Lego Skylines is a Cosy City Builder for Adults

Lego Skylines is a city builder from developer Iceflake Studios and publisher Paradox, previewed at Gamescom. The game starts players as a Master Builder on an untouched island, fulfilling requests from cheerful Lego citizens.

First Impressions and Core Gameplay

Initial gameplay focuses on intimate, micro-level building. Players plop down prefab small homes, like a suburban house or a ranch, which assemble themselves brick-by-brick. Early tasks involve decorating these homes with items like Lego plants, lamps, and hot tubs. Roads are built from classic grey Lego street plates, and players soon manage farms, shops, and parks to generate tax income and satisfy citizen needs.

Each citizen has unique Flavour preferences, such as a liking for 'cosy' decorations, which affects their happiness. The world is packed with charming incidental details, like tiny Lego people playing basketball or police officers eating doughnuts when zoomed in closely.

Scaling Up to a Serious Simulation

A later map revealed a vast, bustling Lego metropolis with emergency vehicles and skyscrapers, shifting the feel from a simple toy to a serious sim. Game designer Lasse Liljedahl stated, "This is a cosy city builder, but for adults. This is not a game for kids, the complexity is too high." The game includes numerous management layers despite its family-friendly veneer.

Players must handle rubbish collection, recycling, and various types of pollution. Providing higher education is necessary for certain industrial expansions. The simulation also requires childcare, elder care, and leisure activities for citizens. City specialisations allow a focus on culture, sport, or science, with end-game buildings like stadiums. Transportation systems include buses and railroads, supported by communication networks like radio towers.

Progression and Playstyle Freedom

Progression is multi-faceted. Core milestones unlock new buildings and features by completing tasks and earning XP. Other currencies feed into late-game opportunities. Liljedahl emphasized player choice, noting you can keep a town small and cosy, focus on customisation, or link several small towns for scale without building a full metropolis.

While the full feature set appears tied to population size, Liljedahl suggested the design provides core amenities regardless of chosen playstyle. The goal is to maintain the charm of the early game by keeping citizen desires central.

The Unanswered Customisation Question

The preview from Eurogamer ended with a major unanswered question about deep creative tools. The writer wondered if players could design buildings, vehicles, and monuments from scratch, not just place decorations. Such a feature could make shared, personal creations possible.

Liljedahl was coy, teasing, "This is a Lego game and this is a Paradox game." The potential for extensive customisation and sharing remains a promising, but unconfirmed, aspect of the game.