Highrise City

Starting at €27.99Buy now

Highrise City is a city-building game that emphasizes production chains and economy simulations. With a focus on resource management, players must effectively manage production chains to allow their city to grow and thrive. The game combines elements of city builders and economy/resource management simulations for a unique and challenging experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 670 reviews

graphics24 positive mentions

stability44 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of city building and resource management, reminiscent of both Anno and Cities: Skylines.
The graphics and soundtracks are enjoyable, contributing to an immersive gameplay experience.
The developer is responsive to feedback and actively working on updates, showing commitment to improving the game.

The game frequently crashes, especially during autosaves, which significantly hampers the overall experience.
The user interface and road-building mechanics are clunky and can be frustrating to navigate.
There are still many bugs and performance issues that need to be addressed, making the game feel unpolished.

graphics
98 mentions
24 % positive mentions
72 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them visually appealing and smooth, while others criticize them as "graphically ugly" and prone to bugs and performance issues. Many users note that despite the game's aesthetic shortcomings, the Unreal Engine provides decent lighting effects and overall performance, though frequent crashes and stuttering detract from the experience. Overall, while there are improvements being made, the graphics are seen as a significant area needing enhancement, especially in comparison to similar titles.
- “Impressed with the graphics and overall performance (now) even with large populations - something which can't be said with Cities: Skylines 2.”
- “Addictive deep gameplay, with good graphics, this is a real hidden gem of a game.”
- “It uses Unreal Engine, so the graphics look great for what it is, but that isn't the main thing with this game.”
- “Graphically ugly.”
- “The graphics engine doesn't run well, which is my biggest complaint; it makes the game slow and sometimes causes crashes.”
- “It lags tremendously, graphics blur, and the game crashes about every 20-30 minutes.”
gameplay
94 mentions
26 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of city-building mechanics reminiscent of Anno and Cities: Skylines, offering a rich and engaging experience with a focus on resource management and fulfilling citizen needs. While many players appreciate the depth and potential of the mechanics, some have noted issues with controls, clunky systems, and performance problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite these challenges, the game is seen as a hidden gem with addictive gameplay and a promising future as it continues to evolve.
- “Addictive deep gameplay, with good graphics, this is a real hidden gem of a game.”
- “The mechanics are richly designed, there's loads of balancing done to make sure everything actually matters.”
- “For me, this is the perfect combination of all gameplay mechanics a city builder should have.”
- “The mechanics of laying out a road seem completely borked to me.”
- “I know it's fun and all, but it just takes away from the gameplay; it isn't engaging and just interrupts everything I'm doing to say 'hey good job you built a city.'”
- “I think its complexity is also its weakness; it's a very new game, so people need to give it time to fix issues like the controls/gameplay mechanics being a bit clunky, or the tutorial not providing enough guidance on all the various aspects of the game, bus stations for example.”
optimization
80 mentions
20 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, especially during late-game scenarios or when using certain tools. While some users noted improvements on higher-end PCs and appreciated the graphics, others reported severe lag, crashes, and a poorly optimized UI that detracted from the overall experience. As an early access title, there is hope for future optimization updates, but current performance remains a major concern for many players.
- “Impressed with the graphics and overall performance (now) even with large populations - something which can't be said with Cities: Skylines 2.”
- “Overall I could give a strong 8/10 thanks to the optimization that is outstanding vs CS2... (by the way, I also like the colors in the game that are very calming and relaxing).”
- “Reading the patch notes, I have faith in the developer supporting this game for a long time, including performance improvements.”
- “Performance of the game is pretty bad.”
- “The performance breaks down badly, and especially leveling tools are frustrating to use.”
- “Terraforming is so bugged, it's almost insulting: whenever you terraform over water and decide to demolish a building built on that new land, it just leaves a hole to the ocean, plus using the terraforming tool just lags the hell out of this horribly optimized game.”
stability
48 mentions
8 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with many users reporting frequent crashes and freezes occurring every 5 to 45 minutes, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players have noted that it runs smoothly on certain setups, the prevalence of bugs, particularly related to road mechanics and graphical glitches, has led to a mixed reception regarding its reliability. Overall, despite its enjoyable gameplay, the stability issues are a major drawback that prevents many from recommending it.
- “It is remarkable that this game also runs great on older systems.”
- “Other than that, 90% of the time it runs great in a very big city.”
- “The game freezes every 5 - 45 minutes.”
- “I keep trying to play it, but I still can't recommend it; it still freezes every 5 - 45 minutes.”
- “The only negative is that the devs need to fix the fairly frequent freezes and crashes.”
story
46 mentions
7 % positive mentions
87 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth, with many players noting that it feels minimal or non-existent. While there are various missions and quests that involve city-building and delivery tasks, they often come across as repetitive and lacking meaningful narrative engagement. Additionally, technical issues, such as bugs affecting mission prompts and mouse functionality, detract from the overall experience.
- “Ive played SimCity way back in the day, I played Cities: Skylines, and I am still playing Cities: Skylines 2. I love CS2; I'm getting to where Highrise City is played more than the others now. It's very time-consuming, but in a good way. I like how the logistical part is in it, the delivery missions.”
- “Some missions take you on a ride through your city and reward you if you succeed with the checkpoint mission.”
- “The game also has a research tree, combined with small missions to gather research points.”
- “There's a game-breaking bug with the game's story mode, where if you are moving or using your mouse (at all) when its immersion-breaking piece of paper flies in front of whatever you were just doing, it can make your mouse disappear and get stuck in whatever direction you were last going.”
- “When the window opens up for the story, it shouldn't lock the mouse... but it does, and then you can't click continue.”
- “☑ no story”
music
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its fantastic soundtracks, evoking a strong sense of nostalgia that resonates with players. Many express excitement about the potential for future content to enhance the musical experience even further.
- “The soundtracks are fantastic, and I can only imagine what the game will look like in a few years with some new added content.”
- “I feel like I've been listening to some of these songs for years, and I can't really explain what I mean by that.”
- “Also, the music is immediately nostalgic.”
grinding
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be time-consuming and challenging, particularly in managing worker flow and city layout. While the mechanics offer potential for creating large city centers and industrial areas, many users feel that achieving this balance often leads to the creation of disconnected small cities, which can disrupt the overall aesthetic. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as requiring significant investment of time and effort to master.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I'm still trying to work around the flow of workers in the game. They tend to fill up workplaces only up to certain distances, which is nice in theory. However, even using the biggest highways, buses, and metros, I still can't find a way to create proper large city centers and outskirts with industrial and farming areas without ending up with lots of small 'cities' around the map to fill those workplaces. At first, it's nice, but then it looks kind of off to have skyscrapers right next to farms. I'm still learning, so maybe next city I create will work the way I want.”
replayability
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's significant replayability, noting that the inclusion of a workshop feature further enhances this aspect, allowing for diverse experiences even without it.
- “The workshop is already there; even without it, the game offers huge replayability!”
- “The workshop is already there; even without it, the game offers huge replayability!”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of hilarity and frustration, particularly highlighted in the car driving mode, which elicits both laughter and exasperation from players.
- “The car driving mode is as hilarious as it is frustrating.”