I’m itching to play something like Cities Skylines, but also something that isn’t just about growing and growing, rather building within certain (spatial?) limitations and/or solving problems or something. I hope this isn’t a contradiction, but I’d also like if it had a bit more focus on individual buildings and livability rather than optimizing car traffic, if that makes any sense. I guess i’m looking for something that is a bit more than just a city sculpting sandbox, but less than a full blown metropolis-society-simulator.
It’s an amusement park builder and not a city builder, but Parkitect might be worth a look. It sets spatial limitations for your park and has more focus on individual buildings as opposed to zoning and traffic efficiency (though there are still things you can do to optimise guests’ paths through the park). There is a “beauty” system which gives you incentive to decorate the park and hide infrastructure from the guests, and you can get pretty creative the the decorations.
Each level sets an income goal for your park to reach, so outside of building you’ll primarily be managing your park’s budget. You set prices on park entry, individual rides, shops, and restaurants, as well as paying for staff and upkeep. You can take out loans to finance construction and buy advertisements to boost sales. You have the option to continue playing after you compete the level.
It lets you design your own coasters of course, but it comes with prebuilt rides if you’re not into that. You can also use other players’ ride designs and upload your own. And it has co-op, if that’s your thing.