Feuding neighbors: Unique city builder drops to $0.99 on Steam

At first glance, City Life 2008 looks like a fairly ordinary city builder. But a closer look quickly reveals that it's not just about roads, buildings and finances – it's primarily about the people living in the city. To keep the metropolis running smoothly, players need to create jobs, solve traffic problems and fund public services. Things get particularly tricky, however, when different population groups come into contact with one another.

The game's six social classes don't always get along. Placing groups with conflicting interests in close proximity can quickly lead to tensions and even outright riots. Neighborhoods therefore need to be planned carefully, although completely separating the population isn't a solution either. After all, a functioning metropolis needs workers from every social class. More details about the gameplay can be found in our previous article about the game.

In its review, PC Games (in German) praised City Life primarily for its lively cities, unusual social class system and intuitive controls. However, the reviewers were less impressed by the sometimes difficult-to-understand economic system and the lack of long-term objectives. Ultimately, the publication awarded the game a solid 7 out of 10.

Metacritic lists City Life 2008 with a Metascore of 66 and a User Score of 7.3. The Steam community is considerably more enthusiastic: 80% of the more than 250 user reviews are positive.

90% off on Steam

City Life 2008 normally costs just under $10 on Steam, but it's currently 90% off until October 24, bringing the price down to $0.99. According to SteamDB, this matches the game's previous all-time low, most recently reached during the Steam Autumn Sale. Steam Deck compatibility is officially listed as "Unknown." However, ProtonDB gives the game a "Gold" rating, suggesting that it should run on the handheld with a few adjustments.

Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.

As a child in the 90s, my Gameboy was my steady companion. After school, the PlayStation was fired up. When I finally got my first PC, I was completely hooked. My passion for gaming has never waned since. For me, writing for Notebookcheck means reporting on topics that are really close to my heart - in addition to gaming, I also like to write about e-mobility, photovoltaics and innovative gadgets. When I'm not sitting at my computer, I'm probably on water rescue duty on the Baltic coast or trying to counteract the downsides of my geek life - namely sitting for long periods - at the local swimming pool.