- #1 RimWorld
97% 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 33.3% ★, Base Building 17.8%, Survival 11.5%, Sandbox 6.3%, City Builder 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: The definitive colony-sim that perfectly balances base-building, survival, and emergent storytelling in a hostile environment.
- #2 Stranded: Alien Dawn
96% matchVery Positive85% of 10,890 reviews2023
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 24.2 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Brave a new world in Stranded: Alien Dawn, a planet survival sim placing the fate of a small marooned group in your hands. Forge your story through compelling and immersive strategic gameplay as you make vital decisions to protect your survivors.
Why similar: Colony Sim 26.6% ★, Base Building 24.8%, Survival 18%, Crafting 8.1%, Strategy 4.8%
Why You'll Like It: A 3D colony-sim that emphasizes tactical defense and survival against alien threats, mirroring the combat-heavy focus of the seed game.
- #3 Sheltered 2
96% matchMixed46% of 2,183 reviews2021
Dev: UnicubePub: Team17
Windows
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 14.1 hrs≥1hr: 68%
A brutal survival management simulator set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Keep your faction of survivors alive, maintain your shelter and scavenge the ravaged world for resources. Befriend and trade with the factions you meet or conquer them by force.
Why similar: Colony Sim 29.7% ★, Post-apocalyptic 16.9%, Base Building 15.3%, Survival 13.4%, Resource Management 8.3%
Why You'll Like It: Directly mirrors the small-group survival and resource management mechanics found in the seed game.
- #4 They Are Billions
95% matchVery Positive85% of 50,609 reviews2019
Dev: Numantian Games
Windows
Median: 14.1 hrsMean: 56.0 hrs≥1hr: 91%
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 34.1% ★, Base Building 24.8%, Survival 11.8%, Real-Time with Pause 6.3% ★, Post-apocalyptic 6.2%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses heavily on the base-defense aspect of survival, forcing players to build fortifications against massive waves of enemies.
- #5 Going Medieval
94% 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 27.4% ★, Base Building 15.1%, Survival 10.7%, City Builder 8.4%, Sandbox 7.4%
Why You'll Like It: A voxel-based colony sim that features complex defensive building mechanics and survival challenges.
- #6 Project Zomboid
94% matchVery Positive94% of 440,877 reviews2013
Dev: The Indie Stone
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 14.8 hrsMean: 82.3 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
Why similar: Survival 35.3%, Post-apocalyptic 19.8%, Sandbox 12.6%, Open World 12.1%, Crafting 8.5%
Why You'll Like It: Offers the most immersive scavenging and survival experience, requiring careful resource management and tactical decision-making.
- #7 Surviving the Aftermath
93% 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: Colony Sim 26.2% ★, Post-apocalyptic 18.6%, Survival 12.4%, Base Building 12.2%, City Builder 11.4%
Why You'll Like It: Features post-apocalyptic colony management with a strong emphasis on exploration and survival.
- #8 Survivalist: Invisible Strain
91% matchVery Positive87% of 4,190 reviews2025
Dev: BobPub: Ginormocorp Incorporated
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 14.6 hrs≥1hr: 82%
It's ten years since the infection started. Long-established settlements are collapsing, one by one, for unknown reasons. Survivors are running to the hills to escape, hoping for safety in remote places. As another refugee, you're here to carve out a new life for yourself - by any means necessary.
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.4% ★, Base Building 17.7%, Post-apocalyptic 16.6%, Survival 9.6%, Crafting 6.4%
Why You'll Like It: Blends base building, scavenging, and squad management with a focus on surviving in a dangerous, dynamic world.
- #9 Endzone - A World Apart
92% 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: Post-apocalyptic 17.8%, Colony Sim 15.9% ★, Survival 14.4%, Base Building 13.8%, City Builder 13.7%
Why You'll Like It: A solid post-apocalyptic city-builder that incorporates survival elements like radiation and resource scarcity.
- #10 State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
91% matchVery Positive83% of 67,089 reviews2020
Dev: Undead LabsPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 9.1 hrsMean: 39.2 hrs≥1hr: 89%
The dead have risen and civilization has fallen. Now it's up to you to gather survivors, scavenge for resources and build a community in a post-apocalyptic world – a world where you define what it means to survive in this ultimate zombie survival simulation.
Why similar: Base Building 33%, Survival 29.4%, Post-apocalyptic 15.2%, Open World 13.3%, Sandbox 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: Combines squad-based survival, base management, and combat in a post-apocalyptic setting.
- #11 Space Haven
90% 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 24.8% ★, Base Building 13.5%, Post-apocalyptic 10%, Survival 9.7%, City Builder 6.9%
Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that brings the survival and tactical combat mechanics into a space-faring setting.
- #12 Dawn of Man
89% 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: Colony Sim 45.9% ★, City Builder 18.4%, Survival 14.7%, Strategy 4.8%, Sandbox 4.8%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the progression and survival of a small group over time, emphasizing resource gathering and defense.
- #13 Frostpunk
88% 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: Colony Sim 25.5% ★, Post-apocalyptic 14.2%, Survival 13.8%, City Builder 11.7%, Resource Management 7.8%
Why You'll Like It: A high-stakes survival management game where every decision impacts the survival of your colony in a frozen wasteland.
- #14 Infection Free Zone
87% matchVery Positive80% of 17,172 reviews2024
Dev: Jutsu GamesPub: Games Operators
Windows
Median: 6.8 hrsMean: 17.3 hrs≥1hr: 86%
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: Colony Sim 21.5% ★, Base Building 21.4%, Post-apocalyptic 18.6%, City Builder 10.4%, Survival 9.4%
Why You'll Like It: Uses real-world maps for base-building and defense against zombie hordes, emphasizing tactical positioning.
- #15 Dead State: Reanimated
89% matchMostly Positive73% of 2,543 reviews2014
Dev: DoubleBear Productions
Windows
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 16.4 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Dead State is a narrative-driven survival RPG set at the dawn of the undead apocalypse. Drawing inspiration from classic RPGs like Fallout, X-Com, and Suikoden, Dead State combines strategic, turn-based combat with base building mechanics, character creation, and social management.
Why similar: Survival 47.4%, Post-apocalyptic 22.4%, Strategy 9.2%, Base Building 6.4%, Sandbox 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: A squad-based survival game that prioritizes tactical combat and base management during a societal collapse.
- #16 This War of Mine
86% matchVery Positive94% of 96,656 reviews2014
Dev: 11 bit studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 16.6 hrs≥1hr: 83%
In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.
Why similar: Survival 36.2%, Base Building 17.7%, Post-apocalyptic 13.6%, Crafting 8.6%, Resource Management 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the gritty, desperate survival aspects of a post-apocalyptic setting where every resource counts.
- #17 The Last Haven
86% matchMixed61% of 1,526 reviews2023
Dev: Thunder Devs.
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 14.1 hrs≥1hr: 75%
The world after a nuclear war. Manage the settlement, learn technology, make decisions, produce weapons, ammunition, organize defense, raid for supplies on other areas, do not let residents die, survive the nuclear winter.
Why similar: Base Building 23%, Post-apocalyptic 18.6%, Survival 11.2%, Colony Sim 9.7% ★, Strategy 7.7%
Why You'll Like It: A post-apocalyptic base-building game with a heavy focus on survival and resource gathering.
- #18 Kenshi
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 110,425 reviews2018
Dev: Lo-Fi Games
Windows
Median: 9.9 hrsMean: 70.4 hrs≥1hr: 83%
A free-roaming squad based RPG. Focusing on open-ended sandbox gameplay features rather than a linear story. Be a trader, a thief, a rebel, a warlord, an adventurer, a farmer, a slave, or just food for the cannibals. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors.
Why similar: Survival 17.8%, Base Building 14.7%, Sandbox 13.8%, Post-apocalyptic 12.9%, Open World 11.8%
Why You'll Like It: Provides a brutal, open-world survival experience where you must build your own faction and manage squad members.
- #19 Oxygen
84% matchMostly Positive73% of 865 reviews2023
Dev: Turquoise Revival GamesPub: GrabTheGames
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 9.8 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Oxygen is a survival city builder. Build your city around the Oxygen Center and ensure your people's survival in a post-apocalyptic future, threatened by crack explosions, deadly winds, droughts and frosts. Lead your people and more importantly keep the Oxygen Center running!
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.9% ★, Base Building 14%, Survival 9.7%, City Builder 8%, Post-apocalyptic 7.2%
Why You'll Like It: A post-apocalyptic city-builder that requires careful resource management to keep your colony alive.
- #20 Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville
85% matchVery Positive86% of 2,019 reviews2015
Dev: Northway Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 8.8 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Rebuild a ruined city in this post-apocalyptic mix of strategy and simulation. Manage survivors, scavenge for food and supplies, deal with rival gangs, illness, interpersonal strife and zombie attacks.
Why similar: Colony Sim 26.3% ★, Post-apocalyptic 12.5%, Base Building 11.7%, Real-Time with Pause 11% ★, Survival 10%
Why You'll Like It: Combines strategic colony management with turn-based combat in a zombie-infested world.
- #21 Flotsam
81% matchVery Positive80% of 4,240 reviews2025
Dev: Pajama Llama GamesPub: Stray Fawn Publishing
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 10.9 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Sail, scavenge, and rescue survivors in a vibrant floating city-builder. Captain your drifters across the endless garbage sea to uncover soaked ruins, rusting factories, and stories from the old world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 20.9% ★, Real-Time with Pause 14.3% ★, Base Building 12%, Post-apocalyptic 9.4%, Survival 7.9%
Why You'll Like It: A unique post-apocalyptic survival game where you build a town on the water, scavenging for resources.
- #22 After the Collapse
83% matchMostly Positive78% of 209 reviews2022
Dev: Anarkis Gaming
Windows
ATC is a base building game set in a post-apocalyptic world featuring urban environments. Build a base across several layers with dozens of survivors. Fight other factions for the control of the remaining production centers and explore the world to find long forgotten resources and technologies.
Why similar: Colony Sim 26.8% ★, Base Building 14.4%, Post-apocalyptic 10.1%, Survival 10%, City Builder 6.9%
Why You'll Like It: A post-apocalyptic colony-sim with a strong focus on scavenging, base building, and combat.
- #23 Zombie Cure Lab
82% matchMixed69% of 448 reviews2025
Dev: Thera Bytes GmbHPub: Aerosoft GmbH
Windows
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 58%
In a world overrun by the undead, build a lab to fight back with science. Manage survivors, gather vital resources, and turn zombies into allies. Defend your base and research the cure to reclaim humanity.
Why similar: Colony Sim 25.2% ★, Base Building 13.8%, Post-apocalyptic 11%, Survival 9.8%, City Builder 6.8%
Why You'll Like It: Blends base building with unique zombie management mechanics, offering a fresh take on the survival genre.
- #24 Ascent of Ashes
79% matchMostly Positive71% of 294 reviews2025
Dev: Vivid Storm Interactive
Windows
A colony sim set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Build and defend your base. Manage your survivors. Engage raiders, aliens, Remnant soldiers and other factions in real-time-with-pause combat. Or use stealth to outwit them. Explore the massive world. Survive at all costs
Why similar: Colony Sim 29.9% ★, Base Building 16.4%, Survival 11.8%, City Builder 8.6%, Crafting 7.4%
Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that emphasizes post-apocalyptic survival, combat, and base defense.
- #25 Wartales
78% matchVery Positive87% of 34,222 reviews2023
Dev: Shiro Games
Windows
Median: 21.5 hrsMean: 51.2 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Wartales is an open world RPG in which you lead a group of mercenaries in their search for wealth across a massive medieval universe. Explore the world, recruit companions, collect bounties and unravel the secrets of the tombs of the ancients!
Why similar: Open World 34.4%, Survival 28.9%, Sandbox 21.2%, Strategy 11.9%, Singleplayer 2%
Why You'll Like It: Features squad-based management and tactical combat in a harsh, unforgiving world.
- #26 Colony Survival
80% matchVery Positive92% of 8,816 reviews2017
Dev: Pipliz
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 9.6 hrsMean: 28.2 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Colony Survival is a unique first-person strategy game developed by a two-man team. Build your own colony in a voxel world. Command guards, farmers, miners and other colonists. Defend your colony against the horde of monsters that attacks every night!
Why similar: Colony Sim 37.2% ★, Base Building 17.5%, Survival 13.2%, Sandbox 6.3%, Building 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: Offers a first-person perspective on colony management and defense, focusing on building and protecting your base.
- #27 Settlement Survival
79% 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: Colony Sim 31.2% ★, City Builder 12.1%, Survival 12.1%, Base Building 10.1%, Building 7%
Why You'll Like It: A resource-heavy survival city-builder that requires careful planning to survive environmental challenges.
- #28 Clanfolk
78% 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 44.9% ★, Sandbox 13.1%, Crafting 13%, Building 9.7%, Open World 8.8%
Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that focuses on survival and family management in a challenging, historical setting.
- #29 Life in Bunker
81% matchMixed60% of 333 reviews2016
Dev: Flox StudiosPub: Flox Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 7.3 hrs≥1hr: 56%
You've been elected as the new Bunker Warden! Now you must take control over a group of fellow bunker residents and try to make them last until the surface becomes habitable.
Why similar: Base Building 24.2%, Survival 21%, Post-apocalyptic 14.8%, Sandbox 11.2%, Strategy 7.8%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on underground base-building and survival management in a post-apocalyptic world.
- #30 New Cycle
77% 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 22.4% ★, Real-Time with Pause 14.2% ★, Base Building 11.9%, Post-apocalyptic 11.3%, Survival 9.6%
- #31 Endzone 2
76% 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 26.2% ★, Post-apocalyptic 13.3%, Base Building 11.2%, Survival 10%, City Builder 8.1%
- #32 Planetbase
77% 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 36.2% ★, Base Building 18%, City Builder 11.2%, Survival 11%, Resource Management 3.9%
- #33 Odd Realm
75% matchVery Positive85% of 992 reviews2024
Dev: Unknown Origin Games Inc
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 6.9 hrs≥1hr: 56%
Forge a new kingdom in a land recovering from the Fracture. Which of the surviving races will you lead to rebuild, explore, and conquer the unknown? The dwindling yet immortal Ancients? The bold and resourceful Humans? The life stealing Ardyn? Or the secretive Gwdir who shape living groves?
Why similar: Colony Sim 32.2% ★, Base Building 16.9%, Survival 11%, City Builder 7.2%, Crafting 6.6%
- #34 Cliff Empire
75% 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: Colony Sim 26.2% ★, Base Building 11.8%, City Builder 10.4%, Post-apocalyptic 9.4%, Resource Management 6.6%
- #35 Sheltered
76% matchVery Positive82% of 6,212 reviews2016
Dev: UnicubePub: Team17 Digital Ltd
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.8 hrsMean: 9.6 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Sheltered is a deep and emotional survival management game. You take on the role of protecting four family members who, after a global apocalypse, have found their way to a deserted shelter.
Why similar: Base Building 24.6%, Survival 23.4%, Post-apocalyptic 22.7%, Resource Management 5.5%, Management 5%
- #36 Ecopunk
73% matchVery Positive84% of 114 reviews2025
Dev: Zerone Games
Windows
Ecopunk is a survival and colony management simulation game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Balance survival, resource management, and hope as you guide your colony through the ruins of civilization.
Why similar: Colony Sim 35.5% ★, Post-apocalyptic 14.7%, Survival 10.3%, Base Building 9.9%, Sandbox 8.8%
- #37 The Wandering Village
71% 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 29% ★, Post-apocalyptic 16.5%, Base Building 11.5%, City Builder 10.2%, Survival 8.6%
- #38 After Long Night
72% matchMostly Positive79% of 434 reviews2025
Dev: 疯狗工作室Pub: OKJOY
Windows
After Long Night is a sandbox survival RTS. Build and fortify your base, scavenge every corner for vital resources, craft deadly weapons, and raise a militia to fight off relentless zombie hordes that strike every night. In this world, scavenging isn't just survival—it's strategy, power and war.
Why similar: Colony Sim 27.6% ★, Base Building 15.6%, Post-apocalyptic 10.2%, Survival 9.9%, City Builder 7.5%
- #39 Ragnorium
74% matchMixed59% of 624 reviews2022
Dev: Vitali KirpuPub: Devolver Digital
Windows
Lead a team of cloned settlers and build a home on a new planet. Start from the Stone Age, construct sturdy shelters, hunt for food, and fight off dangers. Make your team stronger and better equipped to survive.
Why similar: Colony Sim 25.6% ★, Post-apocalyptic 14.9%, Survival 14.8%, Base Building 13.7%, City Builder 8.3%
- #40 Colony Simulator
74% matchMixed67% of 424 reviews2022
Dev: Indie Marc
Windows
Can your Colony survive 10 days or more in the desert? Find food, build your colony, recruit new workers, feed your population, craft tools and equipment, cook food and research technologies!
Why similar: Colony Sim 39% ★, Base Building 15.4%, Post-apocalyptic 15.3%, City Builder 14.3%, Simulation 8.1%
- #41 IXION
71% matchMostly Positive79% of 17,015 reviews2022
Dev: Bulwark StudiosPub: Kasedo Games
Windows
Median: 10.0 hrsMean: 31.1 hrs≥1hr: 90%
IXION is an unrelenting, city-building odyssey across the stars. As Administrator of the Tiqqun, DOLOS’ prototype space station, you are tasked with balancing preservation and exploration as you manage infrastructure, resources and crew. Can you keep the flame of humanity alight in the cold dark?
Why similar: Colony Sim 28.4% ★, Base Building 14%, Survival 13.5%, City Builder 12.3%, Resource Management 7.9%
- #42 Life is Feudal: Forest Village
73% 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 45.8% ★, City Builder 15.7%, Survival 9.4%, Resource Management 7.3%, Building 4.5%
- #43 The Universim
70% matchVery Positive80% of 10,483 reviews2024
Dev: Crytivo
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.3 hrsMean: 33.9 hrs≥1hr: 89%
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 32.2% ★, Survival 10.4%, City Builder 10.4%, Real-Time with Pause 9.5% ★, Sandbox 8.1%
- #44 Oxygen Not Included
69% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 138,890 reviews2019
Dev: Klei Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 67.7 hrs≥1hr: 86%
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 38.6% ★, Base Building 20.4%, Survival 13.3%, Resource Management 6.9%, Building 4.7%
- #45 Final Outpost: Definitive Edition
70% matchMostly Positive77% of 193 reviews2025
Dev: Exabyte Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Final Outpost is a survival strategy base-builder. You lead the last survivors of the apocalypse. Assign roles, craft tools, and manage resources carefully. Construct buildings, level up your citizens, and fortify your town against hordes of zombies. How many days can you survive?
Why similar: Colony Sim 26% ★, Base Building 17.5%, Survival 12.9%, Post-apocalyptic 9%, City Builder 8.1%
- #46 Cataclismo
68% matchVery Positive89% of 4,077 reviews2025
Dev: Digital SunPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 4.1 hrsMean: 8.6 hrs≥1hr: 77%
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: Colony Sim 23.5% ★, Real-Time with Pause 16.2% ★, Base Building 13.2%, Post-apocalyptic 11.6%, Survival 9.3%
- #47 Survival Vacancy
72% matchMixed64% of 88 reviews2021
Dev: Mind Leak
Windows · Mac · Linux
In a nuclear apocalypse, you have to use your engineering skills to save as many survivors as possible. Defending, mining, crafting, creating production lines, and building an underground city for the survivors is your goal in this 2d side-scrolling automation game.
Why similar: Colony Sim 30.7% ★, Base Building 14%, Survival 10.2%, Crafting 7.1%, Sandbox 6.8%
- #48 The Crust
69% matchMostly Positive77% of 3,397 reviews2024
Dev: VEOM StudioPub: Crytivo
Windows
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 22.5 hrs≥1hr: 83%
Automate a lunar base as you become the savior of humanity exploring the future on the moon. Mine, craft, research, and trade resources with Earth in this gripping narrative basebuilder.
Why similar: Colony Sim 28% ★, Base Building 16.8%, Post-apocalyptic 8.5%, Survival 7.4%, City Builder 7.3%
- #49 Surviving Ceres
68% matchVery Positive87% of 137 reviews2025
Dev: Ryan SaundersPub: One Man Media
Windows
Explore a handcrafted survival game with an emphasis on crafting and base building. Export manufactured goods to earn funding, manage colonists, defend against hostile aliens, and work towards terraforming Ceres from a frozen ball of ice to a tropical paradise.
Why similar: Colony Sim 31.8% ★, Base Building 16.2%, Survival 14%, Crafting 9.2%, Building 7%
- #50 From Glory To Goo
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 1,455 reviews2024
Dev: Stratagem Blue
Windows
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 16.4 hrs≥1hr: 69%
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 22.3% ★, Real-Time with Pause 18.2% ★, Base Building 14.7%, Post-apocalyptic 9.7%, Survival 7.8%
- #51 Maia
73% matchMixed44% of 1,063 reviews2018
Dev: Simon RothPub: Machine Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 4.4 hrs≥1hr: 41%
Maia is a colony building game set in the not-so-distant future. Your colonists make planetfall on a hostile world and you must ensure their survival and their safety, constructing their off-world habitat from almost nothing and sheltering them from a dangerous, often deadly environment.
Why similar: Colony Sim 42.7% ★, Survival 13.1%, Base Building 12.6%, Management 6%, Strategy 5.3%
- #52 Sapiens
69% matchVery Positive84% of 2,103 reviews2022
Dev: Majic Jungle
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 18.0 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Create your own prehistoric civilization and lead your tribe in a world you shape. Start with nothing, build towns and industry, and advance through thousands of years of technological breakthroughs in this intimate yet expansive colony sim.
Why similar: Colony Sim 31.3% ★, Base Building 15.6%, Survival 10.1%, City Builder 9.8%, Crafting 6.8%
- #53 Aven Colony
71% 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 47.2% ★, City Builder 14.5%, Base Building 13.9%, Strategy 5.5%, Survival 4.7%
- #54 Oxygen: First Breath
68% matchVery Positive89% of 1,643 reviews2022
Dev: Turquoise Revival GamesPub: GrabTheGames
Windows
Median: 48 minMean: 6.1 hrs≥1hr: 40%
This is a free version of Oxygen, featuring the first 50 game-days. Build your city around the Oxygen Center and ensure your people's survival in a post-apocalyptic future, threatened by crack explosions, deadly winds, droughts and frosts. Lead your people and keep the Oxygen Center running!
Why similar: Colony Sim 23.4% ★, Base Building 15.4%, Survival 10%, City Builder 8.6%, Resource Management 6%
- #55 Buoyancy
70% matchMixed56% of 820 reviews2019
Dev: Devs on a Boat
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 4.8 hrs≥1hr: 58%
Buoyancy is a city-building strategy game where you build, manage, and move a floating city on an oceanic world. Explore and scavenge resources scattered around the endless waters. Keep your villagers nourished and happy while combating fires, sickness, and pirate attacks.
Why similar: Colony Sim 44.5% ★, Base Building 13.5%, City Builder 9.9%, Post-apocalyptic 9.1%, Survival 8.5%
- #56 Ratopia
65% matchVery Positive88% of 4,645 reviews2025
Dev: Cassel Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 7.9 hrsMean: 26.1 hrs≥1hr: 86%
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 28.3% ★, Base Building 15.4%, Survival 10.8%, City Builder 7.9%, Building 6.4%
- #57 Paleon
67% matchVery Positive83% of 406 reviews2023
Dev: Paleodev
Windows · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 6.2 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Your time machine is broken. And it looks like you are stuck in the past. Try to create your own civilization and return home!
Why similar: Colony Sim 47% ★, Survival 16.1%, City Builder 9.4%, Sandbox 7%, Building 5.9%
- #58 Blacksmith Master
65% matchVery Positive84% of 2,485 reviews2025
Dev: Untitled StudioPub: Hooded Horse
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 12.4 hrs≥1hr: 92%
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 25.5% ★, Base Building 14.4%, Survival 9.7%, City Builder 8.2%, Sandbox 6.8%
- #59 Surviving the Abyss
67% matchMixed65% of 1,047 reviews2024
Dev: Rocket Flair StudiosPub: Paradox Arc
Windows
Median: 2.7 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Earth, 1976. You have been tasked with managing a deep-sea science facility working to perfect cloning. Explore the darkness and keep your crew alive in this hardcore survival colony builder. And beware. The darkness hides untold horrors.
Why similar: Colony Sim 29.8% ★, Base Building 14.8%, Post-apocalyptic 11.7%, Survival 10.6%, City Builder 9.7%