The author seemed to be a little dismissive of mods in a game that fully expects most players to be playing with mods. Cities skylines 2 not only has a ton of detailing options but it has built-in modding which is what brings out this type of detail work.

Yes, by default it’s a little flat. But also, it’s a city builder. Most of the time you’re not zoomed in this close. And not all players intend to focus on these details.

If you spend a few minutes on YouTube seeking out some of the better cities skylines 2 content creators you’ll see a lot of really excellent detail work.