Emergency response centers bolster the existing rosters of police, fire, and medical structures and allow first responders to get out to disaster sites. Radio towers can be set up to let the populace know that something bad is on the way. Buoys are available to detect tsunamis, and radar dishes can watch for meteorites.

Just like in real life, you mitigate the impact of disasters via early warning systems and buildings designed to help recover when the worst happens. How Natural Disasters handles these tragedies elevates it above the “disasters as punishment” gimmick seen in so many other city builders. The end result is greater tactical depth and tension in the virtual mayor’s office, since you know that screwing up here could cost you absolutely everything. Every doomsday is worked into the serious nature of the game as threats that need to be managed through careful preparation. But even though these Biblical catastrophes are always suitably apocalyptic, they’re also realistic. The new Natural Disasters expansion charges up the businesslike concept of the original game with random events like tornadoes, meteorite strikes, forest fires, earthquakes, sinkholes, and tidal waves that result in citywide floods. Throwing in regular outings from Godzilla just didn’t seem necessary or appropriate. This is one of the most authentic city management simulations of all time due to a focus on things like zoning, which makes the game feel awfully close to my everyday job as the mayor of a town in Canada. Dealing with rampaging extraterrestrials, Armageddon-instigating asteroids, and visits from giant lizards have long been a hallmark of the SimCity line, but Colossal Order’s city builder seemed too buttoned-down for such outlandish developments. I never missed catastrophes in Cities: Skylines.

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