Little Cities: Bigger! — Everything We Know

Synapse and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord developer nDreams has announced Little Cities: Bigger!, a reimagining of the original cozy city-building game that launched on Meta Quest back in 2022. This time around, however, the souped-up version will be bringing a treasure trove of additional goodies, including the Snowy Islands DLC, as well as an “enhanced frame rate, charming visuals in 4K glory, enhanced immersion with haptic feedback and even eye-tracking shenanigans,” according to the folks over at nDreams.

So, what more do you need to know about the upcoming re-release of the sandbox city-building game? Well, if you are planning on pinning it to your bulletin board, then be sure to onboard these details before adding it to your wishlist. Here’s everything we can tell you about Little Cities: Bigger!

What Is Little Cities: Bigger!?

For the sake of adding a frame to it, Little Cities: Bigger! is a revival game based around Little Cities—a virtual reality city-building sandbox sim that launched on Meta Quest back in 2022. The upcoming iteration, whilst staying true to the original, will incorporate a number of new and existing features, including all of the DLC that has been added to date, and a web of technical improvements as made possible by the PlayStation VR2’s capabilities.

“Take on a vibrant multi-island campaign of uniquely rewarding creative challenges, balancing resources, population happiness and a slew of dynamic natural disasters (…and the occasional Yeti!),” reads an excerpt from the press release. “Or, relax into the endless cozy creativity of Sandbox Mode—crafting, drawing and finessing your dream islands completely from scratch.”

Story

Little Cities does have a story, albeit a rather short and straightforward one that doesn’t stretch much beyond what’s expected of a traditional city-building sim. The idea is simple: transform a small communal space into a bustling haven for a plethora of citizens. As the overseer (or God, in this case), you must acquire the necessary assets and resources in order to develop, construct, and evolve your community. Again, it isn’t anything you haven’t already seen a dozen times before, but it is, however, a sandbox sim that takes full advantage of the VR tech space.

“Embarking on your city creation journey has never been easier—fusing intuitive controls, drag and drop building placement and extremely satisfying bubble poppin’ user interface,”’the game’s description adds.“Whether you’re striving to max out your Style Rating for ultimate campaign completion, or simply seeking to de-stress with some low stakes island hopping, you’ll always find a gorgeous range of biomes and environments to explore, set to a blissed-out soundtrack.”

Gameplay

Little Cities: Bigger! won’t deviate all that far from its original blueprint, which means you’ll still be able to hold the front seat as the overseer of the world-building process. In other words, you’ll still be able to use your own two hands to fashion homes, stores, and multistory complexes for an enormous collection of vibrant biomes. As before, you’ll have the opportunity to pour your hard-earned assets into revolutionizing the economy—a monumental task that’ll require you to seek out new ways to earn cash, as well as keep your citizens’ needs and happiness in tip-top shape.

“Create your dream cities with a bustling blend of shops, industry and housing and lean in to see your diorama creations spring to life. Plus, there’s a huge range of Attractions to delight your tiny population, with everything from donut shops to helter skelters to towering statues available to shape a world where your Little Citizens love to live. Bring on the itty bitty bustle!”

Little Cities: Bigger! will, once again, bring forth a couple of core modes: a basic campaign, and a sandbox mode, the latter being a clean slate for you to mold and polish in any way that tickles your fancy. What’s more, the upcoming version will also include an entire year’s worth of post-launch content, which just so happens to feature the Snowy Islands expansion and a bundle of quality-of-life improvements.

Development

Little Cities, the most loved VR city creator, is ✨coming to @PlayStation VR2✨

Including a full year of content and PS VR2 specific features!

Lose yourself in endless cozy creativity on March 12th…

Wishlist now! 🏙️https://t.co/uF0vmJY5YY pic.twitter.com/zpQo01YII3

— nDreams (@nDreams) February 22, 2024

nDreams’ Little Cities was initially released as an exclusive title for Meta Quest back in 2022. Aside from the cutesy city-building sim, the developer has also been responsible for creating other games in the VR domain, with credits including Synapse, Fracked, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, and PowerWash Simulator VR.

“We are thrilled to announce that the adorable world of Little Cities, VR's most loved city creator, is building its way to PlayStation VR2 on March 12^th, 2024,” the developer wrote in a recent press release. “Complete with over a year's worth of content, including the Attractions, Little Citizens and Sandbox updates alongside the Snowy Islands DLC, PS VR2 players are getting their hands on Little Cities in its ultimate form.”

Trailer

Thanks to nDreams, we do have a bit of footage to share of the newest version of Little Cities. You can check out the latest announcement trailer in the video embedded above. Not quite satisfied? You could always swing by the studio’s streaming handle here for additional gameplay teasers and other exclusive material.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Little Cities: Bigger! will be launching on PlayStation VR2 on March 12, 2024. As for whether or not it’ll be branching out to other virtual reality platforms in the near future, however, is still a bit of a mystery. With that said, as the original game did launch on Meta Quest, there’s a good chance that the Bigger! version will eventually come to find its way over to the platform. Don’t quote us on that, though.

Interested in staying up to date with nDreams’ upcoming VR installment? If so, then be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of its 2024 launch, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Little Cities: Bigger! when it arrives in the VR headspace? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.