Cities in Motion

Lore & Background

The game puts the player in charge of a public transportation company, with the main objective of creating a profitable network that connects residents to workplaces, leisure areas, shopping centers, and residential zones. Four European cities are available in the base game: Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, and Vienna, with additional cities released through DLCs and the map editor. Five transport types are available: bus, tram, metro, water bus, and helicopter, each requiring specific infrastructure such as stops, rails, stations, or helipads. Management involves regulating worker salaries and setting fares, which affect revenue and passenger numbers. Citizens are divided into seven social cliques—blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, businesspeople, students, tourists, pensioners, and dropouts—each with distinct preferences for cost, speed, or comfort. Two game modes exist: campaign, which presents historical scenarios with tasks from the mayor or citizens, and sandbox, which allows free play with selectable city, starting year (1920–2020), and starting money. The game includes a built-in map editor for creating and editing city maps, and a tutorial presented as a separate scenario.

Reader's Guide

Cities in Motion received mostly favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 72/100 and a 'mostly favorable' rating on Steam, where 75% of over five hundred user reviews were positive. Reviewers praised the graphics, soundtrack, and interesting gameplay, though some found the gameplay repetitive. The interface was considered convenient, but the game was noted for lacking direct passenger-player communication to explain why passengers were dissatisfied with a particular route. Opinions on difficulty were divided: some reviewers felt the complexity was overestimated and led to significant micromanagement, while others saw it as a welcome challenge. Some critics noted the base game had few playable cities. Brett Todd of GameSpot described city maps as attractive but lacking atmosphere and utilitarian, and noted the absence of a day-night cycle and weather conditions. He highlighted the clear interface and scenario complexity as strengths, while pointing out repetitiveness and the need for better passenger feedback. A sequel, Cities in Motion 2, was announced at Gamescom on August 14, 2012, and released on April 2, 2013.

Did You Know?

• The game features five transport types: bus, tram, metro, water bus, and helicopter.
• Citizens are divided into seven social cliques, each with different transport preferences.
• A total of 13 downloadable content packs were released, adding 58 new transport models and 9 cities.
• The first expansion, Cities in Motion: Tokyo, introduced a new city and the Monorail transport type.

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