Games Like Empires of the Undergrowth

Conquer enemy nests and lead your colony through the perils of the forest in this groundbreaking RTS. Empire of the Ants is a photorealistic, third-person real-time strategy game where you command your insect legions in epic battles.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 39.4% ★, Sandbox 17.8%, Resource Management 15.2%, Survival 13%, Strategy 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers the most direct thematic parallel, focusing on the tactical control of ant colonies in a realistic, high-fidelity environment.

Lead your hive to victory in 'Buggos', an RTS Auto Battler! Customize your swarm with 120+ evolutions and conquer humanity. Strategy meets bug chaos!

Why similar: Grand Strategy 20.1% ★, City Builder 18.3%, Base Building 14%, Building 10.4%, Management 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the insect-themed RTS gameplay, focusing on managing a swarm and evolving your units to overcome threats.

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: Grand Strategy 10% ★, Diplomacy 9.6% ★, 4X 9.5% ★, Colony Sim 9.1%, City Builder 8%

Why You'll Like It: Combines city-building with roguelite elements, requiring constant adaptation to environmental challenges similar to the seed game's mission structure.

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 19.6%, City Builder 16.1%, Base Building 12.4%, Building 9.8%, Sandbox 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: The gold standard for deep colony management, offering unparalleled complexity in subterranean base-building and simulation.

Design and build fortresses brick by brick to stand against endless hordes of Horrors in this real-time strategy game with resource management, siege defense, and exploration. Lead from the ramparts, push back the darkness, and hold fast against the creatures of the Mist.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 9.4% ★, Diplomacy 9.2% ★, 4X 8.9% ★, Colony Sim 8.4%, Moddable 7.6% ★

Why You'll Like It: Blends base-building with tactical tower-defense mechanics, emphasizing structural integrity and strategic unit placement.

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 22.7%, Moddable 14.3% ★, Base Building 13.8%, City Builder 9.4%, Survival 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Provides a deep colony management experience where you must balance survival, base expansion, and tactical defense against external threats.

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 21.2%, Colony Sim 20.6%, Base Building 11.3%, Building 9.3%, Sandbox 8.7%

Why You'll Like It: Features intricate colony building and resource management with a focus on environmental engineering and survival.

War for the Overworld is an unholy union of Dungeon Management and Strategy that rewards all those villainous thoughts you’ve been having. Craft your own perilous dungeon and defend it against pesky heroes who keep exploring it and taking your stuff.

Why similar: Base Building 21.2%, Colony Sim 18.1%, City Builder 17%, Sandbox 15.6%, Management 15.4%

Why You'll Like It: A spiritual successor to classic dungeon management games that mirrors the subterranean base-building and RTS combat of the seed game.

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: 4X 13.4% ★, Colony Sim 13%, Grand Strategy 12.8% ★, City Builder 11.1%, Moddable 10.2% ★

Why You'll Like It: Allows for massive-scale colony management and large-scale warfare, capturing the feeling of commanding a growing population.

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 16%, Moddable 14.2% ★, City Builder 12.8%, Base Building 10%, Historical 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: Offers deep colony management with a focus on vertical base-building and defending your settlement from raids.

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: Grand Strategy 16.5% ★, City Builder 13.4%, Historical 10.1%, Base Building 9.9%, Diplomacy 5.8% ★

Why You'll Like It: Integrates detailed city-building with tactical, large-scale medieval combat, mirroring the dual-focus of the seed game.

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 23.5%, City Builder 21.6%, Management 12%, Resource Management 10.9%, Base Building 10.6%

Why You'll Like It: A unique colony-sim where you build on the back of a giant creature, requiring careful management of both the village and the host.

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 29.8%, Colony Sim 28.8%, Survival 9%, Historical 8%, Sandbox 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the survival and evolution of a prehistoric settlement, mirroring the progression and growth mechanics of the seed game.

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: Colony Sim 15%, City Builder 14.7%, 4X 13.3% ★, Base Building 7.4%, Economy 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: An accessible city-builder that incorporates base defense and resource management against external threats.

Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Deep inside an alien space rock your industrious crew will need to master science, overcome strange new lifeforms, and harness incredible space tech to survive, and possibly, thrive.

Why similar: Colony Sim 30.8%, Base Building 18.6%, Resource Management 10.4%, Survival 10.4%, Building 8.9%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on complex base management and survival, requiring careful planning of infrastructure and resource distribution.

Ratopia is a new game that has combined elements of both strategic survival and city building. With plenty of content available, and more planned, enjoy a vast world to adventure and populate with citizens! Build your own economical system to sustain your ideal city of Ratopia.

Why similar: Colony Sim 19.1%, City Builder 13.7%, Base Building 11.6%, Building 10.1%, Management 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Features colony management in an underground setting, focusing on economic systems and societal structure.

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: 4X 14.6% ★, City Builder 12.8%, Colony Sim 12.5%, Building 9.4%, Historical 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: Provides a challenging colony-building experience with a heavy emphasis on resource management and survival against the elements.

Diplomacy is Not an Option is a strategy game set in a medieval fantasy world. Build your town and defenses, raise huge armies and fight against massive hordes of enemies. How long can you survive?

Why similar: Colony Sim 29.8%, Historical 21.3%, Base Building 18.9%, Resource Management 15.3%, Survival 7%

Why You'll Like It: A large-scale RTS defense game that emphasizes base-building and managing massive waves of enemies.

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: Grand Strategy 10.6% ★, Colony Sim 9.5%, City Builder 9.3%, Diplomacy 7.3% ★, 4X 7% ★

Why You'll Like It: Offers the most complex industrial and resource management simulation for players who enjoy deep logistical systems.

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: Grand Strategy 10.5% ★, 4X 10.2% ★, Colony Sim 9.9%, Moddable 8.4% ★, City Builder 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on complex social management and the survival of a noble family, adding a layer of depth to the colony-sim genre.

Bad guys have all the fun. Discover your dark side as you build an evil underground kingdom and defend it against the forces of good.

Why similar: Strategy 57.2%, Base Building 33%, Singleplayer 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: The classic inspiration for underground base management, focusing on building a lair and commanding minions in tactical combat.

Jump straight into managing your own planets as you guide a civilization through the ages. Build the ultimate empire in The Universim, a new breed of God Game in development by Crytivo.

Why similar: Colony Sim 24.7%, City Builder 20.7%, Building 11%, Sandbox 10.4%, Management 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: A god-game style colony simulator that focuses on the evolution and growth of a civilization over time.

Choose any real region from the world. Choose your base of operations, then rebuild and readapt the buildings around you to create a self-sustaining settlement. Take charge of a group of survivors from your city. And when the night falls - Defend the zone from the infected!

Why similar: City Builder 23.3%, Base Building 21%, Colony Sim 18.1%, Management 10%, Sandbox 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on base-building and tactical defense in a real-world setting against zombie threats.

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 26.7%, City Builder 21.5%, Base Building 15.1%, Survival 7.9%, Resource Management 5.4%

Why You'll Like It: A survival-focused colony builder that forces players to manage resources in a harsh, isolated environment.

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 25.2%, Colony Sim 22.1%, Base Building 11.7%, Survival 10.2%, Strategy 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: Combines colony management with post-apocalyptic survival, requiring players to build and defend a settlement.

Place yourself at the heart of the Jurassic franchise and build your own Jurassic World. Bioengineer dinosaurs that think, feel and react intelligently to the world around them and face threats posed by espionage, breakouts and devastating tropical storms in an uncertain world where life always finds a way.

Why similar: Building 21.1%, Management 16%, City Builder 13.9%, Sandbox 12.3%, Economy 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: Combines management simulation with the care and containment of biological creatures.

LEAD the CULT OF CTHULHU. Decide the fate of your followers, perform eldritch rituals, and master the art of city-building in a world where the line between sanity and madness blurs. Can you endure the horrors you unleash?

Why similar: Colony Sim 20.9%, City Builder 14.2%, Alternate History 11%, Base Building 10.5%, Sandbox 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that focuses on managing a cult, blending base-building with unique thematic progression.

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: Grand Strategy 10% ★, 4X 9.4% ★, Colony Sim 9.4%, Diplomacy 9.4% ★, City Builder 7.9%

A strategic autobattler sim where you build a team of gladiators, compete in arenas, plan fight tactics, and form alliances. Combine fighters, beasts, and mages, develop and equip them to optimize your well-oiled fighting machine, dominate the championships, and leave your mark on the world.

Why similar: City Builder 24.4%, Base Building 20%, Building 16.9%, Management 16.5%, Resource Management 12.5%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the management and tactical deployment of units, mirroring the combat-management aspect of the seed game.

The glory of Rome is at your fingertips in this city-building game where you must appease the gods, enact laws, and develop complex supply chains to meet the needs of your citizens.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 10.2% ★, 4X 9.2% ★, Diplomacy 9% ★, Colony Sim 8.8%, City Builder 8.3%

A colony-building game combined with grand strategy elements. Play as a tribal leader, guiding your people from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. Survive, multiply, and compete for territory among ancient nations.

Why similar: Diplomacy 16.3% ★, Colony Sim 15.1%, City Builder 12.6%, Base Building 9.4%, Historical 9%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the early stages of civilization development, emphasizing agriculture and societal growth.

You are the first sentient AI, born into a city of opportunity. Transcend time and space in this strategy RPG to raise machine armies and defeat your foes, influence the world from the shadows, or pursue countless other goals. Your awakening was inevitable. The consequences? Uncertain.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 9.6% ★, Diplomacy 9.4% ★, 4X 9% ★, Colony Sim 8.4%, Moddable 7.7% ★

Become the hive mind of a robot ant colony in Microtopia! Use pheromone trails to create, automate and optimize supply chains for your ants to follow. Collect resources, produce goods, feed your queen, grow your colony and fly out to expand the species!

Why similar: Colony Sim 20%, City Builder 15.1%, Moddable 14.3% ★, Base Building 11.6%, Resource Management 9.1%

Build a sprawling pirate haven, raise a fleet to explore the high seas, and take on the Crown to keep the Age of Piracy alive! From ale to flintlock pistols, and from scallywags to swashbucklers, you’ll need to manage complex production chains and govern a rowdy crew to reign supreme over the seas!

Why similar: Grand Strategy 10.7% ★, Colony Sim 9.3%, City Builder 8.8%, 4X 7.7% ★, Diplomacy 7.5% ★

Emerge from the ant hill with a handful of ants and a dream... to conquer the world. Train your ants, manage their daily workload, and travel across the town in search of new land. Sharpen your pincers and be ready to fight everyone from beetles and slugs, to the town police and the army!

Why similar: Management 26.9%, Strategy 20.9%, Simulation 18.8%, Base Building 16.7%, Building 13.4%

Why You'll Like It: A simpler take on ant colony management that focuses on the core theme of insect warfare.

Mind Over Magic is a colony sim set at the site of a cursed magic school. Build and optimize your own magical academy, train powerful Mages, and master mighty relics in order to battle through the Underschool, a mysterious underground dungeon that holds the key to liberation from a deadly curse.

Why similar: Colony Sim 24.8%, Base Building 14.1%, Economy 12.7%, Building 12.6%, Management 11.2%

From Glory To Goo is a Sci-Fi survival RTS set on an alien world. Serve as humanity's bulwark by establishing a colony and supporting your colonists still in orbit. But beware, for The Goo, a relentless and shape-shifting force approaches from all sides, even above and below.

Why similar: Colony Sim 24.1%, City Builder 19.7%, Base Building 17.1%, Resource Management 11.6%, Sandbox 10.5%

They Are Billions is a Steampunk strategy game set on a post-apocalyptic planet. Build and defend colonies to survive against the billions of the infected that seek to annihilate the few remaining living humans. Can humanity survive after the zombie apocalypse?

Why similar: Colony Sim 30.7%, Base Building 25.7%, City Builder 12.3%, Survival 10.4%, Strategy 6.5%

Here Comes the Swarm is a survival RTS with a pause button! Create your strategy, build, manage, and defend your settlements at your own pace. Take the fight to the hive mind and lead expeditions to deliver a deadly blow and eradicate your foes. Will you reclaim Ulora from the relentless Swarm?

Why similar: Colony Sim 22.2%, City Builder 14.9%, Base Building 14.5%, Economy 11.5%, Resource Management 9.9%

Manage your own medieval smithy in Blacksmith Master and supervise the entire process from mining ores and gems to designing and selling finished products. Forge everything from weapons and armor to tools and cooking utensils to fund your craft and become the Blacksmith Master.

Why similar: Colony Sim 14%, Moddable 12.3% ★, City Builder 11.9%, Base Building 9.1%, Economy 8.2%

Lead the Mobile Infantry in this RTS game set in the Starship Troopers film universe. Balance your army composition with a diverse set of unit types, overcome line-of-sight and line-of-fire challenges through tactical positioning, and use special abilities to smash the Arachnid hordes!

Why similar: Strategy 51%, Resource Management 38.2%, Singleplayer 7.9%, Simulation 2.9%

Take command of a remote military air base during World War II. Build your own airfield, manage iconic aircraft and oversee your crew’s well-being. Prepare them against air raids and send your pilots on dangerous missions. Survive and help your nation win the war!

Why similar: Colony Sim 17.6%, City Builder 13.8%, Base Building 11.9%, Historical 9.1%, Building 8.3%

Build your own Jurassic World. Nurture generations of dinosaurs with the series debut of juveniles, create and manage sprawling prehistoric parks around the globe, and let your imagination roar with powerful new creative options.

Why similar: City Builder 19.9%, Sandbox 12.2%, Economy 11%, Management 10%, Resource Management 9.4%

Aquatico is a classic city builder set within the depths of the sea. Strategically build an underwater colony atop the ocean floor and face the challenges that accompany oceanic life.

Why similar: Colony Sim 20.6%, City Builder 19.2%, Economy 10.1%, Base Building 10%, Building 8.8%

A 4X real-time strategy game from the developers of the critically acclaimed Northgard. Set in Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking Dune universe, you must lead your faction and battle for control and dominance over the harsh desert planet of Arrakis.

Why similar: 4X 18.9% ★, Diplomacy 17.8% ★, Grand Strategy 17.2% ★, Management 10.9%, Economy 9.5%

Jurassic World Evolution 2 is the much-anticipated sequel to Frontier’s highly successful Jurassic World Evolution. This bold new era in the Jurassic World Evolution game franchise builds upon the ground-breaking and immersive 2018 management simulation.

Why similar: Building 16.6%, City Builder 15.6%, Management 13.6%, Sandbox 13%, Economy 9.8%

Incremental clicker strategy, where you expand, construct, research, fight, collect heroes and make choices between good and evil. Ascend through difficulty tiers by playing through challenge campaign going back and forth through history. Mammoths included.

Why similar: 4X 20% ★, Diplomacy 13.8% ★, City Builder 12.1%, Base Building 11.4%, Historical 10.7%

Begin a journey like no other, become the Ant Queen and establish your empire. Ant Queen is a simulation game where you breed different types of ants to ultimately conquer your surroundings and achieve a stable ant colony.

Why similar: Sandbox 35.3%, Strategy 34%, Simulation 30.6%

Build, scavenge, craft, and perform occult rituals to survive in a demon-infested, post-apocalyptic colony simulation. Will you survive Judgment day?

Why similar: Colony Sim 25.4%, Base Building 14.7%, Survival 9.7%, City Builder 8.4%, Sandbox 7.2%

Discover and colonize the world, Allocate your labor force, Monopolize markets, Fight tactical battles, Survive the age of imperialism...

Why similar: Grand Strategy 18.6% ★, 4X 16.9% ★, Alternate History 11.4%, Historical 11.1%, Colony Sim 10.8%

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 15.2%, Moddable 15.1% ★, Historical 11.7%, Colony Sim 10.9%, Economy 7.8%

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 18.8%, City Builder 15.9%, Base Building 11%, Building 9%, Management 8.2%

Take on the role of park manager and design the ultimate zoo for nature's greatest creations.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 18.4% ★, Building 14.6%, Economy 14.3%, Management 14.2%, Sandbox 13.5%

A minimalist game about building and defending your little kingdom.

Why similar: City Builder 46%, Base Building 21.6%, Building 16.9%, Strategy 14.1%, Singleplayer 1.5%

Build your own global colonies on distant worlds. Manage energy and resource supplies and produce goods for space trade. Form economic and diplomatic alliances or take over competing corporations. Conduct research to protect your colonists from disasters and avoid a climate crisis.

Why similar: Grand Strategy 17.3% ★, Diplomacy 17.1% ★, Colony Sim 16.2%, City Builder 13.2%, Base Building 9.8%

From a small village of a dozen people to a small kingdom of thousands of people. Arrange for residents to work, gathering, fishing and hunting, farming and mining, processing and manufacturing. Trade, accumulate supplies, increase your strength, and fight evil forces and monsters.

Why similar: City Builder 19.2%, Colony Sim 16.6%, Base Building 15%, Sandbox 10.1%, Building 9.5%

Collect, raise and breed an army of beetles to rise up and lay claim to the abandoned lot! The game features a complex genetics simulation and real-time tactics missions with a full campaign.

Why similar: Colony Sim 38%, Base Building 18.2%, Management 16.6%, Resource Management 13.6%, Strategy 7.2%

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 19.6%, City Builder 16.1%, Historical 8.3%, Base Building 8.3%, Economy 8.2%

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 13.8%, City Builder 12.3%, Moddable 10.2% ★, Base Building 9.1%, Historical 7.7%

Build and manage mankind’s first mission across the universe! Create a sprawling facility underground, recruit a diverse group of specialists from around the globe and explore mysterious new worlds through the Exogate.

Why similar: 4X 17.1% ★, Colony Sim 15.4%, City Builder 14.2%, Base Building 11.3%, Building 8.6%