This Cities Skylines 2 mod is for players annoyed by its "excessive cleanliness"

In an ideal world, I'd never have to clean. My dishes would magically wash themselves, the hoover would clear up my kids' cereal before it's stamped into the carpet all by itself (I refuse to get a roomba), and dust would simply be afraid to accumulate on my belongings lest it provoke my wrath. So one thing I enjoy in videogames is actively not cleaning. It's a place where dirt never accumulates and my list of chores is far shorter. Other players feel differently, however, and want Cities Skylines 2 in particular to be dirtier. So they modded the grit and grime of modern life into the hit strategy game.

I get it in this instance. Just as virtual cleaning can be more fun than it's IRL counterpart (see: PowerWash Simulator), a city that's too clean can take you right out of the game. When so many modern games are completely immersive, the freshly-bleached buildings of Cities Skylines 2 don't accurately represent any real city.

Urban Decay Pack 1 is a Cities Skylines 2 mod by 'rzzirrah,' a prolific member of the community who has created numerous add-ons that add everything from Pride decorations to Brazilian billboards. Their add-ons are some of the best Cities Skylines 2 mods available, and they don't charge a penny.

Their Urban Pack has been a bona fide hit in the community, rising to become a staple of the 'trending mods' tab on the Paradox Plaza forum since it released last month. Rzzirrah says they created this pack because they were "bothered by the game's excessive 'cleanliness.'" It seems that this bothers others, too, as it's been a runaway success.

I've never really noticed the uncanny cleanliness of Cities Skylines 2, but on closer inspection, all of my cities look a bit like Disneyland. They're pristine and perfect -too perfect -and I can see how this facade is a barrier to players who want to be fully immersed in their games.

The Urban Decay project is so big it had to be split into two mods, thanks to the fact that it focuses on big textures like walls and floors. There are three ground decals featuring cracked pavements, potholes, and the like, as well as 16 wall decors, two net lanes, and three surfaces.

The second part of the mod, imaginatively titled Urban Decay Pack 2, adds an assortment of random decals, rusty roofs, and more. Need some torn posters and leaking pipes in your ever-growing city? This is the mod for you.

You can download the Cities Skylines 2 Urban Decay mod on the Paradox Plaza forum now. Find it here.

If a grimy mod isn't enough to get you back into the streets of Cities Skylines 2, try out some of the best city building games for something the same but different. If you're checking out the dirty add-on, picking up one of the best gaming monitors will let you see every mossy crack and leaking pipe.

If you've got strong feelings about the cleanliness of virtual cities, let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and other readers compare the sewage networks of Novigrad to the pristine streets of Cities Skylines 2.