I wouldn't say so for most people. I bought it (figuring I could refund it if it was bad) and tbh the performance and buggyness weren't too much of an issue. A way bigger issue is the late game and how all the systems interact. These issues only became apparent to me deep into the game.

My main issues are how you're basically forced to work around cars. Every attempt I made to ditch cars or trucks would land me into bugs and unbalanced systems. I had a lot of issues with cargo train stations, I had weird deadlocks with trams and trains that grinded my city to a halt, I found that the bus lanes are just a suggestion and won't keep out traffic, and I started missing bikes more and more (they're not in the game). It's basically just a horrible American city simulator, and that's the only way you can play without running into trouble. A lot of that may be fixed, I haven't played after the patch, but still I feel like the game needs some time in the oven. Especially for the price.

IMO it was worth buying on launch. It's nowhere near the disaster people make it out to be. It's just a step back from CS1 with all its DLC and mods, but it will get there quickly once the asset editor is released. Bugs? Performance? Mostly fixed, quickly, although the land value still isn't perfect and they need to do something about children living alone with 5 dogs. But those aren't exactly game breaking. The art style is leaps and bounds better than CS1 and the roads are a dream comparatively. Personally, I've had a wonderful time with the game since day one.