Last Updated on Sep 7, 2026 @ 16:48:35 PM.
When it comes to building a city with LEGO, there are always a lot of limitations, whether it be the cost of buying so much LEGO, the space needed to do so, or just generally the creativity to build each building by hand. All of these limitations will now be a problem of the past, as LEGO: Skylines has now been announced, and I had the chance to play it, and it brings the fun of LEGO to the relaxing gameplay of LEGO: Skylines.
If you aren’t familiar with the City Skylines games, they are pretty simple, as they allow the player to slowly build their own cities from the ground up, as you start with building homes for residents, shops to buy things in, and resources like electricity and water, eventually leading you to build an entire civilization from nothing.
One click and you're done. Thank you!
Now this simplicity and calming gameplay will be adopting the stylings of LEGO bricks and will bring with it the same gameplay that the original games are famous for, while also including some more refined gameplay mechanics and even additional mechanics that provide players with a more personal touch when creating their city.
During my time with the game at Gamescom, I was able to trial out two parts of the game. One was where I was able to begin my own city and slowly create something that was my own. The other part of the game was that I was allowed to witness a staggering feat of creativity as the devs provided me access to a rather late game city, and it is safe to say it was incredible to behold.
While I played through the beginning of the game and trialed out some of the gameplay systems within LEGO: Skylines, there were quite a few features that I enjoyed, one of which was how my actual citizens were providing me with missions to complete and not just a checklist that appears throughout the game. This to me added to the feeling that I wasn’t just here to build a city and then walk away, but I instead was actually building something for someone, even if they were made of LEGO, as it provided me a sense of accomplishment.
Not only that, but there is also a mechanic now that allows your civilization to make requests of the player to provide specific decorations around their houses to make them happy, providing an all-new kind of style to the City Skylines gameplay loop, as you aren’t just building a city with houses, but you can also create parks, add signs, and so much more to make the city feel just as live as a real one.
Other than this, the gameplay loop is pretty standard for LEGO: Skylines, as the player needs to complete objectives and level up their city in order to unlock more buildings and slowly create a metropolis. If that is what the player wishes to do, the reason I say this is because you don’t have to build an entire city within LEGO: Skylines; you can instead build numerous small towns and a city and basically create your civilization however you see fit.
When it came to the endgame save that I was able to see, I was completely mesmerized by how detailed and interesting it was, as even at that point in the game where the dev had managed to create a city the size of nothing seen before, there were still missions to complete, locations to decorate, and so much more happening in the background that you would keep busy for so much time.
Now a big detail I feel I should mention is that yes, the game is made entirely of LEGO, so that means players can expect a bit of uniqueness within the game, and this is simply down to the fact that some of the buildings follow the LEGO style of funny, but for most of the game the buildings are petty standard; however, you can customize them in a way that I found amazing, as you can physically add things to the specific buildings like fences, bins, BBQs, and so much more to make each individual house entirely their own.
All in all, the game was quite fun to play and incredibly relaxing, as there were no time limits, no massive fundings to raise, no stress of any kind really, and just enjoying a game that works perfectly with LEGO was something I was really happy to enjoy.
At the time of writing, there is no release window to speak of regarding LEGO: Skylines.
For your next read, why not check out our article that talks about Permafrost and its end-of-the-world survival gameplay, or check out our article that discusses the hopes of Hellraiser: Revivals’ narrative director looking to do an original project with Robert Eggers.
Liam is a Senior Editor, Writer, and Critic for Thumb Wars and has been working with the team since day one. Liam is a big fan of all things gaming, as you will catch him playing all of the new releases from every genre you can imagine. Whether you find Liam gaming just for fun or spending his free time streaming, you will always find a smile on his face when it comes to all things gaming.
