- #1 Settlement Survival
97% matchVery Positive86% of 7,842 reviews2022
Dev: Gleamer StudioPub: Team17
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 10.8 hrs≥1hr: 80%
In this city-building game, you will lead a group of survivors in their search for a new home. Manipulate the landscape, manage limited supplies, plant crops, hunt wildlife, gather resources, and develop trade routes to build a bustling and unique town.
Why similar: City Builder 32.2%, Colony Sim 30.7% ★, Survival 8%, Medieval 6.3%, Sandbox 4.3%
Why You'll Like It: It is one of the clearest Banished successors, built around growing a vulnerable settlement through tight food, labor, housing, and seasonal resource management.
- #2 Farthest Frontier
96% matchVery Positive87% of 23,648 reviews2025
Dev: Crate Entertainment
Windows
Median: 9.6 hrsMean: 26.7 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Protect and guide your people as you forge a town from untamed wilderness at the edge of the known world. Harvest raw materials, hunt, fish and farm to survive. Produce crafted items to trade, consume, equip and fight with as you battle for your survival against the elements and outside threats.
Why similar: City Builder 31.5%, Colony Sim 29.9% ★, Survival 7.6%, Medieval 6.1%, Strategy 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: Its detailed medieval supply chains, villager health systems, and harsh-survival focus make it feel very close to a more modern, expanded Banished.
- #3 Foundation
95% matchVery Positive86% of 23,481 reviews2025
Dev: Polymorph Games
Windows
Median: 11.0 hrsMean: 26.3 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Foundation is a grid-less, laidback medieval city-building game with a focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.
Why similar: City Builder 45.2%, Colony Sim 14.8% ★, Medieval 6.4%, Strategy 5.4%, Simulation 5%
Why You'll Like It: Its organic medieval town growth and emphasis on production chains and citizen needs make it a strong Banished-like with a more relaxed tone.
- #4 Patron
96% matchMostly Positive72% of 3,136 reviews2021
Dev: Overseer Games
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 6.7 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Patron is a survival city builder with a unique social dynamics system. Gather and produce resources, build your fledgling village into a prosperous city and navigate the intricate social tensions before they reach boiling point.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.9% ★, City Builder 30.7%, Survival 8.8%, Strategy 5.6%, Medieval 4.2%
Why You'll Like It: This is a direct medieval survival city-builder where population needs, production balance, and difficult events strongly echo Banished’s core loop.
- #5 Kingdoms and Castles
94% matchVery Positive93% of 30,837 reviews2017
Dev: Lion Shield, LLC
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 16.0 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building simulation game about growing a kingdom from a tiny hamlet to a sprawling city and imposing castle. Make trade agreements, alliance, and war with neighboring AI controlled kingdoms. Each villager and resource is individually simulated.
Why similar: City Builder 36.5%, Colony Sim 35.2% ★, Medieval 5.2%, Strategy 5.1%, Sandbox 3.6%
Why You'll Like It: It delivers accessible medieval settlement building with food, housing, expansion, and disaster pressure in a way Banished players will immediately recognize.
- #6 Dawn of Man
94% matchVery Positive87% of 17,635 reviews2019
Dev: Madruga Works
Windows · Mac
Median: 10.9 hrsMean: 29.7 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Command a settlement of ancient humans, guide them through the ages in their struggle for survival. Hunt, gather, craft tools, fight, research new techs and face the challenges the environment will throw at you.
Why similar: City Builder 39.9%, Colony Sim 36.8% ★, Survival 7.9%, Strategy 4.7%, Simulation 3%
Why You'll Like It: Despite the prehistoric setting, it nails Banished-style survival through seasons, population growth, storage planning, and gradual settlement evolution.
- #7 Ostriv
93% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 7,359 reviews2020
Dev: yevhen8
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 36.3 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Ostriv is a city-building game that puts you in a role of a governor of an 18th century Ukrainian town to challenge your creative skills and management abilities.
Why similar: City Builder 30.7%, Colony Sim 28% ★, Survival 6.8%, Strategy 5.9%, Sandbox 4.6%
Why You'll Like It: It captures the same satisfaction of slowly building a believable historical town through logistics, labor distribution, and grounded resource management.
- #8 Manor Lords
92% matchVery Positive85% of 85,453 reviews2024
Dev: Slavic MagicPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 9.3 hrsMean: 21.5 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Manor Lords is a medieval strategy game featuring in-depth city building, large-scale tactical battles, and complex economic and social simulations. Rule your lands as a medieval lord – the seasons pass, the weather changes, and cities rise and fall.
Why similar: Colony Sim 30.5% ★, City Builder 26.8%, Survival 8%, Sandbox 5.9%, Strategy 5.3%
Why You'll Like It: Its realistic medieval town planning, logistics, and peasant economy scratch a very similar historical settlement-management itch, just on a broader scale.
- #9 Timberborn
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 38,007 reviews2026
Dev: Mechanistry
Windows · Mac
Median: 9.8 hrsMean: 40.3 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Humans are long gone. In a world struck by droughts and toxic waste, will your lumberpunk beavers do any better? A sandbox city-building game featuring ingenious animals, vertical architecture, water physics, and terraforming. Contains high amounts of wood.
Why similar: City Builder 36.9%, Colony Sim 34.6% ★, Survival 7.9%, Sandbox 6.1%, Strategy 4.7%
Why You'll Like It: Although it swaps humans for beavers, it excels at the same kind of population survival and production-balancing that makes Banished compelling.
- #10 Endzone - A World Apart
91% matchMostly Positive77% of 9,807 reviews2021
Dev: Gentlymad StudiosPub: Assemble Entertainment
Windows
Median: 3.9 hrsMean: 9.1 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Endzone is a post-apocalyptic survival city builder, where you start a new civilization with a group of people after an ecological disaster. Build them a new home and ensure their survival in a shattered world, threatened by constant radiation, toxic rain, sandstorms and droughts.
Why similar: City Builder 45.2%, Colony Sim 19.4% ★, Survival 11.8%, Strategy 7.1%, Simulation 4.6%
Why You'll Like It: This replaces medieval villages with post-apocalyptic settlements, but the survival-first city-building and constant pressure feel very Banished-like.
- #11 Against the Storm
89% matchVery Positive95% of 35,504 reviews2023
Dev: Eremite GamesPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 28.3 hrs≥1hr: 84%
A dark fantasy city builder where you must rebuild civilization in the face of apocalyptic rains. As the Queen’s Viceroy, lead humans, beavers, lizards, foxes, and harpies to reclaim the wilderness and secure a future for civilization's last survivors.
Why similar: Colony Sim 30.4% ★, City Builder 27.1%, Survival 7.9%, Sandbox 5.8%, Strategy 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: It turns the Banished formula into a roguelite structure, but the core appeal of juggling scarcity, villagers, and layered resources is very similar.
- #12 Kingdoms Reborn
90% matchVery Positive91% of 9,531 reviews2020
Dev: Earthshine
Windows
Median: 10.0 hrsMean: 24.2 hrs≥1hr: 87%
A city builder with simulated citizens, set in a procedurally-generated world map. Grow your kingdom through the eras from a tiny medieval hamlet into a prosperous global empire! Cooperate or compete in real-time with your friends in multiplayer mode.
Why similar: City Builder 41.3%, Colony Sim 30.4% ★, Strategy 4.3%, Medieval 4%, Survival 3.8%
Why You'll Like It: It blends Banished-style settlement growth and resource chains with a more expanded economy and regional progression.
- #13 Going Medieval
88% matchVery Positive89% of 20,287 reviews2026
Dev: Foxy VoxelPub: Mythwright
Windows
Median: 7.9 hrsMean: 30.8 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Build and manage your own castle settlement in a land reclaimed by wilderness. With detailed management, survival strategy, and a moddable sandbox world, Going Medieval challenges you to build the mightiest colony this side of the apocalypse.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.2% ★, City Builder 27.6%, Survival 8.7%, Sandbox 6.2%, Strategy 5.5%
Why You'll Like It: It is more character-driven and vertical, but the mix of colony survival, food security, storage, and labor assignment overlaps well with Banished.
- #14 Stonehearth
89% matchMostly Positive75% of 12,970 reviews2018
Dev: Radiant EntertainmentPub: (none)
Windows · Mac
Median: 14.1 hrsMean: 38.7 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Pioneer a living world full of warmth, heroism, and mystery. Help a small group of settlers build a home for themselves in a forgotten land. Establish a food supply, build shelter, defend your people, monitor their moods, and find a way to grow and expand, facing challenges at every step.
Why similar: Colony Sim 40.8% ★, City Builder 33.7%, Survival 7.2%, Sandbox 5.7%, Strategy 4.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its small-settlement charm and focus on building up a community from almost nothing mirror Banished’s village-growth appeal.
- #15 Clanfolk
86% matchVery Positive92% of 3,737 reviews2022
Dev: MinMax Games Ltd.Pub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 3.8 hrsMean: 17.3 hrs≥1hr: 68%
Clanfolk is a colony sim set in the Scottish Highlands. Harness your environment to survive - fish, gather, hunt, and farm as you prepare for the winter. Build an inn, trade with other clans, have children and marry them off - live life and prosper across the generations.
Why similar: Colony Sim 59.5% ★, Sandbox 12%, Simulation 9.3%, Building 6%, Relaxing 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: It focuses on a tiny settlement scraping through brutal seasons, making it especially appealing if your favorite part of Banished is surviving the early game.
- #16 Planetbase
87% matchMostly Positive80% of 10,262 reviews2015
Dev: Madruga Works
Windows · Mac
Median: 8.2 hrsMean: 26.2 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Guide a group of space settlers trying to establish a base on a remote planet. Grow food, collect energy, mine resources, survive disasters and build a self-sufficient colony in a harsh and unforgiving environment.
Why similar: Colony Sim 40.6% ★, City Builder 33.9%, Survival 8.2%, Strategy 5.3%, Simulation 2.8%
Why You'll Like It: This is essentially Banished in space, built around keeping a fragile colony alive through production chains, bottlenecks, and environmental danger.
- #17 Frostpunk
86% matchVery Positive93% of 132,545 reviews2018
Dev: 11 bit studios
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.2 hrsMean: 22.4 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Frostpunk is the first society survival game. As the ruler of the last city on Earth, it is your duty to manage both its citizens and infrastructure. What decisions will you make to ensure your society's survival? What will you do when pushed to breaking point? Who will you become in the process?
Why similar: City Builder 38%, Colony Sim 30.6% ★, Survival 11.1%, Strategy 6.2%, Resource Management 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: It is much harsher and more scripted, yet the tense survival economy and life-or-death resource decisions hit a similar nerve.
- #18 Norland
85% matchVery Positive82% of 9,662 reviews2024
Dev: Long JauntPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 17.2 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Lead your noble family in this medieval colony sim, facing off against class conflict, religious struggle, and political treachery. Tend to your people’s needs, uncover the lost knowledge of a fallen empire, and engage in nefarious plots against your enemies.
Why similar: Colony Sim 31% ★, City Builder 27.1%, Survival 7.7%, Sandbox 5.8%, Strategy 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: It adds more social simulation and conflict, but its medieval colony management and emergent settlement problems fit Banished-adjacent tastes well.
- #19 Of Life and Land
84% matchVery Positive86% of 351 reviews2025
Dev: KerzovenPub: Metaroot
Windows · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 60%
Of Life and Land is a charming settlement-building strategy game paired with a rich simulation experience. Every animal and plant strives to find its place in nature while you lead your villagers to their future. Expand to different regions and trade with local factions to gain needed resources.
Why similar: Colony Sim 29.1% ★, City Builder 26.7%, Survival 6.7%, Medieval 5.3%, Strategy 5.2%
Why You'll Like It: This is a slower, systemic settlement sim where ecology, production, and survival all matter in ways that feel close to Banished’s design priorities.
- #20 Lords and Villeins
84% matchMostly Positive71% of 951 reviews2022
Dev: Honestly GamesPub: Fulqrum Publishing
Windows
Median: 1.2 hrsMean: 15.5 hrs≥1hr: 54%
Build a prosperous settlement in a unique simulation of a feudal economy - each family runs their shop, owns their goods, and trades with other villagers in a free market. You will manage the land, build houses, organise events, set taxes, and balance supply and demand while engaging in diplomacy!
Why similar: Colony Sim 35.3% ★, City Builder 28.4%, Medieval 5.8%, Strategy 5.5%, Sandbox 5%
Why You'll Like It: Its feudal production management is more economy-focused, but Banished fans may enjoy how it models households, labor, and village development.
- #21 RimWorld
83% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 236,346 reviews2018
Dev: Ludeon Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 59.1 hrsMean: 259.4 hrs≥1hr: 92%
A sci-fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller. Generates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.
Why similar: Colony Sim 45% ★, City Builder 19.6%, Survival 10.4%, Sandbox 5.8%, Strategy 5.2%
Why You'll Like It: It is more emergent and character-driven than Banished, but the colony survival, labor prioritization, and disaster recovery are strongly adjacent.
- #22 Land of the Vikings
82% matchMostly Positive74% of 2,203 reviews2023
Dev: Laps GamesPub: Iceberg Interactive
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 9.6 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Land of the Vikings is a survival colony sim game. Build and lead your village, and expand it into a thriving city. A wise Jarl must manage resources, survive harsh conditions, and guide their fellow Vikings to work together through social conflict. Skál!
Why similar: Colony Sim 35.3% ★, City Builder 30.1%, Survival 7.9%, Strategy 5.4%, Sandbox 5.1%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a familiar loop of placing production buildings, assigning workers, and trying to keep a harsh historical settlement functioning and growing.
- #23 Surviving the Aftermath
82% matchMostly Positive71% of 4,513 reviews2021
Dev: Iceflake StudiosPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 17.8 hrs≥1hr: 74%
Survive and thrive in a post-apocalyptic future — resources are scarce, but opportunity calls! Build the ultimate disaster proof colony, protect your colonists, and restore civilization to a devastated world.
Why similar: City Builder 37.5%, Colony Sim 31.9% ★, Survival 10.1%, Strategy 8.3%, Simulation 6.6%
Why You'll Like It: Its post-collapse setting changes the theme, yet the focus on keeping a struggling settlement alive through shortages and expansion is very familiar.
- #24 Founders' Fortune
81% matchVery Positive80% of 2,168 reviews2020
Dev: Dionic Software
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 9.9 hrs≥1hr: 57%
A fantasy village builder focusing on creative building, colonist psychology and base defense. Handle resources, farming, production, tools, diplomacy, families, trading, defense, and research, as well as the wishes, expectations, thoughts, and equipment of every villager.
Why similar: Colony Sim 44.8% ★, City Builder 25.8%, Survival 5.9%, Strategy 4.2%, Sandbox 4.2%
Why You'll Like It: It mixes colony-sim personalities with approachable settlement management, offering a lighter but still recognizable Banished-style progression.
- #25 Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
79% matchVery Positive91% of 25,183 reviews2024
Dev: 3DivisionPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 6.6 hrsMean: 73.0 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build a soviet republic from an impoverished country into a rich industrial superpower in a city builder with intricate production chains and a fully simulated global economy. Manage the lives of your citizens from education to work and party loyalty to criminal activity.
Why similar: Colony Sim 29.9% ★, City Builder 29.9%, Survival 6.1%, Strategy 5.9%, Sandbox 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: It is far more complex and industrial, but its rigorous logistics and survival-minded planning can scratch the same systems-heavy management itch.
- #26 Ancient Cities
81% matchMixed63% of 2,108 reviews2023
Dev: Uncasual Games
Windows
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 11.2 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Ancient Cities is a realistic, survival city builder in an immersive procedural environment. Lead the fate of your tribe through ancient times!
Why similar: City Builder 37.1%, Colony Sim 21.9% ★, Survival 10.5%, Strategy 7.4%, Simulation 4.7%
Why You'll Like It: Its primitive settlement survival, population care, and gradual growth from a tiny community align well with Banished’s fragile early-game appeal.
- #27 Songs of Syx
79% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 7,777 reviews2020
Dev: Gamatron AB
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 14.9 hrsMean: 41.2 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Songs of Syx is a fantasy city-builder with vast battles simulating thousands of citizens and soldiers. Start off as a small village and build, scheme, and fight your way towards a mighty empire. The mechanics are deep and true to life, where tiny events can spiral into the collapse of kingdoms.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.2% ★, City Builder 29.6%, Survival 7.4%, Sandbox 5.9%, Strategy 5.3%
Why You'll Like It: It scales the formula up dramatically, but the intricate population, supply, and city-growth systems will appeal if you want a deeper management sandbox.
- #28 The Colonists
80% matchVery Positive86% of 1,205 reviews2018
Dev: CodebyfirePub: Mode 7
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 13.0 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Build a new home for your team of robots as they begin a new life for themselves on a distant planet where they can fulfil their ultimate dream: to be human.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.4% ★, City Builder 30.7%, Survival 7.6%, Sandbox 5.1%, Economy 4.4%
Why You'll Like It: It is gentler and more automation-focused, but its settler expansion and layered production chains make it a good fit for Banished players who like logistics.
- #29 Nebuchadnezzar
78% matchMostly Positive79% of 1,793 reviews2021
Dev: Nepos GamesPub: Astra Logical
Windows · Linux
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 7.4 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Create and customize cities in Nebuchadnezzar, a classic isometric city-builder where careful planning and define your rise as a ruler in ancient Mesopotamia.
Why similar: City Builder 41.1%, Colony Sim 22% ★, Sandbox 7.7%, Economy 5.1%, Strategy 4.9%
Why You'll Like It: Its historical city-building and carefully tuned production logistics make it a solid pick if your favorite part of Banished is building efficient economies.
- #30 Before We Leave
78% matchMostly Positive78% of 1,697 reviews2021
Dev: Balancing Monkey GamesPub: Team17
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Before We Leave is a city building game set in a cozy corner of the universe. Nurture your Peeps and their surroundings while rebuilding and rediscovering civilisation. Settle new lands and planets while avoiding hungry Space Whales.
Why similar: City Builder 37%, Colony Sim 28.2% ★, Sandbox 6%, Resource Management 5.5%, Economy 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: This is a softer, less punishing alternative that still centers on settlement expansion and efficient resource production chains.
- #31 Prison Architect
76% matchVery Positive89% of 73,112 reviews2015
Dev: Introversion SoftwarePub: Paradox Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.0 hrsMean: 30.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Only the world’s most ruthless Warden can contain the world’s most ruthless inmates. Design and develop your personalized penitentiary in Prison Architect.
Why similar: Colony Sim 36.8% ★, City Builder 28.6%, Sandbox 7.4%, Simulation 6.1%, Strategy 6.1%
- #32 Settlements Rising
75% matchVery Positive82% of 412 reviews2025
Dev: The Catalyst Crew
Windows
Settlements Rising is a medieval city building and colony management game. It offers a lively colony experience with simulated villagers, dozens of professions and resources, natural disasters, and raids, while providing full control over the colony through trade, production chains and datas.
Why similar: Colony Sim 32.2% ★, City Builder 29.7%, Survival 5.5%, Strategy 5.2%, Medieval 4.9%
- #33 Life is Feudal: Forest Village
77% matchMixed66% of 5,984 reviews2017
Dev: MindillusionPub: Bitbox Ltd.
Windows
Median: 2.5 hrsMean: 30.8 hrs≥1hr: 63%
LiF:Forest Village is a city builder with survival aspects in a realistic harsh medieval world. Shape, build and expand your settlement, grow various food to prevent your villagers from avitaminosis and starvation. Possess them for additional micromanagement or simply to wander around.
Why similar: Colony Sim 38.8% ★, City Builder 36%, Survival 5.4%, Strategy 4.4%, Medieval 4%
- #34 Anno 2070™
77% matchMixed60% of 12,622 reviews2011
Dev: Blue BytePub: Ubisoft
Windows
Median: 10.5 hrsMean: 30.9 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Build your society of the future, colonize islands, and create sprawling megacities with multitudes of buildings, vehicles, and resources to manage.
Why similar: City Builder 63.9%, Strategy 13.3%, Simulation 6.3%, Resource Management 4.2%, Economy 3.9%
- #35 ISLANDERS
74% matchVery Positive94% of 16,710 reviews2019
Dev: Coatsink
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 5.5 hrs≥1hr: 64%
ISLANDERS is a minimalist strategy game about building cities on colorful islands.
Why similar: City Builder 46.8%, Colony Sim 27.6% ★, Strategy 7.8%, Relaxing 5.2%, Beautiful 4.8% ★
- #36 Gnomoria
76% matchMostly Positive75% of 3,532 reviews2016
Dev: Robotronic Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.9 hrsMean: 18.3 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Gnomoria is a sandbox village management game where you help lead a small group of gnomes, who have set out on their own, to thrive into a bustling kingdom! Anything you see can be broken down and rebuilt elsewhere.
Why similar: Colony Sim 38.5% ★, City Builder 30.8%, Sandbox 7.2%, Survival 6.7%, Strategy 5.7%
- #37 Tropico 5
75% matchMostly Positive79% of 14,325 reviews2014
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Kalypso Media Digital
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 22.1 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Return to the remote island nation of Tropico and expand your Dynasty’s reign from the early colonial period to beyond the 21st Century, facing new challenges including advanced trading mechanics, technology and scientific research, as well as cooperative and competitive MULTIPLAYER.
Why similar: City Builder 59%, Strategy 13.1%, Simulation 9.1%, Sandbox 7.7%, Economy 3.9%
- #38 Cities: Skylines
73% matchVery Positive93% of 286,936 reviews2015
Dev: Colossal OrderPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 10.0 hrsMean: 65.0 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The game introduces new game play elements to realize the thrill and hardships of creating and maintaining a real city whilst expanding on some well-established tropes of the city building experience.
Why similar: City Builder 64.6%, Simulation 7.9%, Sandbox 6.2%, Strategy 5.8%, Building 4.6%
- #39 Space Haven
73% matchVery Positive86% of 9,719 reviews2020
Dev: Bugbyte Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 20.2 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Embark on a space voyage with your ragtag crew of civilians in search of a new home. Build spaceships tile by tile, create optimal gas conditions, manage the needs and moods of their crew, encounter other space-faring groups, and explore the universe in this spaceship colony simulation.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.6% ★, City Builder 26.1%, Survival 9.1%, Sandbox 6.2%, Strategy 5.6%
- #40 Dwarf Fortress
71% matchVery Positive95% of 30,806 reviews2022
Dev: Bay 12 GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 38.4 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Build a fortress and try to help your dwarves survive against a deeply generated world. Keep your dwarves happy, grow their community and beware of digging too deeply. The deepest, most intricate simulation of a world that's ever been created.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.6% ★, City Builder 29.6%, Survival 9.1%, Sandbox 6.6%, Strategy 5.8%
- #41 Hearthlands
74% matchVery Positive82% of 414 reviews2017
Dev: Four White Cats
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 7.1 hrs≥1hr: 58%
Hearthlands is a medieval/fantasy city-building real time strategy game in which you take a role of a king in a procedurally generated world. You can not control your subjects directly; instead you focus on city-building, resource management, diplomacy, magic, etc.
Why similar: City Builder 34.1%, Colony Sim 32.6% ★, Strategy 6.1%, Medieval 5.4%, Simulation 5.1%
- #42 Anno 1404 - History Edition
72% matchVery Positive82% of 3,444 reviews2020
Dev: Ubisoft MainzPub: Ubisoft
Windows
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 31.4 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Relive the captivating gameplay of a true city-building classic with Anno® 1404 History Edition.
Why similar: City Builder 45.7%, Colony Sim 24.9% ★, Strategy 9.7%, Simulation 6.6%, Building 4.1%
- #43 The Guild II Renaissance
73% matchVery Positive83% of 3,996 reviews2010
Dev: Runeforge Game StudioPub: THQ Nordic
Windows
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 18.0 hrs≥1hr: 67%
For centuries Europe has been dominated by the church and nobility. On the shoulders of ordinary people the servants of god and the noble families justified their power and wealth. This was the incontrovertible, divine world order. A truly dark era… In the 14th Century the world order is beginning to transform itself.
Why similar: Colony Sim 43.5% ★, City Builder 18.4%, Medieval 8.1%, Strategy 7.7%, Simulation 6.8%
- #44 Humanica
69% matchVery Positive95% of 121 reviews2026
Dev: PanfachDev
Windows
Humanica is a city-builder game about an ancient settlement, featuring vast technological development. Experience the journey from sticks and stones to iron tools and windmills!
Why similar: City Builder 29.9%, Colony Sim 27% ★, Survival 8.8%, Strategy 5%, Simulation 4.9%
- #45 Townsmen - A Kingdom Rebuilt
72% matchMostly Positive71% of 1,339 reviews2019
Dev: HandyGames
Windows
Median: 6.3 hrsMean: 14.6 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Townsmen – A Kingdom Rebuilt hands the crown to you: Guide your people from their first steps in a small village to a massive medieval metropolis with thousands of inhabitants.
Why similar: Colony Sim 41.8% ★, City Builder 27.6%, Strategy 9.2%, Simulation 7.8%, Medieval 4.2%
- #46 Pioneers of Pagonia
67% matchVery Positive82% of 5,204 reviews2025
Dev: Envision Entertainment
Windows
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 76%
Rebuild hope in a world that was lost in the fog. Lead your Pioneers across the isles of Pagonia, unite scattered tribes, raise thriving communities and discover the history of your people as you reclaim your world in the new story campaign.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.4% ★, City Builder 29%, Medieval 6.4%, Strategy 5.8%, Resource Management 5%
- #47 Anno 1800
69% matchVery Positive81% of 30,897 reviews2019
Dev: Ubisoft MainzPub: Ubisoft
Windows
Median: 9.7 hrsMean: 39.6 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Anno 1800™ – Lead the Industrial Revolution! Welcome to the dawn of the Industrial Age. The path you choose will define your world. Are you an innovator or an exploiter? A conqueror or a liberator? How the world remembers your name is up to you.
Why similar: City Builder 63.1%, Strategy 10.2%, Simulation 7.2%, Economy 5.9%, Sandbox 4.2%
- #48 Endzone 2
68% matchMixed69% of 1,004 reviews2025
Dev: Gentlymad StudiosPub: Assemble Entertainment
Windows
Median: 2.3 hrsMean: 8.5 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Endzone 2 is a post-apocalyptic survival colony builder, where you embark to secure humanity's survival after a cataclysmic disaster. Discover and repopulate the last habitable grounds, while the survival of your people hinges on your wits, foresight, and resilience in a harsh and unforgiving world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.4% ★, City Builder 28.8%, Survival 8.8%, Sandbox 6%, Simulation 4.3%
- #49 Civitatem
70% matchMixed63% of 133 reviews2022
Dev: LW Games
Windows
Civitatem is a medieval city builder where you help your villagers raise a new settlement in dangerous lands by making use of their skills and available world resources.
Why similar: City Builder 46.9%, Strategy 11.1%, Simulation 8.7%, Survival 8.4%, Medieval 6.7%
- #50 The Bonfire 2: Uncharted Shores
70% matchMixed69% of 360 reviews2020
Dev: Xigma Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.9 hrsMean: 8.3 hrs≥1hr: 94%
Build, survive, explore. Design your city, manage resource chains and workers, Send ships on expedition, trade with cities, discover mysterious dungeons and uncover secrets of ancients.
Why similar: Colony Sim 43.6% ★, City Builder 24.1%, Survival 10.7%, Strategy 5.6%, Simulation 4.7%
- #51 Urbek City Builder
67% matchVery Positive90% of 1,808 reviews2022
Dev: FridusPub: RockGame S.A.
Windows
Median: 3.1 hrsMean: 10.0 hrs≥1hr: 74%
Urbek is a city building game where you can build your own neighbourhoods: from nightlife district to industrial district. Don't exhaust your natural resources before you have an educated population to build more efficient structures.
Why similar: City Builder 48.7%, Sandbox 9.1%, Strategy 8%, Simulation 7.4%, Resource Management 6.5%
- #52 Villagers
71% matchMixed53% of 342 reviews2016
Dev: bumblebee.Pub: Avanquest Software Publishing Ltd
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 5.3 hrs≥1hr: 95%
Villagers is a beautifully illustrated and richly detailed town-building game where you build a thriving community using the people and resources around you. Success or failure depends on your ability to create a town that can grow and prosper, and overcome the harsh realities of medieval life!
Why similar: City Builder 63.9%, Strategy 14.1%, Simulation 11.9%, Medieval 7.7%, Indie 2.4%
- #53 Aven Colony
70% matchMostly Positive72% of 2,731 reviews2017
Dev: Mothership Entertainment LLCPub: Team17 Digital Ltd
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 8.2 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Build a new home for humanity in Aven Colony. Discover Aven Prime - an alien planet of deserts, tundras, and wetlands light years from earth. Build your colonies into massive, sprawling cities whilst dealing with the challenges faced when settling on a new world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 45% ★, City Builder 37.2%, Strategy 6.4%, Simulation 4.6%, Survival 3%
- #54 Colonize Prologue
69% matchMixed64% of 510 reviews2022
Dev: RembrosoftPub: CreativeForge Games
Windows
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 14.7 hrs≥1hr: 58%
Colonize Prologue is a combination of survival game and building strategy that takes place during the colonization period - the 17th century. It tells the story of a settlement in the new world and all the difficulties encountered by the early settlers.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.5% ★, City Builder 30.8%, Survival 8.1%, Sandbox 6.5%, Strategy 4.5%
- #55 Cliff Empire
68% matchVery Positive87% of 4,340 reviews2019
Dev: Lion's Shade
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 15.2 hrs≥1hr: 79%
After a nuclear war life on the surface became impossible. A 300m thick radioactive fog covered the Earth. We are looking for bold active people to manage the process of restoring life on Earth. Join!
Why similar: City Builder 33.9%, Colony Sim 31.6% ★, Strategy 6.3%, Simulation 5.4%, Sandbox 5.4%
- #56 New Cycle
66% matchMostly Positive79% of 2,783 reviews2024
Dev: Core EngagePub: Daedalic Entertainment
Windows
Median: 4.8 hrsMean: 7.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
New Cycle is a city building game with focus on survival. After an apocalyptic series of solar flares, human society has been thrown into disarray. Establish a settlement and develop it all the way from humble beginnings to industrial metropolis.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.8% ★, City Builder 32.4%, Survival 9.7%, Strategy 6.2%, Simulation 4.8%
- #57 Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder
65% matchVery Positive85% of 729 reviews2025
Dev: Coreffect InteractivePub: Forklift Interactive
Windows
Median: 3.9 hrsMean: 7.2 hrs≥1hr: 72%
At the farthest reaches of the empire, a new Roman city is born! Manage and grow your city, please the gods, and survive against barbarians and mythological threats to achieve Roman Triumph!
Why similar: Colony Sim 31.4% ★, City Builder 27.6%, Survival 8.4%, Sandbox 5.6%, Strategy 5.1%
- #58 The Wandering Village
64% matchVery Positive92% of 8,074 reviews2025
Dev: Stray Fawn StudioPub: Stray Fawn Publishing
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.8 hrsMean: 10.4 hrs≥1hr: 81%
The Wandering Village is a city-building simulation game on the back of a giant, wandering creature. Build your settlement and form a symbiotic relationship with the colossus. Will you survive together in this hostile, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world, contaminated by poisonous plants?
Why similar: Colony Sim 35.5% ★, City Builder 33.8%, Survival 7%, Simulation 5.8%, Resource Management 5.1%
- #59 Whiskerwood
62% matchVery Positive93% of 2,769 reviews2025
Dev: Minakata DynamicsPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 15.3 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Establish a home for your industrious mice under the oppressive paw of your cat overlords in this city builder featuring complex simulations, intricate production chains, and the age-old rivalry between cat and mouse.
Why similar: Colony Sim 30.9% ★, City Builder 27.4%, Survival 7.5%, Sandbox 5.8%, Strategy 5.4%