lack of a cohesive narrative, with players expressing a desire for more engaging missions that reflect a mayor's responsibilities. Many reviews highlight frustrations with daily quests that often require spending real money or gold coins for minimal rewards, leading to a feeling of imbalance and dissatisfaction. While the game offers enjoyable graphics and a variety of tasks, players feel that the quest system could benefit from more depth and creativity to enhance the overall experience.
- “Fun and addicting... I love the graphics and the multiple island option so you can build different cities. I just wish the game followed a story that way you could always be working on tasks or something to make it easier and more fun to earn money to buy new buildings.”
- “I love how this game tells you the town people are unhappy and are leaving, and to stop them from going you need to build certain items that happen to cost gold coins. This game is a joke; it gets even better when my daily quest tells me to spend 500 gold and when completed I get 1 gold for doing so.”
- “This game is awesome because in this game we can build our own city by buying the plot and houses or any business-related building. It doesn't need internet for playing, has great graphics, story line, building, and all.”
- “I love how this game tells you the town people are unhappy and are leaving and to stop them going you need to build certain items that happen to cost gold coins. This game is a joke; it gets even better when my daily quest tells me to spend 500 gold and when completed I get 1 gold for doing so. No wonder so many people uninstall; you can't keep the town people from leaving without spending lots of real money. On that note, I'm uninstalling.”
- “The game has potential, but this is where the story ends. They started deleting negative comments and don't treat members of the Facebook group equally.”
- “Just add a bit on quests or tasks, some that will make us feel like we're really the mayor of the city, like some citizens are complaining about their city.”
music
51 mentions
35 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its calming and relaxing qualities, often describing it as soothing and enjoyable. However, there are significant complaints regarding intrusive ad music that disrupts the gaming experience, as well as requests for more control over music settings, such as the ability to choose different tracks or adjust volume levels. Overall, while the game's music is generally well-received, technical issues and a lack of variety detract from the experience for some players.
- “The music is a short loop of soft jazz that somehow just doesn't get old.”
- “Very good game love the music nice and relaxing.”
- “The music score is an excellent choice for a calm and soothing experience.”
- “What's more annoying is ads that blast out maximum volume with sound and music even though I have set the phone to silent mode.”
- “Uninstalled right away, first, you can't stop the stupid music, I'm assuming until you get past the beginning and actually get into the game.”
- “I love listening to music, so I turned off the sound and music of this game and played songs that made my experience much better.”
grinding
23 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game enjoyable initially, but it quickly becomes tedious, especially for those not willing to spend money. Many reviews highlight the slow pace of earning resources and the repetitive nature of tasks, leading to a sense of stagnation after a few days of play. While some appreciate the game's mechanics and find it fun, the overall sentiment leans towards the grind being a significant drawback.
- “Great game to play, but it soon gets tedious because if you're playing for free, you have to play for a very long time to build up enough coins to buy things.”
- “The game is slow and tedious.”
- “Starts out great but becomes excruciatingly tedious, unfortunately.”
humor
17 mentions
94 % positive mentions
-12 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently praised by users, with many finding it enjoyable and a key aspect of their experience. Players appreciate the amusing game mechanics and situations, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere, even amidst frustrations like waiting times and technical issues. Overall, the humor enhances the game's appeal, making it a fun way to pass the time.
- “I like the way this game is structured, it's so funny!”
- “The 'fortune spinner' is so woefully rigged it's embarrassing but hilarious nonetheless.”
- “The game is funny and enjoyable.”
- “This is not funny, man. I hope you guys can fix this problem; I really love this game. Thanks.”
- “The humor falls flat and feels forced, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “I expected a lot more laughs, but the jokes just didn't land for me.”
emotional
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game evokes a range of emotions, from joy and fulfillment in building and leading to frustration and disappointment due to technical issues and in-game purchases. While some appreciate the wholesome aspects and emotional engagement, others express feelings of heartbreak and annoyance related to progress loss and financial constraints. Overall, the emotional experience is mixed, highlighting both uplifting moments and significant frustrations.
- “The reason why I give this game a four is because this title offers different emotional changes while experiencing gameplay.”
- “The chances of building so many buildings made me feel important and that I can actually be someone who can lead someday.”
- “Very nice and wholesome game.”
optimization
5 mentions
80 % positive mentions
-40 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is inconsistent, with users reporting significant performance issues when connected to Wi-Fi, while it runs smoothly offline. Despite these connectivity-related problems, some players appreciate the good graphics and overall smooth performance when not online.
- “Hope the game keeps the good performance as time goes by.”
- “Good graphics and smooth performance.”
- “Runs smoothly with no internet connection.”
- “There are so many performance failures that I wouldn't know where to start describing.”
- “The game runs poorly on most systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times severely impact the overall experience.”
replayability
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's replayability, noting it offers enjoyable experiences and fun gameplay. However, some express concerns about the time required for upgrades, suggesting that reducing this time could enhance overall playability and encourage more frequent returns to the game.
- “Probably the best game to chill and play, but one thing is this game takes so much time in upgrading stuff; I hope they just make it 5 minutes or less so it becomes more playable.”
- “Fun times; at least it has replay value.”
- “I hope in a future update, things can be cheaper, making the game more replayable.”
- “Probably the best game to chill and play, but one issue is that it takes so much time to upgrade things. I hope they reduce the time to 5 minutes or less to enhance replayability.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by vibrant graphics and a dynamic environment that enhances the overall experience, with a lively ambiance created by continuous revenue generation from business services.
- “Nice graphics and overall atmosphere.”