Games Like Rise to Ruins

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 33.6%, City Builder 25.5%, Base Building 13.2%, Survival 10.2%, Sandbox 6.3%

Why You'll Like It: The definitive simulation game that provides unparalleled depth in base-building and environmental survival.

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 41.6%, City Builder 15.9%, Base Building 15.8%, Survival 11%, Sandbox 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: The gold standard for colony survival, offering deep management and emergent storytelling that mirrors the complexity of Rise to Ruins.

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 33.5%, City Builder 26.5%, Base Building 11.7%, Survival 8.5%, Sandbox 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: Offers grand-scale colony management with a focus on large-scale combat and logistical infrastructure.

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 31.6%, City Builder 25.1%, Base Building 12.9%, Survival 9.4%, Sandbox 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: A perfect fusion of tactical tower defense and brick-by-brick castle building that captures the defensive intensity of the seed game.

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 31.5%, City Builder 25%, Base Building 12.9%, Survival 9.6%, Sandbox 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: A roguelite city-builder that forces players to balance rapid expansion with constant environmental survival threats.

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 40.7%, Tower Defense 18%, Base Building 16%, Survival 7.5%, Resource Management 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on massive-scale tower defense and city-building, requiring players to survive against overwhelming waves of enemies.

Kingdom: New Lands builds upon the award-winning gameplay and mystery of Kingdom by introducing an abundance of new content to the IGF-nominated title while maintaining the simplicity and depth that legions of monarchs have come to experience and enjoy.

Why similar: Colony Sim 30.9%, Tower Defense 25.1%, Base Building 13.1%, Survival 10.3%, Strategy 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: A minimalist take on the tower defense and survival genre that captures the same sense of desperate defense.

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%, City Builder 29.5%, Base Building 9.8%, Survival 8%, Resource Management 5.4%

Why You'll Like It: Combines city-building with god-game elements as you manage a settlement on the back of a giant creature.

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 42.4%, City Builder 31%, Survival 8.6%, Sandbox 5.8%, Strategy 4.7%

Why You'll Like It: Features charming voxel-based colony management with a strong emphasis on building and defending your village.

Build a castle by day and defend it by night. Becastled blends cozy city-building with challenging tower defense strategy. Lead the Sun Kingdom’s last stand against the Moon Beasts and end the ancient conflict between light and darkness!

Why similar: City Builder 30.2%, Colony Sim 29.3%, Base Building 21.3%, Strategy 8.5%, Tower Defense 5.6%

Why You'll Like It: Directly mirrors the day-night cycle of building your fortress during the day and defending it from monsters at night.

In this city builder and tower defense game, you will command a small band of ship wrecked colonists. Progress from struggling to survive the elements to a thriving kingdom that will smash the demon hordes that dare attack your settlement.

Why similar: Colony Sim 26.7%, Tower Defense 22.4%, City Builder 21.9%, God Game 15.9% ★, Survival 6.2%

Why You'll Like It: A strong focus on tower defense and colony survival in a harsh, resource-constrained environment.

Harvest cards to raise land from the sea, build settlements and rain fire upon invaders in this survival city-builder with roguelike deckbuilding mechanics. Choose from 4 gods with unique cards, playstyles and abilities to lead their civilisations to victory in strategic run-based gameplay!

Why similar: Colony Sim 21.7%, City Builder 17.9%, Tower Defense 16.6%, God Game 15.4% ★, Base Building 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Integrates god-game powers with tower defense and roguelike deckbuilding mechanics.

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 34.5%, City Builder 25.3%, Base Building 13.5%, Survival 10.4%, Sandbox 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: A 3D colony sim that emphasizes defensive architecture and survival in a medieval setting.

Your village must survive for 13 days! Gather resources, expand, explore the underground for riches, and train soldiers to defend against hordes of the undead.

Why similar: Tower Defense 43%, Base Building 21.8%, Survival 17%, Strategy 10.6%, Pixel Graphics 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: A 2D strategy game that focuses heavily on the cycle of building by day and defending by night.

Craft The World is a unique sandbox strategy game, the mix of Dungeon Keeper, Terraria and Dwarf Fortress. Explore a random generated world populated by dangerous creatures, build a dwarf fortress, gather resources, and craft all the items, weapons, and armor you need.

Why similar: Colony Sim 44.6%, City Builder 13.6%, Survival 9.7%, Sandbox 8.2%, Tower Defense 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: A 2D side-scrolling colony survival game where you manage dwarves and defend against waves of monsters.

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 33.7%, City Builder 30.5%, Base Building 10.3%, Survival 7.8%, Sandbox 5%

Why You'll Like It: A city-builder that introduces defensive threats like dragons and vikings to your growing settlement.

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 42%, Base Building 15.2%, City Builder 12.8%, Survival 12.7%, Sandbox 4.8%

Why You'll Like It: Combines colony management with survival against demons in a post-apocalyptic setting.

Build a settlement in a realm recovering from the Fracture, a calamity that nearly destroyed the realm. Choose from several unique races, establish a new kingdom, and survive in a land filled with magic and strange creatures. Farm the land, fish the seas, or raid rival kingdoms for their treasures.

Why similar: Colony Sim 33.1%, City Builder 19.9%, Base Building 12.6%, Survival 8.9%, Sandbox 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: A pixel-art colony management game that offers deep simulation and survival mechanics.

Harness your Demigod powers to lead a group from rags to riches in this 3D Fantasy Kingdom Management Sim with RPG elements. Command from the sky or take control in 3rd Person to BUILD, BATTLE, and RULE. Navigate a world of interesting Nobles, earn their respect, and decide their Fates.

Why similar: Colony Sim 36.9%, City Builder 27.1%, Base Building 13.2%, Survival 7.4%, Sandbox 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: A god-game perspective on colony management where your influence directly shapes the lives of your subjects.

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 39.7%, City Builder 28.1%, Survival 8%, Sandbox 7.2%, Strategy 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: A classic sandbox colony management game that focuses on building and defending a fortress.

Build, quest, and conquer across an infinite procedurally generated world. Play alone or with friends as you establish a settlement and explore deep dungeons, fight monsters and bosses, mine rare ores, craft magical equipment, recruit specialists for your colony, and more!

Why similar: Survival 29%, Base Building 27.4%, Pixel Graphics 18.8%, Sandbox 18.5%, Indie 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: An action-oriented colony sim that includes boss fights and dungeon exploration alongside base management.

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: Colony Sim 33.6%, City Builder 31.9%, Base Building 13.2%, Survival 9.7%, Strategy 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: A deep survival city-builder that emphasizes resource management and defensive fortifications against raiders.

Become a real medieval feudal lord: start with a small village and build it up into an enormous impenetrable castle. You will have to repel enemy raids: hide behind thick walls, lure your enemies into strategically placed traps, and even lead your loyal peasants into battle.

Why similar: Colony Sim 35.7%, City Builder 22.3%, Base Building 13.6%, Survival 7.2%, Resource Management 5.2%

Why You'll Like It: A medieval colony sim that focuses on building up a village from scratch while managing worker needs.

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: Colony Sim 31.6%, City Builder 29.9%, Base Building 10.9%, Survival 8.2%, Sandbox 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: Introduces unique survival mechanics centered on water management and vertical city-building.

Dungeon Warfare is a challenging tower defense strategy game where you become a dungeon lord to defend your dungeons with deadliest of traps and insidious contraptions against greedy adventurers and wanna-be heroes.

Why similar: Tower Defense 52.7%, Strategy 11.2%, Pixel Graphics 10.9%, Resource Management 8.6%, Great Soundtrack 5.6%

Why You'll Like It: A pure tower defense experience that focuses on trap placement and strategic enemy pathing.

Ruinarch is an evil god simulator and sandbox game where you mess with people’s lives for hilarious results! Make them vampires, werewolves or bard haters and cackle as the drama unfolds. Once you’re done, unleash a malicious buffet of spells and custom plagues to wipe them out and start anew!

Why similar: Colony Sim 27.9%, God Game 21.2% ★, City Builder 19.9%, Base Building 11.2%, Survival 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: A god-game that allows you to act as a villain, manipulating your colony and the world around them.

In this city-building strategy game, you control a group of exiled travelers who decide to restart their lives in a new land. They have only the clothes on their backs and a cart filled with supplies from their homeland. The townspeople of Banished are your primary resource.

Why similar: Colony Sim 41.7%, City Builder 34.6%, Survival 8.4%, Strategy 5.5%, Simulation 3.5%

Why You'll Like It: The foundational survival city-builder that focuses on the harsh realities of resource management and winter survival.

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 34.2%, City Builder 32.1%, Survival 10.3%, Base Building 7%, Sandbox 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: A resource-heavy colony management game that emphasizes growth and disaster management.

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 34.2%, Colony Sim 30.8%, Survival 12.9%, Base Building 6.6%, Strategy 6.3%

Why You'll Like It: A brutal survival city-builder where managing your population's needs is just as important as the infrastructure.

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 43.1%, City Builder 35.5%, Survival 6.9%, Strategy 4.9%, Resource Management 4.2%

Why You'll Like It: A realistic survival city-builder that requires careful planning to survive harsh seasons.

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 25.3%, Tower Defense 20.1%, City Builder 18.9%, Base Building 11.2%, Survival 6.7%

Gnomes is a turn-based tower defense with deep roguelike progression, set in ever-expanding, procedurally generated biomes. Build, farm and defend your village as you push deeper into goblin-infested territory. Unlock powerful upgrades and craft your environment to survive the endless goblin horde

Why similar: Tower Defense 26.8%, Colony Sim 23.2%, City Builder 19.2%, Base Building 10%, Survival 8.2%

Creeper World 3 is what happens when cellular automata takes over a strategy simulation. Instead of discrete units that attack your base, a fluid-like substance spreads over the terraformable terrain. Your base, your weapons, your strategy... you must adapt them all.

Why similar: Tower Defense 72.9%, Strategy 10.1%, Base Building 5.9%, Level Editor 2.3%, Simulation 2.2%

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 46.2%, Base Building 15.3%, City Builder 15.2%, Survival 12.6%, Sandbox 5.2%

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 32.4%, City Builder 21.2%, Base Building 12.7%, Survival 9.6%, Sandbox 5.5%

Village elder, help us! The Apocalypse is approaching, and we need your guidance to survive. Assign your workers and build a thriving village against the pending doom. DotAGE is the merciless survival roguelite turn-based city builder. Will you fulfill the Prophecy?

Why similar: Colony Sim 37.4%, City Builder 30.4%, Survival 11.2%, Resource Management 7.3%, Pixel Graphics 6.8%

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 31.4%, City Builder 26%, Tower Defense 10.9%, Base Building 8.4%, Survival 6.2%

A village builder / survival game. Expand your village by day and fight monsters at night. Learn how to survive, and try to prevent your imminent demise . . .

Why similar: Colony Sim 36.5%, City Builder 34%, Strategy 13.3%, Survival 13.2%, Indie 3.1%

Phoenix Hope is a pixel art 2D real-time, side-view strategy game in which you must develop your colony during the day and repel waves of monsters at night.

Why similar: Colony Sim 31.1%, Tower Defense 22.4%, Base Building 12.7%, Survival 10.7%, Strategy 6.7%

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 40%, City Builder 38.1%, Survival 9.9%, Strategy 5.1%, Sandbox 2.8%

Here is Scarecropia! Lead at most 400 people to build a settlement. Arm your village to fight against the Goblin army, or invest limited resources in yourself to become unparalleled! Take every cost to survive!

Why similar: Colony Sim 22.4%, Tower Defense 17.6%, City Builder 17.3%, God Game 15% ★, Base Building 8.3%

Build and manage your own settlement! A relaxing village construction and management simulator.

Why similar: Colony Sim 34.9%, City Builder 28%, Base Building 13.2%, Sandbox 5.7%, Resource Management 5.1%

A fusion of roguelite, tower defense, city-building, and deck-building! We created a new kind of real time strategy game filled with addictive and fast-paced gameplay. Create your deck, defend your city, and build the largest Ratropolis in history!

Why similar: Tower Defense 32.2%, City Builder 22.5%, Survival 15.2%, Strategy 11%, Simulation 7.2%

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 28.3%, Tower Defense 19.2%, City Builder 17.6%, Base Building 11.6%, Survival 9.3%

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 34.4%, Tower Defense 18.1%, Base Building 17.9%, City Builder 12.7%, Survival 9.2%

This Goblin Tribe Simulator brings a challenging blend of chaos and creativity to the city-building genre. Build dwellings, manage your resources, defend your goblins, and grow your tribe, and please the Gods! Do you have what it takes to control the chaos and rule the unruly?

Why similar: Colony Sim 22.5%, City Builder 18.5%, Tower Defense 16.2%, God Game 14.7% ★, Base Building 9.5%

Kingdom is a 2D sidescrolling strategy/resource management hybrid with a minimalist feel wrapped in a beautiful, modern pixel art aesthetic.

Why similar: Colony Sim 21.4%, City Builder 16.8%, Tower Defense 15.3%, Base Building 12.1%, Survival 8.5%

Build and design your own fleets and stand opposed to the Particulate in this physics/strategy/RTS/fleet hybrid. Build partially destructible and self repairing ships that interact with enemies less controlled by some scripted logic and more driven by a real time massive physics particle simulation.

Why similar: Strategy 34.8%, Tower Defense 29%, Simulation 18.9%, Indie 7.8%, Pixel Graphics 6.7%

In this world, it’s all about the gold! Use it to build up a fantasy town, recruit heroes, give quests, raise a Godbeast, cast powerful spells, and expand your influence—all one gold coin at a time.

Why similar: Colony Sim 22.7%, City Builder 17.6%, Tower Defense 16.7%, God Game 16.6% ★, Base Building 9%

Block Tower TD is a roguelike tower defense strategy game with interesting innovations. Build a world out of blocks, choose random upgrades to make every run unique.

Why similar: City Builder 29.2%, Tower Defense 28.8%, Survival 8.9%, Base Building 8.6%, Sandbox 7.2%

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 28.8%, City Builder 22.4%, God Game 13% ★, Base Building 10.5%, Survival 8.9%

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 47.8%, Colony Sim 18.2%, Base Building 7.1%, Strategy 6.4%, Sandbox 5.3%

The game brings a fresh new take on the city building/management genre by introducing many RPG features. In Towns you manage a settlement on top of an active dungeon. Instead of playing the hero who delves deep into the dungeon, how about playing the town that houses and caters to the hero's needs?

Why similar: City Builder 57.2%, Sandbox 11.9%, Strategy 9.2%, Survival 7.4%, Simulation 6.5%

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 43.8%, City Builder 22.6%, Base Building 12.3%, Survival 6.8%, Strategy 4.1%

KeeperRL is a retro dungeon simulator with roguelike and RPG elements. Take the role of an evil keeper and build a formidable dungeon. Recruit sinister minions, equip and train them to explore the world and fight the forces of good.

Why similar: Base Building 29.5%, Survival 21.5%, Sandbox 13.3%, Strategy 11.8%, Simulation 9.3%

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: Colony Sim 23%, City Builder 19.8%, God Game 19% ★, Base Building 16.7%, Sandbox 7.9%

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 34.6%, City Builder 22.9%, Base Building 13.2%, Survival 10%, Strategy 5.1%

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 31.4%, City Builder 24.3%, God Game 22.6% ★, Survival 7.9%, Sandbox 5.3%

A unique roguelike deckbuilder + base-building tower defense game. Build powerful defenses in the last bastion of light, fend off relentless waves of darkness, and protect the final goddess!

Why similar: Tower Defense 32.3%, City Builder 30%, Base Building 16.9%, Strategy 7.5%, Pixel Graphics 6%