Parents' Guide to Cities: Skylines - Snowfall

This complex simulation gets somewhat trickier with the addition of the winter elements that players need to accurately respond to so that their city can thrive. Planning and developing a city can be hard enough on its own, balancing what the people want with what's needed by the community as a whole. But what happens when harsh weather decides to take up residence within the city limits? That's the premise behind Cities: Skylines - Snowfall, the chilly new expansion to the popular city building simulator. With the snow comes a number of new options, including new public transport systems, winter theme parks, the sparkle of the Northern Lights, and more. But the real focus of Snowfall is the cold ... the blistering, unforgiving cold.

These new weather patterns aren't just for show. The introduction of cold weather means struggling to keep the people warm. A simple thing usually taken for granted, heat proves to be a massive hit for an urban infrastructure. The energy alone is a huge drain, causing power outages and the like throughout the city. It's not cheap, either, as just about every way the expansion includes to keep people toasty also means burning through the city budget. That's on top of how the new weather affects existing issues, such as traffic patterns and building construction. Do you require buildings to add more insulation during construction? Which streets need to be prioritized for clearing away snow? Considering Cities: Skylines was a relatively complex game to start with, adding a new layer of difficulty and complexity without much to balance it out could prove to be a bit much for younger or more casual fans.